proposed laws

PA Bill Number: HB2170

Title: In assault, further providing for assault of law enforcement officer; and making editorial changes.

Description: In assault, further providing for assault of law enforcement officer; and making editorial changes. ...

Last Action: Referred to JUDICIARY

Last Action Date: Mar 28, 2024

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FOAC's Weekly Message For Sunday August 19th 2018 :: 08/19/2018

With the midterm Congressional and Gubernatorial elections just around the corner, Pennsylvanians ‘must’ not sit idly by IF we support a ‘strong’ Article 1, Section 21 and Second Amendment!

You simply must vote for Congressional incumbents and candidates, as well as a Governor (Wagner), who will not only support the right of the people to keep and bear arms but who will actively defend that right against those who seek to destroy it.

Recently, The Armory published ‘Gun Control a Third Rail of Democratic Campaigns.’ The story reported on groups calling for calling for Democrats to “embrace a bolder approach to restrictions on guns.” Now, USA Today is reporting that Democrats are “flooding the airwaves” with gun control advertising in the lead-up to the midterm elections.

The report reinforces the long-held belief that Democrats are “the party of gun control.” It might also backfire as an election strategy, bringing routinely lethargic gun owners out of their easy chairs in November to vote in order to protect their Second Amendment rights.

This midterm election will likely determine who is in charge on Capitol Hill. That translates to enabling President Donald Trump’s efforts to quietly remake the federal courts by appointing conservative judges. As noted by the Los Angeles Times, the president has been busy appointing conservatives to the courts, although he still faces the hurdle of naming judges to the most liberal court in the nation, the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. It holds authority over all the western states, and it is a hotbed of gun control activity in California, Oregon and Washington.

According to the USA Today article, “Democrats are driving the surge in advertising favoring gun control as polling shows the public generally supports stricter laws covering the sale of firearms and overwhelmingly supports expanded background checks”.

“It could be a gamble,” the report adds, “given that curbing access to guns has long been considered the third rail of politics. For decades, prominent Democratic candidates, especially in battleground states, have sought to reassure voters of their support for protections under the Second Amendment for the right to bear arms.”

But is that support real, or just election cycle make-believe?

Here’s what the story also noted that should raise alarms among Second Amendment activists: “In House races – a good gauge for comparison, since they happen in every district, every two years – pro-gun-control spots this year represented about 67 percent of those with explicit messages on guns, compared to 26 percent in 2016 and 6 percent in 2014. All but one of those ads in favor of gun control this year were funded by Democrats.”

If “common sense” translates to more restrictions, above and beyond the mountain of laws we already have, on the rights of law-abiding citizens to buy, own and carry firearms, it’s going to be a hard sell, provided gun owners get up off their duff AND vote. If they feel threatened, past history strongly suggests that gun owners will overcome their lethargy and surprise the pollsters in November.

Do Felons have Self-Defense Rights? A Georgia Jury Finds That They DO!

On November5, 2014, Demarco M. Williams shot and killed Javarious Walthour. Williams had been convicted of fleeing in 2008, when he was 20.

On August 10th, 2018, the jury found Williams not guilty of murder, criminal damage to property but guilty of the possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.   From augustachronicle.com:

Defense attorney Peter Johnson argued to the jury that Williams shot Walthour in self-defense because he knew Walthour was armed and looking for him. Walthour had already robbed him once that day, Johnson said.

(snip)

Though the jury acquitted Williams of the main charges, it found him guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was convicted in 2008 of fleeing. Sentencing was delayed until next week.

A resurgence in self-defense claims has occurred with the rise of legally armed citizens in the United States.  More felons are making self-defense claims, and juries are finding some of those claims to be credible.

All people have a right to defend themselves, even convicted felons. The Supreme Court has ruled that felons can be deprived of Constitutional rights because of their felony convictions. Recent cases have made the argument that felons, at least in non-violent felonies, should have a clear mechanism to have their rights restored.

Dr. John Lott has shown that more legal firearm carriers in urban minority areas have a proportionately greater benefit than in areas with lower crime rates. That seems common sense. If there is more crime, there is more crime to be prevented.

Some people, especially anti-gun groups who oppose and armed population, claim that a black man cannot use a firearm in self-defense, because they will either be killed by police, or convicted in the courts. DeMarco Williams' case is another example that contradicts that argument.

Is Pennsylvania Going to Embrace the California Gun Control Agenda?

87 days to election day! We all know elections have consequences and unfortunately for us firearms owners the stakes keep getting higher. That's because, unfortunately, diminishing your Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Pennsylvania seems to be becoming a bigger and bigger priority for one political party.

The Pennsylvania Democrat Party is continually doubling down on their gun control pipe dreams. Just look what happened in June in the PA House of Representatives!

Right now, they're routinely inviting hardcore gun confiscation proponents like CeaseFire PA, Everytown and Moms Demand Action to their events. Their wish list of gun control measures continues to grow –with many of their agenda items coming directly from California gun laws.

Make no mistake, gun grabbers in Pennsylvania are furious about the success we've had over the years. The stakes aren't getting any lower, and we hope you, and your friends, understand the importance of NOT backing down now.

Keep an eye out, we'll soon be releasing our state-wide 2018 FOAC-PAC Voter Guide.

School Shootings - The Changing Face of First Responders

School is about to start. Does your local school have trained first responders? Pennsylvania DOES allow selected and trained school staff to go armed in order to protect your children. There are excellent reasons not to publicize school security plans.

Interestingly, across the country, some states allow armed school staff and some state governments clearly deny it. The issue of legal permission or prohibition becomes more complex as we look closer. The line is blurred rather than clear-cut. Some states allow armed staff for private schools but deny it to public schools. In addition, some sheriffs go to great lengths to enable selected school staff to be armed.

Where are we today?

Pennsylvania teachers can ‘legally’ be armed after the Goslin decision clarified what the legislature meant regarding “other lawful purpose” in 1980 when passing Title 18, Section 912. However, many (if not all) PA School Districts prohibit, through contractual limitation, teachers and staff from being armed. Legislation passed this session – SB 383 – was intended to address these issues. SB 383 has drafting flaws that has it stuck in the PA House of Representatives due to concerns from FOAC that must be remedied.

Contrast the above with Ohio, which allows armed school staff at the discretion of local school boards. Most, if not all, of these school boards use the FASTER training program.  FASTER has trained more than 1000 school staff members to be armed first responder. About a hundred more have been trained in Colorado.

This program has been ongoing for 5 years, and the FASTER program has accumulated thousands of man-years of experience with trained first responders in the classroom. Several states, like Utah and Colorado, allowed armed school staff for years before the attack at Sandy Hook. Utah does not require the concealed carriers who work at schools to notify the school administration if they are carrying.

A murderer never knows which district, which school building, and which classroom is ready to stop him.

Medical First Responders

The decision to arm school staff may make it into the local news. In contrast, the decision to train and equip school staff to perform emergency trauma care often goes unreported. School districts usually wait for summer vacation to train teachers to go armed. Rather than taking months, school districts can train medical first responders by next week.

A growing trend in the last few years is for districts to sponsor local medical training classes. That way, many staff members are available to treat the injured in an emergency.

Disturbing Issues

Political concerns are always with us. We see this in schools, churches and hospitals. Politicians and administrators reinvent the first responder training curriculum for their own political purposes. Administrators signal their virtue by demanding higher training standards for their staff. This reduces the number of first responders who are available and drives up costs. More importantly, it drives up the response time until a good guy can stop a bad buy. When seconds count, the injured will have to wait longer to receive treatment.

Enough exercises have been run, with Faster, to separate fact from theory. It is better to have 10 staff members who each have 10 hours of medical training than to have a single responder who has 100 hours of training.

Some school administrators approved an armed responder program but dictated that firearms must be kept in a locked safe located in the classroom. That raises several questions. Why should students be unprotected in the parking lot, the amphitheater, the cafeteria, the gymnasium or the administrative offices? If a locked safe is a bad solution for police and uniformed school resource officers, then why is it a good solution for teachers? The experts say that on-body carry is best. If school staff must keep their guns in a school safe, then give them a carbine and body armor as well.

Political concerns are real. Maybe an incremental approach is all that the community will tolerate today.  We truly hope you are part of this important discussion.

Shopify policy change WILL ban gun, accessory sales, refuses to answer retailer questions

On August 13th Shopify, an e-commerce platform used by many American FFL (gun) dealers to conduct online sales, will essentially shut down the sale of guns, gun parts and accessories over the internet.

This is a targeted, biased, intentional attack on lawful commerce meant to advance the gun control agenda!

This decision will have significant ramifications to ALL business and should concern every online retailer and Second Amendment supporter,” said Cole Leleux, general manager of Spike’s Tactical whose business model is based on E-Commerce sales.

Some of the new amended rules in Shopify’s Acceptable Use Policy now include banning the sale of semi-automatic firearms that have an ability to accept a detachable magazine and are capable of accepting more than 10 rounds. Additionally, unfinished lower receivers are also prohibited, according to the new rules. Most of Spike’s Tactical’ s products include AR-15 parts and full rifles, which would fall under those new restrictions.

As for when these new policies will go into effect, that remains a mystery. When representatives from Spike’s Tactical reached out to Shopify to try to learn more, Shopify refused to answer any questions and directed Spike’s Tactical team members to the Shopify legal department, which has yet to respond.

Any other gun manufacturers or retailers who are also experiencing issues related to this new policy are encouraged to contact Spike’s Tactical, as they are looking at legal options to potentially file a class action lawsuit.

"We're Doing This for Your Own Good," & Other Lies by Politicians to Get Your Vote

As our midterm election season approaches, the traditional, hard-left, anti-gun stance of the Democrat Party is being ruthlessly enforced upon all Democrat candidates.

It appears that All Democrat candidates running for office on the Democrat ticket are expected to fall in line on this issue.

But, when asked about individual rights protected by our Second Amendment, Democrats consistently lie about their intentions.

Example:

From a recent letter to a constituent from Democrat NY Senator Chuck Schumer:

“I believe the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Constitution’s Second Amendment…

I respect the Second Amendment, but I also believe that we have a collective interest in keeping guns out of the hands of those who want to harm the innocent….

I will work with my colleagues to protect the rights of gun owners while respecting the rights of each state to determine how best to protect its citizens….”

Doesn’t that sound wonderful?!

Yet, this deceptive US Senator has spent his entire political career working tirelessly to regulate privately-owned guns out of existence in his state, and in the rest of the Country.

He is an all-too-typical “guns for me, but not for thee” Democrat.

As an example, here in Pennsylvania let’s look at the winner of the special election in District 178 (Bucks County), Helen Tai. On the very day she was sworn into office she co-sponsored 13-gun control bills!

These Neo-Marxists (masquerading as “Democrats”) are replacing traditional ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats who at least respected the Constitution! Now their rhetoric is being replaced with soothing lies like “… I believe in our Second Amendment,” followed by “… and as a youngster, I hunted with my grandfather,” ad nauseam.

Then comes the duplicitous “… therefore, as an American Citizen you have ‘rights,’ BUT

  • a) they are not ‘inalienable and endowed by our Creator;’ no, they are weak and temporary, and we politicians, in our condescending magnanimity, arbitrarily bestow them upon you (or withdraw them), at our whim.
  • b) and rights are only ‘collective,’ never individual, and never absolute
  • c) so we’ll be the ones to decide if you really ‘need’ a gun or not

It’s much like a smooth-talking serial murderer who assures you that he only wants to bind your hands and feet “for just a few minutes,” and after all “it’s for your own protection.”

How will you vote this November? FOAC has ALWAYS focused on our Rights and have been willing to work with all candidates running for office BUT ANY gun owners who believe these liars is doing so at their own peril!

FBI Sued for Denying Las Vegas Shooting FOIA Request on Guns Used

Where is the transparency and “core values” within the FBI that are being demonstrated by denying the lawfully requested information regarding the Las Vegas shooting? On August 16th Stamboulieh Law, PLLC announced, “Today, we filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation over a Mandalay Bay FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request that the FBI denied.

Firearms designer and Historic Arms, LLC President Len Savage is the plaintiff in the complaint that charges “Defendant FBI is unlawfully withholding records requested by Plaintiff pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §552.”

As reported an Ammoland column in April:

The FBI has responded. They claim they have no way of knowing how many “bump stocks” have been used in crimes and the FOIA law doesn't require them to be responsive.

Contrary to the FBI's position, in a similar FOIA to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the ATF responded almost immediately and has currently produced thousands and thousands of responsive documents,” attorney Stephen Stamboulieh noted.

The latest revelation from those productions, reported Wednesday by AmmoLand Shooting Sports News, was a surprising admission by ATF:

“[O]n-scene ATF personnel were not allowed to physically examine the interior of the weapons for machinegun fire-control components or known machinegun conversion devices… [Emphasis in original]”

“It makes one wonder, why is the FBI not providing information about the case when, according to LVMPD, the shooter ‘acted alone’ and has no motive?” he asked.

New York Governor Cuomo Looks to Take His SAFE Act National

If Democrats do in fact take over Congress, after the November 2018 midterm elections, and if Andrew Cuomo is elected to a third term as Governor of New York, Cuomo will be taking his plans for a National New York Safe Act to a receptive Congress, where he will lead the pack to destroy the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Of that, there can be no doubt.

Yours in Freedom!

Kim Stolfer, President