proposed laws

PA Bill Number: HB777

Title: In firearms and other dangerous articles, further providing for definitions and providing for the offense of sale of firearm or firearm parts without ...

Description: In firearms and other dangerous articles, further providing for definitions and providing for the offense of sale of firearm or firearm parts without ...

Last Action: Third consideration and final passage (104-97)

Last Action Date: Mar 27, 2024

more >>

decrease font size   increase font size

FOAC's Weekly Message For Sunday October 24th 2021 :: 10/24/2021

Before I begin with this week’s newsletter, I would like all of you to keep in your hearts and your thoughts and your prayers the name of Jim Devlin. Jim passed away approximately a week ago. He was not only a good friend but he was a quietly intense warrior for the Second Amendment who was tireless in his devotion to holding legislators accountable and the man who would volunteer to help in any way that was needed without expectation of reward! I know I will miss him and the Second Amendment community is a little less bright because of his passing!

This past week the Pennsylvania Supreme Court delivered a decisive blow against the machinations of the city of Harrisburg in trying to keep us out of court over their preemption law violations. This has been a six-year journey that began in 2015. We should all think the excellent, hard work of Joshua Prince and his legal talents at continually pressuring Harrisburg through the courts.

The case before the Supreme Court was a fairly narrow one in that Harrisburg was claiming we didn’t have the “standing” to challenge the preemption laws because we have not, basically, been prosecuted for violating them. So, in their world, citizens have to go to jail before they can challenge unjust laws-how quaintly socialist of them!

In acknowledging the choices faced by FOAC, et al., the Court stated

Given these allegations, which we take as true, Appellees currently must make a choice to either comply with the ordinances, thereby forfeiting what they view as their constitutionally and statutorily protected firearms rights; or violate the ordinances by exercising their rights, thereby risking criminal prosecution. Appellees also have a third option, which is to stop living in, commuting to, or travelling to the City to avoid being subject to its ordinances, which would of course entail relocating from the City, changing employers, or foregoing legislative advocacy. That Appellees are confronted with these options shows that their interest in the outcome of the constitutionality and preemption of the challenged ordinances is substantial, immediate, and direct.

The Concurrence of Justice Wecht is equally important:

Appellees here face equally intolerable options that render their action consistent with the conferral of standing in our precedential opinions. The choice between engaging in arguably constitutional activity and facing potential prosecution, or forfeiting one’s rights and abstaining from potentially protected conduct altogether, presents precisely the kind of choice that confers standing….Without access to the courts to resolve their dispute, Appellees would be left with no path to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinances other than willfully violating the law….Being forced to choose between abdicating one’s rights or willfully violating the law and subjecting oneself to sanctions presents exactly the kind of dilemma that does confer standing.

As if to accentuate the importance of this issue, Justice Wecht writes:

The legislative branch, the executive branch, and local municipalities bear responsibility for enacting legislation or regulations that do not unduly infringe upon the rights of our citizens. When government conduct is challenged, the judiciary ensures that the rights of the individual are vindicated when infringed. If the government’s actions threaten individual rights, those individuals have access to the courts to challenge government conduct. Under the Act, they may do so without first subjecting themselves to arrest, threats of arrest, or warnings about potential enforcement action. As our Founder recognized, delaying justice until one is sanctioned by the full force of the law is no justice at all.

As a further example of how ‘politics’ continues to roil the PA Supreme Court (amongst others), Chief Justice Baer, and Justices Donohue and Todd joined in two dissenting opinions (Dissenting Opinion of Chief Justice Baer and Dissenting Opinion of Justice Donohue) that basically a citizen should be prosecuted and jailed in order to have standing to challenge the law. This decision was a razor thin 4-3 vote in favor or our Constitutional Rights.

See a video on this from KABA: https://youtu.be/8Xc-nGNMLAA

We want to thank everyone who has supported us to get us this far in this very important fight! Please know that every penny you’ve donated goes directly to the legal fight and that we now will face going back down to the lower court in arguing the merits of, or lack thereof, the city of Harrisburg ordinances.

If you are in a position to be able to support this continuing effort, FOAC would greatly appreciate donations, which can be made online through the Prince Law Firm’s escrow account here – https://secure.lawpay.com/pages/princelaw/trust or you can donate directly to this legal action through our FOAC website donation page here - https://foac-pac.org/Donate. Simply place “FOAC Harrisburg Preemption Litigation” in the reference box at either site.

2021 Judicial Elections in Pennsylvania -- Make or Break Election for The Second Amendment

As we noted above in the outcome in our lawsuit against the city of Harrisburg, we were able to achieve a very narrow 4 to 3 decision in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on a very narrow constitutional issue of standing. THAT SHOULD SCARE EVERY GUN OWNER!

The outcome of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court open seat election this year is of paramount importance to us all! Simply put, Kevin Brobson must win or we will have a narrow majority against Article 1 Section 21 and the Second Amendment and that spells disaster for our rights and freedoms in the courts! This is not hyperbole or overreaction!

The candidates for the statewide appellate courts are listed below:

Statewide Judicial Races

OPEN Seats

These are critically important races with proven and highly experienced candidates who ‘will’ protect our Constitutional Processes and Freedoms

PA Appellate Courts Judicial RETENTION Elections 2021

After much hand-wringing and case analysis we believe we can ‘recommend’ the judges below for retention to their respective offices:

  • John Bender – Superior Court
  • Mary Bowes – Superior Court
  • Ann Covey – Commonwealth Court

Just to be clear, our process is very fair and gives each candidate the opportunity to answer our questionnaire and to interact with us at every level from digital to verbal communication. Every Democrat has refused to answer our questionnaire or to even interact with us at any level. We cannot allow or afford justices who have a political bent on our courts or our Constitutional freedoms will become irrelevant.

Simply put, every gun owner must get out to the polls in what is sure to be a lightly attended election year at the ballot box! We see this year as a philosophical form of Russian roulette where you don’t get a second chance.

Please do everything in your power to get out the vote and if you need voters guides please visit our website at - https://foac-pac.org/Voter-Guide - and download your own personal guides or guides for your entire County using the drop down box on the right-hand side. If you have questions or need additional copies of voter’s guides, please reach out to us and we will make that happen – info@foac-pac.org. Thank you in advance for your attention to this critically important election year!

Status Of Pro-Gun Preemption Legislation in The Pennsylvania House and Senate

It seems appropriate to review the status of preemption legislation here in Pennsylvania after the 6 year ordeal that FOAC has had to endure at the hands of the Harrisburg obfuscationist bureaucracy.

There are two major pieces of legislation that would strengthen preemption law: House Bill 979 and Senate Bill 448.

House Bill 979 (Sponsor: Rep. Matt Dowling)

  • Passed House Appropriations Committee: Vote
  • Passed House Judiciary Committee: Vote
  • Passed House Floor Vote: Vote
  • Status: Pending Senate Action

Senate Bill 448 (Sponsor: Sen. Langerholc)

  • Passed Local Government Committee: Vote
  • Status: Pending Senate Action

Both of these bills come at strengthening preemption from slightly different perspectives but both of them would be a tremendous improvement to the current preemption law. Both of these bills will strengthen the standing of organizations as well as individuals to sue for local gun laws as well as to recover reasonable legal fees and expenses.

The anti-gun groups are hyperventilating over these two bills and are using all kinds of sky is falling type of rhetoric when in reality the only thing really at the heart of this issue is whether or not local communities and municipal entities will respect the law and abide by it!

One of the representatives for CeaseFire PA offered an amusingly ironic point of view regarding the decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on standing for FOAC’s lawsuit. Josh Fleitman, of CeaseFire PA, decried the outlook for local community’s gun control efforts as this decision would have a “chilling” effect on the passage of the local gun laws! Leaving aside for the minute that he completely ignored the illegality of what these local communities were doing, his perspective of a “chilling effect” seemingly ignores the fact that everything that CeaseFire PA does is with the intention of chilling the lawful exercise of a citizen’s Second Amendment and that’s what these local laws are intended to do! Of course, the reporter interviewing him didn’t seem to have the fortitude to actually bring this perspective of the interview up as he should’ve!

In the end, you’ll notice there is a complete lack of bipartisanship to the votes listed above, as there ‘used to be’ in the 90’s, and that is one of the most disturbing aspects of the debate in Harrisburg over gun control laws in that constitutional freedoms were never meant to be a partisan issue but apparently the once proud Democrat party has lost all sight of his heritage and that of our nation!

Illinois Supreme Court Rules Unconstitutional the Illinois Tax on Guns and Ammo

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Oct. 21 that two taxes on guns and ammunition in Cook County violate the state’s constitution because they affect law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment right to acquire firearms for self-defense.

This case has been winding its way through the state’s court system for several years, since shortly after Cook County imposed a tax on ammunition in 2015. Three years earlier the county had also put a $25 tax on each firearm sold, with the proceeds from both taxes slated to be used for “operations related to public safety.” There were no specific programs where the money would go, however, which played a big role in the state Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the taxes.

Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis wrote in a 6–0 decision that the taxes violate the constitution’s uniformity clause, while also pointing out that the revenue from the generated tax isn’t directed toward funds or programs that reduce gun violence.

“While the taxes do not directly burden a law-abiding citizen’s right to use a firearm for self-defense, they do directly burden a law-abiding citizen’s right to acquire a firearm and the necessary ammunition for self-defense,” Theis wrote in a 14-page opinion (pdf) filed on Thursday.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/mkt_breakingnews/illinois-supreme-court-rules-unconstitutional-tax-on-guns-and-ammo_4065030.html

This decision was a good one for Illinois gun owners, but it would have been better if the state Supreme Court hadn’t offered Cook County a way to try to revive its unconstitutional tax.

Efficacy of Gun Control: Spotlight – Massachusetts Gun Control Laws FAIL

Over the last two decades there have been repeated attempts to study the efficacy and performance of gun control laws at various levels throughout America and within each state. From the analysis of the failure of the California Universal background check system to be complete and utter failure of the Sullivan Law in New York City, the results are clear.

Now we have a new study by a researcher who seems perplexed at the failure of the Massachusetts gun laws to achieve any of the results as forecast by its proponents.

https://www.eurasiareview.com/23102021-massachusetts-gun-control-legislation-has-had-no-effect-on-violent-crime/

Of course, as is standard practice in the academic community, she calls for more study funded by taxpayers and lays the blame on recalcitrant public officials at enforcing the law as passed by the legislature.

In the end, this is but another example of the failure of gun control laws to address the human quotient in the crime paradigm.

Interesting Videos:

FOAC in the News: Supreme Court Victory Over Harrisburg Preemption on Standing

 FOAC Upcoming Events:

2021 & 2022 – FOAC Concealed Carry Events

  • 10/28/2021: Concealed Carry Seminar – Rep. Matt Dowling

Location – Smithfield Borough Community Center, 14 Water St., Smithfield, PA 15478

Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

  • 11/03/2021: Concealed Carry Seminar – Rep. Jason Ortitay

Location – Collier Community Center, 5 Pvt Lobaugh Dr., Oakdale, PA 15071

Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

  • 11/4/2021 – Concealed Carry Seminar – Rep. Tim O’Neal

Location: North Franklin Volunteer Fire Company, 565 Sylvan Dr., Washington, PA, 15301

Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8 p.m.

  • 11/5/2021 – Concealed Carry Seminar – Rep. Bud Cook

Location: Monongahela Fire Department, 51 W. Main St., Monongahela, PA

Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8 p.m.

  • 12/07/2021 – Concealed Carry Seminar – Rep. Eric Nelson

Location – Word of Life Church, 4497 State Route 136 Greensburg, PA 15601

Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

  • 2/26/2022 – Concealed Carry Seminar – Ambridge District Sportsmen’s Assoc.

Location – ADSA Clubhouse, 2900 Ridge Road Extension, Baden PA, 15005

Time: 10 a.m. – 12:00 Noon

  • 4/07/2022 – Concealed Carry Seminar – Rep. Jason Silvis

Location – Huber Hall, 300 Alexandria Street, Latrobe, PA 15650

Time: 6 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

  • 4/28/2022 – Concealed Carry Seminar – Rep. Jason Silvis

Location – West Leechburg VFD Recreation Hall, 1116 Gosser Street, West Leechburg, PA 15656

Time: 6 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Overall Status of 2nd Amendment Legislation Filed to Date in PA and the US:

2021-2022 Session PA State Bills (updated)

  • Pro-Gun Bills: 25
  • Anti-Gun Bills: 75
  • Unrated (Watching): 12
  • Legislative (gun related) Memos: 121

2021-2022 Session Federal Bills (updated)

  • Pro-Gun Bills: 43
  • Anti-Gun Bills: 100
  • Unrated (Watching): 37

1st Point to Ponder: Academic Oppression & Rejection of American Heritage

Taylor Eighmy, president of the University of Texas, San Antonio (UTSA). Eighmy announced to the campus community on Sept. 7 that UTSA would no longer support the use of the phrase “Come and Take It” as an official rallying cry for the school’s football team or athletic department. “[W]e will identify the use of this phrase in our digital environment, in licensed merchandise, and in our buildings and playing fields, and will systematically and appropriately remove it,” Eighmy wrote.

The origins of the phrase “Come and take it” date back to at least 480 B.C. and the Battle of Thermopylae, when a Greek force led by King Leonidas I of Sparta used it as a retort to the demand of an exponentially larger force of invading Persians for surrender.

It also saw use in the American Revolutionary War, when Col. John McIntosh, commander of Fort Morris in Sunbury, Ga., used it in response to the demand of a larger British force to surrender the fort.

Images of the “Come and take it” flag have since become synonymous with standing up to overbearing authority in a variety of contexts.

2nd Point to Ponder: Heller Decision Declared that Carrying a Firearm in One’s Pocket was Constitutional

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court declared that the definition of bear arms is to “wear, bear, or carry . . . upon the person or in the clothing or in a pocket, for the purpose . . . of being armed and ready for offensive or defensive action in a case of conflict with another person.”  554 U.S. 570, 584 (2008) (citing Muscarello v. United States, 524 U.S. 125, 143 (1998)). Accordingly, it is our position that the Court already acknowledged that the conceal carrying of a firearm is part of the 2nd Amendment and therefore cannot be limited or restricted. (Page 10 of final decision)

CPRC Update from Dr. John Lott:

I had a long interview on Colion Noir's podcast that I thought went really well and covered a wide range of issues involving gun control. I think that you might find it of interest.

Research by people connected with the CPRC is dominating academic downloads. No other researcher or university or center has even a fraction of as many top crime papers as the Crime Prevention Research Center. Our papers on vote fraud and anti-fraud voting regulations in other countries have also gotten significant attention among political science rankings.

Our annual report on the number of concealed handgun permits has continued getting extensive news coverage at Yahoo! News, NewsMax, Breitbart, The Crime Report, and CNS News. I did radio interviews about the report on the Michigan Talk Network, the national Chosen Generation, and Armed American Radio. I was also interviewed on my report at Real Clear Investigations on why the media doesn't cover defensive gun uses and on my book "Gun Control Myths" on St. Louis' Giant KLJY radio station.

The CPRC's Nikki Goeser gave a talk at the Gun Rights Policy Conference discusses my experience working in the U.S. Department of Justice during the Trump administration.

With a new television season, we are again keeping track of the constant overwhelming political bias and misinformation against gun ownership and conservatives regarding crime. ABC's The Rookie had an episode demonizing 223 ammunition, bizarrely claiming that ammunition is the favorite of snippers. CBS's FBI: Most Wanted uses made-up footage of the January 6th Capitol "insurrection," with the "insurrectionists" engaged in a mass public shooting and using machine guns. But the bias isn't limited to just television entertainment shows. The new movie "Free Guy," while generally entertaining, has to slip in moralizing about the gun violence in the United States.

For information on activities at the Crime Prevention Research Center, here is a link to our “info deck.” Please view in full-screen mode and scroll using the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen.

But we need help getting this message out. If you have any friends who you think might find our emails of interest, please encourage them to sign up by sending them the link here

Thank you very much for all your support. We have some tough battles ahead, and I just want you to know how much your support has been greatly appreciated.

Original Research

Talks

Television/Podcasts

Radio interviews/Podcasts

Television Show Bias

Recent C-SPAN Appearances over the last couple of months

Other News

John R. Lott, Jr.

President
Crime Prevention Research Center
http://crimeresearch.org
johnrlott@crimeresearch.org
(484) 802-5373

Social Media Issues: John Stossel Sues Facebook for Defamation

Facebook is a private company. It has every right to cut me off.

But Facebook does not have the right to just lie about me, yet that’s exactly what Facebook and its “fact-checker” did. That’s defamation, and it’s just wrong.

My video this week shows videos that Facebook throttled.

The defamation started with the fact-checker, a group called Climate Feedback. It didn’t like that my video reported facts suggesting that government mismanagement probably played a bigger role in causing California’s wildfires than climate change.

. . . . . .

https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/09/29/facebook-smeared-me-with-its-fact-checking-now-im-suing-the-tech-giant/

Armed Citizen Report: Armed Citizen STOPS Lancaster PA Mall Shooting

A media release from the Lancaster Bureau of Police detailed the harrowing moments before the unnamed bystander stepped in.

According to the report, an unnamed 16-year-old male started shooting after engaging in a fight with another person. The teen, according to WGAL-TV, pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots.

At that point, the report noted, multiple people became involved in a struggle for the gun.

The legally armed bystander intervened and was able to hit the teen suspect, sending him to the ground.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/video-legally-armed-bystander-shuts-down-pennsylvania-mall-shooting

TOO Funny to Ignore: Quote of the Week

“So if I understand this, in [San Francisco] you need to show proof of vaccination to eat at In-N-Out… unless you shoplift the burger because then it would be illegal for anyone to stop you. The Hamburglar loophole.” —Frank J. Fleming

Law Enforcement Officers Speak Their Minds: ATF Fraud, Waste & Abuse Exposed by Whistleblowers at http://cleanupatf.org/forums/

From the site: “Managers, Counsel, Internal Affairs and staff of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (BATFE or “ATF”) have repeatedly given false testimony, concealed substantial waste, fraud and abuse, abused their lawful authority, and waged systematic campaigns of reprisal against their own employees that dare to speak out. This website is intended by members of the ATF community to promote restoration of integrity, accountability and responsibility to ATF’s leadership, and regain the trust of the American taxpayer.”

David Codrea covers even more Fraud & Waste in this article: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/10/atf-fraud-finally-recognized-by-national-media/#axzz79zMCAEzd

Self-Defense with a Twist:

https://www.theblaze.com/news/marine-veteran-thwarts-armed-robbery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhKdpKrF3xM

Founding Father’s Statement on Freedom:

"The great principles of right and wrong are legible to every reader; to pursue them requires not the aid of many counselors. The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest. Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail." - Thomas Jefferson (1775)

Forgotten American Heroes: Army Staff Sgt. Alvin P. Carey

The Allies faced fierce resistance as they worked to free France during World War II. During that push, Army Staff Sgt. Alvin P. Carey went on a one-man grenade-throwing spree to take out a German stronghold. He didn’t survive the ordeal, but his efforts helped his unit seize the day. For his sacrifice, he earned the Medal of Honor.

Read More: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/10/army-staff-sgt-alvin-p-carey-medal-of-honor-monday/#axzz78LURY8BV

How Freedom Dies: Is America Repeating Cultural Split Between Rome and Byzantine Empire?

In A.D. 286, the Roman emperor Diocletian split in half the huge Roman Empire administratively—and peacefully—under the control of two emperors.

A Western empire included much of modern-day Western Europe and northwest Africa. The Eastern half controlled Eastern Europe and parts of Asia and northeastern Africa.

Read More: https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/10/14/is-america-repeating-the-cultural-split-between-rome-and-the-byzantine-empire/

Closing Thoughts:

As president, Joe Biden is who he was as a candidate, and who he was as a vice president, and who he was as a U.S. senator before that. He’s a fraud.

 President Biden is not good ol’ folksy Joe. He’s not a political moderate. He’s not a defender of the American system of government. He’s a chameleon, whose only loyalties are to himself, to his party, and to wherever the loudest voices on the American left happen to be at any given time. We are now nine months into Joe Biden’s presidency, and he has already revealed himself to represent a substantial threat to the Constitution.

In addition to the above, the only reason government agencies currently appear to have authority, is because “we comply.”

When we comply with unlawful acts, we give them undeserved credibility. If we continue to do so then we will lose our rights and slip into tyranny. Thus, it is critical that we not comply, resist unlawful edicts made under color of law, and hold those committing the wrongful acts accountable.

Stay Free!

Kim Stolfer, President

**As a reminder, all FOAC members and, indeed, every gun owner can participate in the November 14, 2021 FOAC Monthly meeting from any PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android phone by clicking on the link below:

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android by Clicking the Link Below:

https://zoom.us/j/95869601854?pwd=K1lEVjk4MDBvcjdWOW40OTR4ZW8wZz09

Meeting ID: 958 6960 1854
Passcode: Sent Upon Your RSVP Request
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,95869601854#,,,,*755261# US (New York)
+13017158592,,95869601854#,,,,*755261# US (Washington DC)

Remember: FOAC is fiercely independent. We are not affiliated with, nor do we receive any money from, any national organizations. No sugar daddies. No New York billionaires. Memberships and individual donations are our only source of income.

Without ‘your’ help, and that of your friends, as a member – we will NOT be able to defend the 2nd Amendment. The more members we have committed to making a difference, the greater FOAC’s impact in the legislature. By working together and making our voices heard, not only can we show the billionaires and their lapdogs that they don’t stand a chance in Pennsylvania, we can push through legislation that further restores and protects our rights.