PA Bill Number: SB945
Title: Consolidating the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code; and making repeals.
Description: Consolidating the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code; and making repeals. ...
Last Action: Third consideration and final passage (199-0)
Last Action Date: Apr 17, 2024
FOAC's Weekly Message For Sunday October 20th 2019 :: 10/20/2019
Democrat Presidental Debates appear to be ‘all’ about Trashing the Constitution (so much for their ‘Oath of Office’) and this was on full display in Tuesday night’s Democrat presidential debate in Westerville, Ohio, featured 12 candidates. That’s the most crowded debate stage in presidential primary history, but one designed to complete their collective constituency voter strategy in the general campaign. The three-hour spectacle was full of lies, divisive politics, and unconstitutional proposals. As is our custom, we’ll digest a few of the lowlights. (Full transcript here.)
Political Feeding Frenzy Shifts Focus to the new frontrunner
Elizabeth Warren has steadily rallied support in the polls, even overtaking Joe Biden in several of late. That means she was finally attacked by almost every other candidate. The most effective attacks were over her incessant refusal to admit that middle-class taxes will go up to fund her version of Bernie Sanders’s $32 trillion Medicare for All.
“Costs will go up for the wealthy and for big corporations,” Warren repeated, then saying “for hard-working middle-class families, costs will go down.”. . . . SAY WHAT??? Is this Voodoo math?
Gun Confiscation (Something the Democrats used to say they would NEVER do)
The September Democrat debate featured O'Rourke’s outrageous call for gun confiscation. Last night’s follow-up showed him backing off just a tad. If a law-abiding citizen refuses to turn in his semiautomatic rifle, or, he said, “brings it out in public and brandishes it in an attempt to intimidate — as we saw when we were at Kent State recently — then that weapon will be taken from them.”
Memo to Beto: It wasn’t citizens with guns doing the shooting at Kent State.
“If they persist,” he continued, “there will be other consequences from law enforcement,” though he claimed he expects Americans will “do the right thing” and that “we don’t go door-to-door for any other laws in this country; we’re not doing it here.” Unconstitutional laws like gun confiscation should hold no sway over Americans in any case. But Beto also said if a citizen didn’t submit to a “buyback,” “there would be a visit by law enforcement to recover that firearm.” Uh, there are 16 million such rifles in the nation, so good luck with that.
Other candidates disagreed with O'Rourke only because his proposal is politically bad. According to Buttigieg, “We are this close to an assault-weapons ban,” and O'Rourke shouldn’t mess it up. Klobuchar agreed: “I just keep thinking of how close we are to finally getting something done on this.”
Memo to Demos: We’re not close to another ineffective and unconstitutional ban on the cosmetically different rifles euphemistically and inaccurately known as “assault weapons.”
As with the Constitution, Democrats are decidedly not driven by any patriotic interest or adherence to their Constitutional Oath of Office, but rather partisan divisiveness and ‘big brother’ government. Gun Control is inherently political, and these attempts are even more so than previous ones. Let’s remember that the so-called epidemic of gun violence must be over because the political ‘soup-of-the-day’ is now impeachment and Ukraine. What was that mantra, IF it saves one life?
Rally for the Second Amendment-November 2nd-Washington DC
Gun owners, rights activists, and lovers of liberty will be gathering on the lawn of the Capitol in Washington DC on Saturday, November 2nd, 2019, at 1:00 in the afternoon.
If you live within 200 miles of DC, there is little excuse for missing this critical event, and many people who live much farther away will be doing whatever it takes to be there.
The currently listed speakers are:
- Eric Blandford (IV8888)
- Craig Deluz (FPC)
- Dianna Muller (DC Project)
- Jonathan Patton (TGC)
- Mike Sodini (WTTA)
- Chris Cheng (Topshot)
- Joshua Prince (Lawyer)
- Erich Pratt (GOA)
- Kevin Dixie (NOC)
- Kenn Blanchard (Black Man with a Gun)
- Gabby Franco (competitive shooter)
- Cheryl Todd (Gun Freedom Radio)
- Matt Larosiere (Firearms Policy Coalition)
- Maj Toure (Black Guns Matter)
- Rob Pincus (2nd Amendment Organization)
- Jeff Knox (Firearms Coalition)
- Anthony Colandro (Gun For Hire)
This is a grassroots effort, and you are the grassroots. Without the active participation of you and other grassroots activists, this isn’t going to work. At the recent Gun Rights Policy Conference, activist Nicki Stallard characterized the difference between rights activists and gun control extremists, saying that we’re herding cats, while they are stampeding cattle. That’s pretty accurate, though I think sheep or lemmings would be more appropriate in describing anti-rights activists.
WE are the Gun Lobby. We can no longer let someone else do it for us, or say “I gave at the office.” It’s up to You. You must communicate with your elected servants – whether they agree with you or not – and be sure that they know what you expect from them. You must help elect politicians that understand and respect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. You must be sure that your family, your friends, your coworkers, your church family, your kids’ friends and their parents, all know the importance of the Second Amendment and the fallacy of gun control laws.
You don’t have to be a scholar or an expert, but you do need to do what you can. Politicians don’t actually read your letters and emails, nor do they get detailed notes about your phone calls. The majority of the time, a low-level staffer looks at your correspondence and puts a check-mark in a “For” or “Against” column, which is then relayed to the politician in the form of a report: “362 constituent comments opposing Bill xyz, 48 supporting it.” That’s it. So find a couple of resources you trust to keep you up-to-date on what’s going on in Washington and your state capitol, and when they ask you to take action, take action – every time they ask. And call your elected servants once a week to make sure your check-mark is counted.
Anti-rights extremists think they have the upper hand right now because of the troubles at the NRA and the public’s emotional reaction to the horrific acts of a few murderous lunatics. Those anti-rights extremists are counting on you to shuffle around in circles wringing your hands and wondering what to do.
Even some in our own movement are more concerned about how it might look if only a few rights activists show up at the Capitol on November 2nd. What a self-defeating attitude. They’re not going to attend or encourage others to attend because there might not be enough people in attendance to make a good showing…? Get on-board or get out of the way. Call that defeatist attitude out for what it is.
Still others argue that they won’t attend because the laws of the District insist that they be disarmed, and they refuse to do that. I get that, I truly do. I well know the discomfort of “going naked,” especially in “enemy territory.” If such fears don’t deter Representative Steve Scalise, they shouldn’t deter you.
The core message of the 2nd Amendment Rally, is “We Are the Gun Lobby,” as in “We the People,” and we demand that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights be respected and adhered to. The speakers list is above, and President Trump, Vice President Pence, Representative Scalise, Representative Massie, Senator Paul, and other congressional leaders have been invited, to join with grassroots rights leaders and activists from around the country.
Are you going to be there, or are you going to come up with an excuse?
It all comes down to YOU and what you’re willing to do. Get three buddies and plan a road-trip, or better yet, get six buddies and borrow your wife’s minivan. Or even better, get forty or fifty buddies and charter a bus. Push your groups to be involved, and volunteer to help. You can make all the difference.
This could be the most important Second Amendment event of our lifetime. Only You can ensure that it’s a success. Go to www.2ndAmendmentRally.com to register and get more information.
Together we can shake up Washington and save the republic. Let’s roll.
**HEARING ALERT: PA House/Senate State Government Committees to Hold a Hearing on Convention of States Resolution HR 206
Not far from where the Union and Confederate armies had their epic battle on Gettysburg farmland, on Tuesday the Pennsylvania House/Senate State Government committees will hold a joint hearing on the call for an Article V Convention of States. FOAC will be submitting testimony again in Harrisburg in opposition to this dangerous trojan horse.
FACT SHEET on COS Claims: https://foac-pac.org/uploads/talking_points/HR-0206-False-Claims-Article-V-Convention.pdf
It’s odd that the dark money unsuccessfully pushing for the Convention of States would target Pennsylvania. It does have symbolic significance due to how the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in 1787. But then there were real leaders like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison, and as Eagle Forum’s Phyllis Schlafly once quipped, “I don’t see any George Washingtons or James Madisons today, and I’m concerned about people who think they're them!”
The hearing on HR 206 is on Oct. 22, at 9am, in Room B-31. If this is like last year when we demolished the other side, then the hearing room will be packed by people who start out on the other side and end up with us. After striking out completely last year in passing Convention of States anywhere, and then resorting to back room pressure to pass it in three small states his year, their effort on Tuesday should be no more successful than Pickett’s Charge.
Please try to be there to stand strong on the Constitution!
PA Anti-Gun Group - GunSenseUs - Pressures PA Sheriffs ‘AND’ Sheriff Candidates to Break the Law & Expose Citizens with Concealed Carry Licenses’ Personal Info
Several Sheriff Candidates have already contacted FOAC to ask about this mailing from the anti-gun group – GunSenseUs – demanding that they sign a pledge to contact ‘references’ for EVERYONE applying for a LTCF (License to Carry Firearms).
The Problem?
References are NOT legal and are a construct of the PA State Police and, as such, would be an ‘illegal’ disclosure of confidential gun owner information! Further, according to attorney Joshua Prince of the Prince Law Offices, GunSenseUs is pressuring elected Sheriffs, ‘and’ candidates for Sheriff, into contacting references of people who apply for a license to carry in Pennsylvania.
GunSenseUs is an anti-gun group whose stated mission “is to foster community well-being by seeking common-sense solutions that recognize ALL citizens’ rights and responsibilities,” capitalization is their emphasis.
Says Josh Prince:
It recently came to my attention that GunSenseUS – in direct violation of Pennsylvania law – is threatening in a two page letter to send press releases to local papers, if PA Sheriffs do not agree to disclose confidential license to carry firearms (“LTCF”) applicant information.
Pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. 6111(g)(3.1), in pertinent part:
Any person … who knowingly and intentionally obtains or furnishes information collected or maintained pursuant to section 6109 for any purpose other than compliance with this chapter or who knowingly or intentionally disseminates, publishes or otherwise makes available such information to any person other than the subject of the information commits a felony of the third degree
Thereafter, 18 Pa.C.S. 6111(i) provides, in pertinent part:
Confidentiality.–All information provided by the … applicant, including, but not limited to, the … applicant’s name or identity, furnished by … any applicant for a license to carry a firearm as provided by section 6109 shall be confidential and not subject to public disclosure. In addition to any other sanction or penalty imposed by this chapter, any person, … State or local governmental agency or department that violates this subsection shall be liable in civil damages in the amount of $1,000 per occurrence or three times the actual damages incurred as a result of the violation, whichever is greater, as well as reasonable attorney fees
See PA Law Below:
18 Pa.C.S. 6111(i) reads:
Any person … who knowingly and intentionally obtains or furnishes information collected or maintained pursuant to section 6109 for any purpose other than compliance with this chapter or who knowingly or intentionally disseminates, publishes or otherwise makes available such information to any person other than the subject of the information commits a felony of the third degree
18 Pa.C.S. 6111(g)(3.1) reads:
Confidentiality.–All information provided by the … applicant, including, but not limited to, the … applicant's name or identity, furnished by … any applicant for a license to carry a firearm as provided by section 6109 shall be confidential and not subject to public disclosure. In addition to any other sanction or penalty imposed by this chapter, any person, … State or local governmental agency or department that violates this subsection shall be liable in civil damages in the amount of $1,000 per occurrence or three times the actual damages incurred as a result of the violation, whichever is greater, as well as reasonable attorney fees.
In an article in Lehigh Valley Live (4/21/2013), PSP Capt. Scott Price said, “While character references are included on the applications, they are not specifically required under the law”! Now ask yourself precisely how the PSP has gotten away with ‘adding’ (expanding) requirements to the application for an LTCF when the law doesn’t specifically provide for it? Didn’t Capt. Price just say that requirement is not legal?? So NOW this anti-gun group GunSenseUs is demonstrating their ignorance that they do NOT know what is legal and what isn’t as well as this ignorance is laying the groundwork for a conspiracy to violate PA law!
Atty. Prince is asking anyone who had their private information disclosed or had a sheriff ask for more information than required for a license to carry firearms to contact the Firearms Industry Consulting group to discuss their rights and legal options. Candidates for office should also be made aware of the illegality of this demand by this anti-gun group.
FOAC reached out to GunSenseUs for clarification on their illegal demands on Facebook. Although the group saw our message, they refused to respond.
See this link for more: https://foac-pac.org/Gunsenseus-Threatening-Pa-Sheriffs-If-They-Dont-Disclose-Confidential-License-To-Carry-Firearms-Applicant-Information/News-Item/10322
Have a DUI? Give up your 2nd Amendment According to Anti-Gunner Bloomberg’s Propaganda Ministers
“The combination of guns and alcohol is especially dangerous, and far too little has been done to address it,” the Bloomberg Opinion Editorial Board hyperventilates. “Federal law doesn’t restrict access to guns by people with a history of alcohol abuse, and fewer than half of U.S. states impose prohibitions of this kind.”
You see where this is going. And to prove how “evidence-based” their conclusion of heightened danger is, the Bloombergians cite a 2013 “report” by “a consortium of leading researchers,” comprised of unbiased, honest brokers such as Lori Haas, Josh Horwitz, and Garen Wintemute.
No agenda in that “science”…?????????????
Then the editors cited a more recent “study,” one claiming “Handgun purchasers with a prior DUI have a greater risk for serious violence…”
“Our study suggests that handgun purchasers with a DUI conviction on their record at the time of purchase have a higher incidence of future violence and crime compared to purchasers without DUI convictions,” author/contributor Rose Kagawa asserts.
“Suggests”? The title claims it’s a done deal. And these people want disarmament edicts enacted based on suggestions? And their data is based on “arrests,” not “convictions”? Hey, that seems “good” enough for Red Flag Laws.
‘Big Gulp’ Anti-Gunner Michael Bloomberg ‘May’ Run for President Reports Say
Several news agencies are reporting that billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who now uses his wealth to support the gun prohibition lobby, is apparently considering a run for president in 2020, “is if (former Vice President Joe) Biden’s fortunes suffer so much that he drops out before or during the early stages of the primary,” according to CNBC.
The former NYC mayor, who has weaponized his wealth to help bankroll gun control politicians and ballot measures including two initiatives in Washington State, reportedly “has indicated to associates in recent weeks that Joe Biden’s recent struggles against Sen. Elizabeth Warren are making him rethink his decision to stay out of the 2020 Democratic primary,” CNBC reported.
It apparently depends upon whether Biden, who is currently vigorously defending himself and his son amid assertions of inappropriate business dealings by the younger Biden in China and Ukraine. Hunter Biden hit back Tuesday in an exclusive ABC interview.
ABC is currently wiping egg off its face after being caught using footage of a nighttime weapons demonstration at the Knob Creek gun range in Kentucky, and calling it news footage from a battle between Kurds and Turkish forces.
With the election just under 13 months away, all gun rights groups are scrambling to encourage every gun owner to register to vote. Chances are, if Trump is to keep the White House and Republicans hope to re-take the House and retain the Senate, they’re going to need every gun vote they can muster.
Concealed Carry Permits Jump 8% in 2019 to Nearly 19 MILLION in US
Last week, Dr. John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center released “Concealed Carry Permit Holders Across the United States: 2019,” his annual report on the number of concealed carry permit holders in the U.S.
Dr. Lott’s summary delivers a key finding:
“In 2019, the number of concealed handgun permits soared to now over 18.66 million – a 304% increase since 2007. About an 8% growth over the number of permits since 2018.”
Let that sink in. More than 18.66 million Americans hold a permit to lawfully carry a concealed firearm to protect themselves and their loved ones. That number does not include the increasing number of states in which one does NOT require a permit to legally carry a firearm.
Some states provide permit holder data by gender and race. “Among those states, women averaged 26.5% of permit holders – a half of one percentage point increase over 2018.” The increase in female permit holders outpaced the increase in male permit holders across the same time period – and the number of African American permit holders increased faster than the number of white permit holders. Lott reports that, in Texas, the number of black permit holders has grown more than twice as quickly as the number of white permit holders. Within states that provide data by both gender and race, black female permit holders was the fastest growing population.
Dr. Lott further reports, “The rates of permit holding among American Indian, Asian, black, and white females all grew much faster than the rates for males in those racial groups.”
Besides being an increasingly diverse group, permit holders continue to prove that they are law-abiding citizens. Lott presents permit revocation rates to demonstrate. The highest revocation rate listed is 0.72% in Connecticut; only one other state (Maryland) is even above 0.5%. To be clear, that is less than one percent of permit holders and, as Lott notes;
“Most of these rates include revocations for any reason, including people moving out of the state, and for the states where the revocation rates are higher than hundredths of a percentage point are due to residency revocations.”
Efforts to demonize law-abiding gun owners will only increase as politicians get desperate for attention from a fawning media. They will ignore that crime rates have fallen, that the number of permit holders has increased, and that criminals don’t follow laws. Sounds like common sense.
Efficacy of Armed Resistance – Quote from Dr. Lott's Book More Guns Less Crime (3rd Edition)
While resistance is generally associated with higher probabilities of serious injury to the victim, not all types of resistance are equally risky. By examining the data provided from 1979 to 1987 by the Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey," Lawrence Southwick, confirming earlier estimates by Gary Kleck, found that the probability of serious injury from an attack is 25 times greater for women offering no resistance than for women resisting with a gun. In contrast, the probability or women being seriously injured was almost 4 times greater when resisting without a gun than when resisting with a gun. In other words, the best advice is to resist with a gun, but if no gun is available, it is better to offer no resistance than to fight.
Men also fare better with guns, but the benefits are substantially smaller. Behaving passively is 1.4 times more likely to result in serious injury than resisting with a gun. Male victims, like females, also run the greatest risk when they resist without a gun, yet the difference is again much smaller:
Safety & Security Myths - Germany Synagogue Shooting Reveals the Lie of Government Protection
In the town of Halle, Germany, 10/9/2019, a single perpetrator (ignoring Germany’s oppressive gun laws) fired several shots at the locked door of a local synagogue in an apparent attempt to enter and massacre worshipers inside who were observing the Yom Kippur Holiday.
Fortunately, the locked door held, and the suspect was unable to gain entry.
The suspect then wandered about outside, firing multiple shots, at least two of which were fatal, one at a bystander near a nearby Jewish cemetery, and one customer at an adjacent restaurant.
Both victims were dead at the scene.
The killer filmed his own shooting escapade, much as did the shooter in the Christchurch, New Zealand incident earlier this year.
He was heard to say, in English, “Jews are responsible for the world’s problems,” or words to that effect
The killer was arrested without incident and is currently in police custody.
Media reports indicate he had an arsenal of homemade weapons and even grenades. Among the guns that the killer made was a machine gun that appears to be based on blueprint designed by Philip Luty.
Lessons:
1) This shooting rampage went on for over thirty-five minutes, in the middle of the day, in a highly-public neighborhood of a developed city in modern-day Germany, and during this thirty-five-minute window, the suspect was never confronted, by police, by security personnel, by anyone.
“Instantaneous police response” to theses kinds of incidents is mostly myth, as we see. In the New Zealand incident, we saw largely the same thing.
2) Jewish parishioners inside the building, forcibly disarmed by the German government, were the only ones in a position to react, but had no means to mount an effective response.
3) Locked doors work! Had this terrorist been able to gain entry, the death toll would surely have been much higher than it was.
4) Armed felons are not confined to the USA. Even in countries like Germany, where the private ownership of guns (much less the carrying of guns) is all but legally impossible, terrorists seem to have no problem becoming armed.
5) You’re on your own, no matter where you find yourself.
“Security” is a myth.
“Police protection” is a myth.
“Crime statistics” are mostly myth, and irrelevant to the individua.
“The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie–deliberate, contrived and dishonest–but the myth–persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.” ~ John F Kennedy
VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Presidential Candidate Beto O’Rourke defends his proposal to confiscate Assault Weapons from law abiding citizens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKPD98NmRuE
Quote of the Week: Read more: “There's no way to rule innocent men,” novelist and Objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand wrote. “The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”
1st Point to Ponder: Who remembers, in addition to declaring a shoestring to be a machinegun, the time ATF ruled Chore Boy pot scrubber pads were NFA firearms? Or Airsoft guns being seized because the agent who tried to insert a magazine backward insisted “With minimal work, it could be converted to a machine gun”?
2nd Point to Ponder: Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin’s head of secret police, chillingly said:
“Show me the man and I'll find you the crime.”
3rd Point to Ponder: “A California man sold illegal AR-15s,” CNN Wire Service reported Saturday. “Feds agreed to let him go free to avoid hurting gun control efforts.”
“For more than a year, Joseph Roh illegally manufactured AR-15-style rifles in a warehouse south of Los Angeles,” the report explains. “But five years after raiding his business and indicting him, federal authorities quietly cut a deal with Roh earlier this year and agreed to drop the charges.”
[Ed. Note: How the hell are citizens supposed to know what they can do vs. what will result in their lives being destroyed?]
Founding Father’s Statement on Freedom: "In disquisitions of every kind there are certain primary truths, or first principles, upon which all subsequent reasoning must depend." - Alexander Hamilton (1788)
Yours in Freedom!
Kim Stolfer, President
As a reminder, every gun owner can participate in the October 13, 2019 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: https://zoom.us/j/363424497
One-tap Mobile: US: +19292056099,,363424497# US (New York)
Dial by location: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 363 424 497
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/adSioEAVyf
