PA Sportsmen’s Association
PA Firearms Owners Association
May 24, 2010
***Gun Owner ALERT***
YOUR Right to Self Defense is on the line!
HELP Needed Gunowners!
Dear Thomas:
After six ‘long’ years, five pro-gun rally’s in Harrisburg and countless phone calls from you and your friends we are FINALLY to the point of forcing a vote on the Castle Doctrine - House Bill 40 – that will empower YOU to protect yourself and your family without fear of government and legal persecution and retribution! The Judiciary Committee will be voting on House Bill 40 on Tuesday, May 25th, at 10:00 a.m. in room G50 of the Irvis Office Building.
Federal crime statistics show – and media report reflect that, criminals are becoming bolder; home invasions are becoming more common and our law enforcement officers are being murdered on our urban streets by recidivist offenders.
To add insult to injury, those who “successfully” defend themselves and in the process cause injury to the criminal, become the target of a civil lawsuit! If you or someone in your family is attacked by a criminal, House Bill 40 would afford immunity from civil suits involving the use of force.
“Stand your ground” legislation has been enacted in 23 states over the last several years and 18 of them have “No Duty to Retreat” provisions. It is long past due for Pennsylvania citizens to have the same statutory protections! Under House Bill 40 citizens will have no legal duty to retreat when confronted by armed criminals. It grants citizens the authority to stop a crime when it places them in danger of serious bodily harm or death.
One of the major – AND FALSE - objections to enactment of House Bill 40 is that it will grant a license to kill. HB 40 has been specifically crafted so there are no allowances for criminal intent. Any illegal activity on the part of the property owner or legal resident nullifies HB 40 protections nor does it allow “a shoot first ask questions later mentality”.
Currently there are 128 House members who are sponsoring / co-sponsoring House Bill 40. The following are “House Judiciary members” who you need to contact. The 1st group of Judiciary Committee members either opposes or has taken no position on House Bill 40. The 2nd Group of Committee members support enactment of House Bill 40– more than half of the members.
***PLEASE focus your contact efforts on the 12 Judiciary Committee Members below:
House Judiciary Committee Members who are “NOT” HB 40 Co-Sponsors:
State Rep. Thomas Caltagirone (D-127) (717) 787-3525 Email
State Rep. Kathy Manderino (D-194) (717) 787-1254 Email
State Rep. Paul Drucker (D-157) (717) 705-2003 Email - Twitter
State Rep. Bryan Lentz (D-161) (717) 787-8574 Email - Twitter
State Rep. Josh Shapiro (D-153) (717) 783-7619 Email - Twitter
State Rep. Greg Vitali (D-166) (717) 787-7647 Email
State Rep. Chelsa Wagner (D-22) (717) 783-1582 Email - Twitter
State Rep. Ronald Waters (D-191) (717) 772-9850 Email
State Rep. Ron Marsico (R-105) (717) 783-2014
State Rep. Mike Vereb (R-150) (717) 705-7164 Twitter
State Rep. Will Gabig (R-199) (717) 772-2280
State Rep. Bernie O'Neill (R-29) (717) 705-7170 Email
***Please THANK the Reps below for their support! The (4) ‘RED’ highlighted Reps went the extra distance for us on HB 40 by signing a letter of support to bring HB 40 up for a vote. Please include an extra thank you for them!
House Judiciary Committee Members (16) who ‘ARE’ HB 40 Co-Sponsors:
Rep. Joseph F. Brennan (D) jbrennan@pahouse.net (717) 772-9902
Rep. James E. Casorio (D) jcasorio@pahouse.net (717) 783-3483
Rep. Dom Costa (D) dcosta@pahouse.net (717) 783-9114
Rep. Thomas Creighton (R) tcreight@pahousegop.com (717) 772-5290
Rep. Glen Grell (R) ggrell@pahousegop.com (717) 783-2063
Rep. Kate Harper (R) kharper@pahousegop.com (717) 787-2801
Rep. Tim Krieger (R) tkrieger@pahousegop.com (717) 260-6146
Rep. Deberah Kula (D) dkula@pahouse.net (717) 772-1858
Rep. John Pallone (D) jpallone@pahouse.net (717) 783-1819
Rep. Joseph Petrarca (D) jpetrarc@pahouse.net (717) 787-5142
Rep. Todd Rock (R) trock@pahousegop.com (717) 783-5218
Rep. Richard Stevenson (R) rstevens@pahousegop.com (717) 783-6438
Rep. Katie True (R) ktrue@pahousegop.com (717) 705-7161
Rep. Jesse White (D) jwhite@pahouse.net (717) 783-6437
PAFOA has made available contact options that are even easier to make your voice heard as we KNOW that gun control groups will be involved in this fight to stop this legislation. Make sure you voice is heard! Call, e-mail, or even tweet - just make sure your voice is heard!
« Show support for Castle Doctrine on Twitter with two clicks! »
Anti-Gun Legislation ALSO on the Judiciary Committee Agenda:
To pander to anti-gun groups like CeaseFire PA, on Tuesday, May 25, certain leaders on the House Judiciary Committee will consider three anti-gun bills sponsored by State Representative W. Curtis Thomas (D-181) that place additional burdens and restrictions on the ownership, possession, transportation and use of firearms. Once again we are being faced with the same tired old recommendations that will do nothing to reduce the level of violent crime in the urban centers throughout this Commonwealth.
The sponsor and co-sponsors of each of these bills – Thomas, Josephs, O’Brien, Youngblood and Payton continually introduce, and support, legislation that will take away your freedoms and are part of the Philadelphia contingent who refuses to target career criminals who misuse guns.
It is a sad fact that in many cases we lock up criminally misused firearms longer than we do the criminals who misuse them.
House Bill 1043 this legislation is a takeoff of the old concept known as a "gun bounty program". It will give average people the ‘power’ to complain about guns thereby initiating investigations by the Atty. Gen.'s office which will have the authority to act ‘independently’ from other law enforcement agencies. There is no standard or definition as to what "illegal firearms trafficking" actually is for the purposes of initiating an investigation. The language of most concern is reproduced below:
(c) Duties of Attorney General.--The Attorney General or his designee shall:
(1) Receive complaints from individuals concerning illegal firearms trafficking.
(2) Investigate and assist in county prosecutions relating to illegal firearms trafficking and, as necessary, coordinate with Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies in the investigation of similar crimes.
Passage of this bill would, arguably, establish yet another anti-gun biased bureaucratic agency within the state government.
House Bill 1044 this is a naked attempt to empower local officials to erase portions of our Constitution in their own municipality. At the heart of this whole concept is eliminating our ‘right to keep and bear arms’, ending preemption and, for all intents and purposes, that is the goal of this legislation. Without a state preemption law, the result would be a complex patchwork quilt of gun laws and ownership restrictions that change from one local jurisdiction to the next.
This bill is completely unacceptable and we oppose it unequivocally!
House Bill 1045 this legislation is, quite simply, another ‘assault weapon’ ban that purports to resurrect the bias and prejudice against gun ownership based on dangerous ‘cosmetic’ features.
It is important to point out that despite what you have been told or may have heard it is no mistake that Pennsylvania is graded by the anti-gun organizations as being the 10th most restrictive state in the nation for gun ownership. We have scores of problems with PA gun laws and these ‘current’ laws can be devastating if you run afoul of these ‘reasonable’ restrictions placed on your freedoms!
The Following Gun Rights Organizations “OPPOSE” HB1043 and HB1044 and HB1045
Allegheny County Sportsmen's League (ACSL), Gun Owners of America (GOA),
National Rifle Association (NRA), OpenCarry.org,
PA Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs (PFSC), PA Firearm Owners Association (PAFOA),
PA Gun Collectors Association (PGCA), PA Gun Owners Association (PGOA),
PA Rifle and Pistol Association (PR&PA), PA Sportsmen's Association (PSA),
PA State Fish & Game Protective Association, Philadelphia Federation of Sportsmen's Club,
Second Amendment Sisters (SAS), The Firearms Coalition,
The Pink Pistols, Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania (USP),
**Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC) the largest gun owners Political Action Committee (PAC) in Pennsylvania will record any support for House Bills 1043, 1044, and 1045, now or in the future, as a vote that is hostile to the rights of gun owners.
Deepest Appreciation,
Kim Stolfer Harry Schneider
Legislative Committee, Chairman Legislative Committee, Chairman
Allegheny County Sportsmen's League Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Assoc.
E-Mail -- activist@fyi.net psa@pagunlaws.com
(412) 221-3346, Home Phone
