PA House Hearings on 'Gun Violence' in Erie, PA

[Mtbkski]

Well, I took a day off of work and attended the meeting in Pittsburgh today. Not much of a turn out. Only about 20 people there. Most of them in suits. I felt a bit under dressed

The big wigs all introduced themselves. and off we went.

Started out with two different speakers telling stories about loved ones they had lost because of some maniac with a gun. And the need for better control. (At this point, I thought I knew where this was going)

The next couple of speakers were the Pittsburgh Attorney General ( think that was his title)
A Pittsburgh Cop who works gun sales (illegal) for both state and federal boys thru the BATF.
A spokesmen from the Allegheny Sportsman's Club ( http://www.acslpa.org/ ). He was very well prepared and has testified in court on numerous occasions on behalf of pro-handguns and firearms. (Kim Stolfer)
A local businessman from one of the Gun Shops in Pitts. (Think it was ACE's)
The warden of the Allegheny County Jail
Some Dr. who advocates fixing people, not guns.
And a couple other people in suits.

All in all. I would have to say that it went in our favor. It started out sounding like it was going to be a Anti-Assault Weapon, Buy one Gun a Month Only club and I thought that we were about to take a beating in this room.

Speaker after speaker spoke and a funny thing happened. They all said the same thing. Gun Control was not the answer. It has been tried, it don't work, so lets find another way to fix it. WOW, wasn't expecting that.

The main topics turned into
1) Buying Illegal guns. Buying more than one gun a month. Why would someone want to do this. STRAW BUYS. (People buying guns and selling them illegally to those that can't purchase a firearm legally.)
2) Making it a crime not to report a firearm that is stolen.
3) Registration (Not a lot on this)

I did get to say a few words. Identified myself as a member of PAFOA and basically told them that I believed that any good gun owner would gladly support any bill that places the blame where it belongs. On those using the firearms illegally. I was glad to hear that people are realizing that guns are not the problem. That it is the individuals.

ISSUE: PURCHASE ONE HANDGUN A MONTH
I told them that we do not support any bill that would limit purchasing one firearm a month. This would only keep the law abiding citizen from purchasing firearms. I used an example that the non-gunners that were up front should be able to refer to. I explained that by doing so, If I purchased a handgun for my daughter to use to shoot with me today. And the gentleman that owns the gun shop (that was there), had a sale the following week, (and yes, gun shops have sales too. They are a business, just like Wal-Mart). Then I wouldn't be able to buy myself the handgun that I wanted that he placed on sale that week, since I had already purchased one. This was infringing on my rights as customer, to make a purchase of an item that I should be able to buy. (maybe it was too simplistic, but it seemed to work. The one lady up front who acknowledge that she didn't know much about firearms, nodded when I said this and I could see that this point made sense to her. )

ISSUE: MAKE IT A CRIME TO NOT REPORT YOUR PISTOL AS STOLENShe then asked me if my firearm was stolen from my house would I report it. I said, " Your darn right I would. I want my pistol back. And the police are the ones most likely to do that". She smiled. I then told her that I felt that most law abiding citizens would surely report a firearm as stolen if they knew it was missing.

End of my speech.

They discussed some issues I brought up for a while. So, I felt like they had actually listened to me.

Lots more was discussed. But this is the highlights.

I talked to Kim Stolfer afterwords (represented Firearm Owners Against Crime www.foac-pac.org and the Outdoor club I mentioned). Introduced myself and we talked. He told me to watch how I answer the question about reporting a firearm as stolen. They can take that and twist it to their advantage.

I passed out a couple cards from the PAFOA that I had made up so they could find our web page.

All in all. I thought we (pro gunners) did very well. Almost every speaker, and I do mean almost every one of them, stressed that gun control was not the answer. But laws against those that abuse firearms was. I walked out feeling that we had won this little battle. And, to tell you the truth. I didn't expect it to turn out that way.

[Lougotzz]

This is good news. I would make this point to all PA gun owners now. If we are lucky to defeat these bill I would suggest we get on the offensive. We must actively get these elected officials to do real crime stopping measures in this state. If we dont they will eventually turn to gun control to show the people they are doing something. The crime of gangs in parts of this state as well as philly will eventually hurt our sport. I cant think of crime getting so out of hand and they revoke all LTCF permits. If that was the case I couldnt live here anymore. We will need to organize.

[Brick]

Glad you could attend and thank you for a very upbeat report!

It certainly will be intersting to see how things work out as this progresses.

Looking at my copy of the schedule, I see the Hearing's host is shown as Rep. Dan Frankel and if I remember correctly he was one of the co-sponsors of some of the bills we're trying to defeat. I sure hope he got the message!

By way of a reminder, tomorrow March 29 has 2 hearings scheduled: Reading hosted by
Rep. Thomas Caltagirone Judiciary Committee Chairman at City Hall 9:30 A. M.! This one should really be interesting! Chester (Delaware Cnty) Community Hospital 2:00 P. M.

[ChamberedRound]

Mtbkski,

A personal "Thank You" for attending the P-burg meeting, and nice work!

[Justin]

Thanks for attending!

It sounds like it went very well. I wish I could have gone, but I had to work.

Thats 2 consecutive meetings that seem to have gone really well.
The low turnout stinks, but the time of the meeting played a big part in that.

[rwilson452]

I will add my thanks for your attendance. There isn't going to be any of these dog and pony shows anywhere near me. It attend any of them would require an overnighter. I'm not willing to go that far.

If the rest of the meetings go the way the two reported on do, it will not stop them from trying to pass these onerous bills. I will prevent them from getting any serious support out of them. They will no doubt try to spin it that way. I have serious doubts that that will fly. As to the passage of those bills, "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings." we have a long fight on our hands. Keep sending those letters. I would suggest after a time. do it again. often the staffers don't keep track of who sent it just if they are in their area. All that reaches the politcian in question is numbers.

[CKeen]

I attended the Wilkes-Barre meeting on March 16th, but haven't had time since to write. Basically, things went the same as the others I've read, with one exception.

After I presented my 15 page testemony on the absence of "Gun Violence" in Northeast PA, the County Commissioner, the Former County DA, and two Chiefs of Police (Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport) all stood and announced the fact that they are members of the NRA, and privately own firearms for self defence.

It was low turnout, but everyone that showed was on the same page, and needless to say the meeting broke up quickly after that. (Due to the "snow")

By the way, I think Rep. Mundy doesn't like me any more. Should I be hurt? Nah!!!

[Brick]

Hey CKeen, Thanks heaps! I had hopes of attending that one but missed because of the snow.

[Mtbkski]

Don't you love it, when those that the politicians always claim are for "Gun Control" stand up and make a statement like they did. I really can't figure out why it is taking so long to sink into their heads that the average citizen is not in favor of gun control at all. But is interested in seeing the laws on the books enforced.

Glad you made the hearings. Good job braving the weather.

[D-FENS]

The low turnout was probably also due, in part to the State listing the wrong address for the forum. Not to mention during the day, during the week at a location with little to no parking...