Carry Permits “Get Out Of Jail Free” According to Brian Lentz

I have my issues with Pat Meehan, and the Meehan family (who run the Philly GOP), but we have to make sure Brian Lentz goes down to stinging defeat. Statements like this are part of the reason:

“So they essentially get a ‘get-out-of-jail free’ card when they’re stopped carrying a loaded firearm.  They produce a Florida permit and our local law enforcement must honor that which is unacceptable given the arrest record and the background of many of these individuals.”

See, you get out of jail free, because you flash a legal license. Everyone knows, of course, the default for carrying a gun should be to go to jail.

He says the Sunshine State is less strict when it comes to handing out permits, looking only at convictions and not a person’s character.

The Sunshine State is not less strict. They require training, fingerprinting, and a 120 dollar application fee. So far they can point to one bozo out of thousands in the Commonwealth who have Florida licenses. Most Florida license holders, including myself, also have PA LTCs, and only retain Florida’s CWL for expanded recognition from other states.

Philadelphia sure does look at a person’s character though. Unpaid parking tickets? Well, no, you can’t have a permit. What kind of person owes the City of Philadelphia money? Had a gun stolen once? Well, we can’t have you exercising your right to bear arms. You’re not a suitable person.

The UFA, namely the Amendments of Act 17, were supposed to make Philadelphia shall-issue like the rest of the state. But they haven’t. Philadelphia routinely revokes permits for trivial and unlawful reasons. They represent only a smal fraction of statewide permit holders, yet represent a hugely disproportionate numer of revocations. Why do some people seek recourse in a Florida license? Because it’s cheaper than hiring a lawyer to fight a denial or revocation.

Lentz and all his gun hating buddies in the General Assembly need to understand this very simple fact: We’re going to flip the House back this fall, and if you shove this down our throats, we’re going to shove a whole lot of things down your throats you aren’t going to like, which include eliminating or severely limiting the discretion local jurisdictions may exercise in issuing Licenses to Carry Firearms. You want us to be responsible with guns, we’re going to demand officials be responsible with the law. If they can’t be, we’re going to change it. Think carefully before going down this path.

12 thoughts on “Carry Permits “Get Out Of Jail Free” According to Brian Lentz”

  1. Good post and I agree that Lentz must be defeated. But for the record, Pat Meehan is unrelated to the Meehan family that controls the GOP in Philly.

  2. Lentz, by the way, got an F rating from the NRA. Not hard to see why given his position on the 2nd Amendment

  3. They produce a Florida permit and our local law enforcement must honor that which is unacceptable given the arrest record and the background of many of these individuals.

    This is one of the most insanely idiotic things I’ve ever heard. The big, big problems with his statement-
    1) “Full faith and credit”
    2) FL statue Ch 790.06 section (10).
    3) Revocation statistics for FL CCW permits.

    Think carefully before going down this path.

    I think it’s a tad too late for that. Commissioner Bronson has probably already sent him a letter…

  4. Post on PAFOA mentions that this vote will not hit the floor now.
    Via Kim Stolfer. Kim had some of the Reps out shooting today!!

  5. As a member of FOAC, I was with Kim Stolfer yesterday when Kim got hte word that HB 2536 was to be pulled from the agenda, today Rep. Lentz tried to push it through, but it was effectively Tabled.

    also i have the Audio from Lent’s Press Briefing two weeks ago where he and others could not anser simple questions as to why they proposed this bill.

    let me know if you want the audio posted.

  6. So does this mean that out-of-state driver’s licenses are “get out of jail free” cards too? After all, some states are less strict than others when it comes to deciding who can legally drive potentially lethal motor vehicles, and there’s no way to prevent drivers in one state from crossing over into other states. Not yet, at least.

  7. I had a whole collection of firearms stolen back in ’01, and was able to renew my permit (in Philly) a couple of years later. I have heard the horror stories of people who can’t get a CCW renewal or have had theirs revoked for minor infractions (or for simply being the victim of a burglarly, as was my case), but I can’t say that this has been my experience.

    Who knows, maybe I just got lucky. I made sure to renew my CCW a year before expiration the last time just so I could get it done while I still lived in Montgomery County.

    Perhaps a temporary change of address into another county will be the next “loophole” for getting a PA CCW if the Florida reciprocity agreement gets gutted. Anybody here who lives in the suburbs wanna let me pretend I live in your house next year when I have to renew my permit?

  8. I expect nonsense anti-gun laws from Philadelphia but not from Delco. I live in Delco and technically Lentz is my Representative (although he in no way represents my views).

    Is there something in the water in Delaware County which makes everyone retarded? In my opinion Liberalism is either the result of a Mental illness or extreme laziness. I regard liberals the same way I look at know-it-all teenagers or homeless people having conversations with themselves. How someone like Bryan Lentz can get elected is truly frightening (the same can be said for Sestak).

    I have spoken with Lentz in the past. He is a condescending kool-aid drinker from the extreme left-wing of the Democratic party. He is so ideologically driven that he can’t see that gun control is a losing issue in PA….at least I hope it still is. I wasn’t thrilled with Pat Meehan but he is getting a donation now.

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