The anti-gunners here don’t want to lose a battle, so they just keep delaying votes on bills. By not formally taking a vote, the bill stays alive. If it has a formal vote and they lose – even by the slimmest of margins – it’s done. I guess they are taking their lessons from New Jersey.
That said, fall is a dangerous time to have this come up. I would assume if the Pennsylvania legislature operates anything like our neighbors to the east, there’s a possibility for lame duck sessions. (This is my first full session living here, so don’t get angry if I’m wrong.) That’s always when lawmakers who have been booted out like to send one last “screw you” vote to their constituents. It’s one reason why we need to make sure that the pro-gun forces at all levels – federal and state – stay in office to help keep gun control off the table during those times.
Hey Bitter, Glad to have you here for your first full legislative cycle in PA and hope you stay…As to reciprocity and the “Lentz” bill, it seems as they are dragging their feet..but I hope they won’t bring this up for a vote sometime (maybe late in the after summer session) when they think they can have enough votes to pass it? Even if they pass it in the PA House, it should (key word here) be squashed in the PA Senate, right?!?
HB 40 (Castle Doctrine) is the one that’s stuck now as Sebastian pointed out in the PA House Appropriations committee with Philly’s wonderful Dwight Evans as Chairman…who will probably keep it there in legislative purgatory…! I can’t wait for Lentz and some other clowns to hopefully get booted this November. As the PA House won’t reconvene until Sept. 13. Just in case anyone is interested in who’s on the PA House Appropiations Committee here is a link to the site…If a member of this Committee is located in your district, please contact them over the summer holiday to help push HB 40 (Castle Doctrine) onto Chairman Evans’ voting schedule…
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/cteeInfo.cfm?cde=4&body=H
I really can not comment on the PA House and how it works since I am in Florida but I will comment on the Castle Doctrine. Five to seven years ago Florida adopted the Castle Doctrine for its citizens and the anti gun people went nuts. They claimed that hundreds of people would be shot down in the streets and OK Coral style shot outs would be a daily occurrence. They even proposed posting bill board ads at the state line warning people headed to Florida that they may possibly die in the crossfire of these raging gun battles if they continued on to Florida.
Well, nothing like that happened. Hundreds of people were not gunned down in the street. The daily OK Coral style shot outs never happened and people did not stop coming to Florida. Gun crime even decreased some what. What did happen is that now when the burglar comes in the front door of your home you do not have to run out the back door, you can stand your ground and defend your home and family. When some low life tries to rob you at the ATM here again you may stand your ground and defend yourself. The real justice in the Florida version of the Castle Doctrine is that if the bad guy winds up seriously injured, paralyzed or dead because his threat forced you to defend yourself you can not be sued in state court. The bad guy and or his family are prohibited from filing any suit or harassing you in anyway. You only have to show that you reasonably believed you would be seriously injured or killed if you did not defend yourself.
I recommend that you fight tooth and nail for the Castle Doctrine in Pennsylvania.