I found an error in Pennsylvania’s Consolidated Statues online. Let’s see if you guys can spot it:
It would be fun if it wasn’t wrong.
Month: August 2007
Uniform Firearms Act: Act 68 – Firearms in Vehicles
This latest in my series on the history of Pennsylvania’s Uniform Firearms Act comes to us from Dec. 7, 1989, P.L.607, No.68, or Act 68 of 1989. This act is what made it a crime to carry a rifle or a shotgun in a vehicle:
§ 6106.1. Carrying loaded weapons other than firearms.
(a) General rule.–No person shall carry a loaded pistol, revolver, shotgun or rifle, other than a firearm as defined in section 6102 (relating to definitions), in any vehicle. The provisions of this
subsectionSECTION shall not apply to persons excepted from the requirement of a license to carry firearms under section 6106(b)(1), (2), (5) or (6) (relating to firearms not to be carried without a license) NOR SHALL THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION BE CONSTRUED TO PERMIT PERSONS TO CARRY FIREARMS IN A VEHICLE WHERE SUCH CONDUCT IS PROHIBITED BY SECTION 6106.(b) Penalty.–A person who violates the provisions of this section commits a summary offense.
This is where Pennsylvania law starts to get a bit screwy. A firearm is defined in the UFA as any pistol, revolver, or rifle with a barrel less than 16″ in length, or a shotgun less than 18″ in length, or with an overall length less than 26″ in length. Anything within that can be carried loaded in a vehicle if you have a license to carry firearms, which by this time was issued on a shall issue basis, except for in Philadelphia. Anything outside of that definition, may not be carried loaded in a vehicle, even if you have a license. The exceptions are only for police, military and a few others.
Clayton Cramer Article in Shotgun News
Clayton Cramer has a pretty good article on HR2640 in Shotgun News. This will be a useful article in my fight to keep the club I recently joined from removing its 100% NRA status.  There has been a lot of claims that fail to pass the smell test circulating in regards to this bill, and I think Clayton does a good job with some of them.
As I’ve said before, some have come up with good reasons to not like HR2640, but others have become downright unhinged over it. I think this is one of those cases where reasonable people can debate whether the deal is worth it.
Ack! It Begins
Squeaky Wheel is taking one of the first steps on the long and expensive road toward gun collecting. One you start comparing purchases to what you could have bought for your collection, you’re just about a lost cause. I had to dump a nice over under shotgun into tree trimming this year myself. Just spent a Glock’s worth on the car last month. Hopefully at the end of the year I’ll get a few AR-15s worth of bonus.
Reasoned Discourse
I engage Paul Helmke in some reasoned discourse, guest blogging over at SayUncle.
SacBee: Blame Congress
Even though federal law currently makes:
1. Straw purchases a felony
2. Unlawful to purchase a handgun outside of your state
3. Unlawful for felons to possess or purchase firearms at all
4. Requires firearms dealers to report multiple sales to the BATF
5. Requires dealers to run background checks on gun buyers
I could go on, but I don’t have room to list the many and numerous federal gun regulations that criminals ignore on a daily basis.  Yes, despite all this, the SacBee still thinks that Congress isn’t giving police the tools they need to fight crime. They blame the Tiahrt Amendment, which does not restrict police for accessing trace data in criminal investigations, but they seem to imply that it does. The facts are inconvenient when you’re trying to mislead the public to make your point.
Hat tip to AceÂ
Living in a Blogger Paradise
Tam says that you can’t swing a cat in Knoxville without hitting another blogger. Apparently Philadelphia is quite a bloggy city itself.
Evil “Assault Weapon” Taken Away by Victim
This group of criminals in Uniontown, Pennsylvania were certainly not prepared to have their victim fight back.  Despite brandishing an “assault weapon”, their victim managed to drop the magazine, and effectively disarm them, sending them fleeing. They were captured by police.  Good show!
Folks who hate guns often tell us that criminals will just take the guns from us. Well, that seems to happen quite often to them!
Congresman Peterson Responds on I-80 Tolls
Congressman Peterson has an editorial responding to a previous editorial in the Allentown Morning Call that I blogged about here. I agree with the Congressman that tolling I-80 would be a negative for the Commonwealth, and wish him the best of luck in stopping it at the federal level.
UPDATE: Looks like plans are moving ahead on tolls anyway.
Now Baltimore Knows How it Feels
Baltimore is pissed it’s getting passed up for Amtrak’s Acela express service between New York and Washington, DC. The only stop will be in Philadelphia.  Usually, Philadelphia is the city everyone just passes by. Now Baltimore knows how it feels.