April 2008 – Page 25 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Details on HB 1845

Amendments passed to HB 1845:

A06414 (GODSHALL)	202-0	Allows chiefs of police and police commissioners to be exempt from UFA requirements for purchasing firearms for official purposes
A06170 (HARPER)	159-44	Make it a crime to falsely report the loss or theft of a firearm.
A06346 (FAIRCHILD)	203-0	Extends Licenses to Carry expiration for deployed military personnel until 90 days until after return from duty.
A06467 (FAIRCHILD)	180-22	Prevents law enforcement from seizing firearms, ammunition or accessories during a state of emergency, unless such a seizure would be lawful absent the state of emergency
A06378 (ADOLPH)	202-0	Extends the statute of limitations to five years on unlawful firearms transfers.
A06465 (D. O’BRIEN)	202-0	Amends the original statute of limitations to no more than eight years, but allows for prosecution for up to one year after discovery of crime by authorities within that eight year window.
A06348 (METCALFE)	147-55	Provides for immediate issuance of temporary emergency licenses to carry that last for up to 90 days. Bill would allow someone to walk into the sheriff’s office, file proof of danger, swear an affidavit, undergo a background check, and walk out with the temporary license.
A06415 (O’NEILL)	202-0	Enhances penalties for making false statements in connection to purchasing a firearm.
A06178 (LEVDANSKY)	75-128 (failed)	Requires a Lost or Stolen Firearm to be reported or face criminal penalties.
A06542 (GODSHALL)	202-0	Creates a registry of lost and stolen firearms. Entries to be deleted after 20 years, or upon return to lawful owner.
A06547 (STABACK)	197-5	Allows for carry in state parks by License to Carry Firearms holders, and also for law enforcement officers.

This, overall, is a good deal for gun owners. The Philly politicians are getting several new tools they can use to go after criminal trafficking of firearms. We will, of course, want to see Philadelphia actually using these laws on criminals. It does no good to not enforce them, and then come back bitching to gun owners they need more controls. This bill gives them some good things, and they need to use them.

We contacted our reps to tell them to oppose the Lost and Carry bill, and it made quite a difference. Now it’s time to contact them and encourage them to support final passage of HB 1845.

Breaking News!

A vote happened on House Bill 1845 tonight.Â The Lost and Stolen amendment went down in flames 75-128.Â In it’s place, an amendment was filed that makes it a crime to falsely report a firearm as stolen, and this amendment passed.Â The “emergency powers” amendment was also passed, along with a provision to get rid of the ban on carry in state parks.Â A final vote on the bill will happen tomorrow.Â Needless to say, we want to support passage of this bill as amendment.

Great work by the NRA, and all the other groups who were involved, and all the individual citizens who called their state representatives, in defeating the Lost and Stolen bill, and making sure gun owners got something out of it.Â I certainly won’t complain about the state park provision!

UPDATE: Looks like we didn’t get castle doctrine, but I’m hearing that will get another committee hearing.

NRA Alert on HB 1845

NRA Alerts that the HB 1845 could be voted on as soon as Wednesday, and there is still an attempt to get the “Lost and Stolen” bill attached to it:

Anti-gun State Representative David Levdansky (D-39) may try to amend this legislation to include a provision that would require gun owners to report the loss or theft of a firearm to law enforcement. The amendment would create criminal penalties for the failure to report a lost or stolen firearm.Â This amendment was debated last week on the House floor, but no vote was taken.

Please contact your State Representative TODAY and respectfully urge him or her to oppose the amendment proposed by State Representative Levdansky, and any other amendments that threaten the rights of Pennsylvaniaâ€™s law-abiding gun owners. For contact information for your State Representative, please click here.

If I sound like a broken record with the “contact your reps” crap, it’s because it’s really really important.Â I contact mine so much I almost expect him to know me by name when I am introduced to him next Monday.

Meow

This is very wrong.Â This is a joke right?Â It is April Fools Day, after all.

UPDATE: My friend Jason tells me that when it comes to putting stuffed cats onto guns, the Israeli Defense Forces don’t fool around.

Thoughts on Health Care

Clayton Cramer is thinking about health care in Idaho, and, unlike some presidential candidates, his ideas don’t revolve around a massive government takeover.Â Health care is one of those things people are concerned with, so you have to have ideas, especially if you’re running for state senate.

NFA Process

Given the recent pant shitting hysterics in Kansas about the legislature there allowing Title II firearms to be sold, it’s worthwhile to look at what a local Pennsylvania firearms owner had to go through to possess a short barreled rifle, which are subject to the same law as machine guns, legally.

Kansas have not much to fear from this process, though the anti-gun folks are sure to prattle on about machine guns being handed out in the streets to schoolchilden like they were candy.

Involuntary Random Searches

We all know Boston was looking at doing voluntary random searches, but according to Bruce they aren’t above doing involuntary random searches either.

Insurance Companies Suck

SayUncle tells about a local angry gun guy (there are a lot of them) and a new local range that’s being opened.Â A lot of the dumb rules you see at ranges and clubs are stipulated by insurance policies.Â Insurance companies are in the business of insuring against risk, but because they are also in the business of making money, they prefer that they never have to pay out on the risk they are insuring against, so you get dumb rules.Â You can, of course, pay for better insurance, which some ranges do, but it costs more, which gets passed onto the consumer.

My club doesn’t allow you to bring a firearm onto club property to shoot unless it’s unloaded and cased.Â For concealed carry, I was told if they don’t see it, it’s not a problem, but you can’t shoot or show your carry piece, unless the shit has hit the fan.Â The local indoor range allows shooting carry pieces, even from the holster, but it’s $20 an hour to shoot there, and yearly memberships are $200.

I really do have to wonder what actuarial evidence insurance companies have that certain types of gun related activities are risky while others aren’t.Â Firearms accidents at clubs and ranges aren’t exactly common.Â I’ve heard of suicides happening at ranges that rent guns, but are accidents really so common you can determine which types of activities are more dangerous than others?Â I’m skeptical that insurance companies can really prove an articulable danger with some activities they try to limit at ranges.Â I suspect it’s probably more along the lines of “That sounds dangerous, so we think we can get away with charging more if you want your policy to cover that.”

Nonetheless, we shouldn’t blame ranges for the failing of their insurers.Â Maybe once Gunny gets his range stable and profitable, he’ll be able to afford a policy that lets his patrons shoot their carry guns.

New Jersey Threatning FFL Distributor

Not content to close nearly all the gun shops in New Jersey with burdensome regulations, and generally assholery on the part of the state, they’ve now set their sights on Sarco, Inc, which is a large firearms distributor.Â This is something that could effect commerce in firearms everywhere else, which is no doubt fine by New Jersey state officials.

Using the Militia

Dave Hardy tells of a story that harkens back to how the militia used to be used, which is a supplement to law enforcement.Â I think programs like this are a good thing.Â A citizenry that’s playing a more active role in the safety of their own communities is far better than one which expects the government to do everything for them.