Castle Doctrine has passed the Senate. Apparently they tried to amend a bill to close this bogus “Florida Loophole”, which failed 20-29. I have no news yet on what other amendments may or may not have been added. I had an election tonight at my gun club which left me unplugged for most of the evening.
I’ll be honest, I’m not happy that the reciprocity issue got 20 votes, including Tommy Tomlinson (my state Senator, who has always been friendly), and Stu Greenleaf, who was friendly most of the time.
We’re losing the Philly suburbs folks, and if we do that, Pennsylvania does not stay pro-gun. Tomlinson and Greenleaf ultimately voted with us on Castle Doctrine, which I do appreciate, but the vote to weaken reciprocity, with no concern for addressing our issues with the LTC system, is unconscionable in my book.
Definitely agree with keeping the Philly suburbs because as a Philly resident you can forget about receiving any pro-gun rights votes from the city itself. Anyway, if any readers would like to see how the respective PA Senators voted on the amended HB 1926 Alloway bill here is the link…
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2009&sess_ind=0&rc_body=S&rc_nbr=638
…and also here is the “closing the Florida loophole” voting as Sebastian mentioned…
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2009&sess_ind=0&rc_body=S&rc_nbr=639
So when can we expect the veto? Are the votes there to overide?
I was in Harrisburg yesterday with other members of the PAFOA and ACSL/FOAC, stumping for Castle Doctrine.
You might like him, Sebastian, but Greenleaf needs to go, and he needs to go now. Passing HB40, which was the preferred route for us because it wouldn’t have required House concurrence, was a non-starter because of Greenleaf. Why? I don’t know, but I can guess: because he’s a lawyer, sides with DA’s association, and they don’t like Castle Doctrine, not because it’s a gun bill, but because with the civil immunity clause it’s a TORT REFORM bill.
So now, because of Greenleaf’s thug tactics, we’re stuck with a bill that has to go back to the House for concurrence, when we’re not even sure if the House is going to meet again. There was progress made last night, but I hope it wasn’t a “win the battle, lose the war” effort.
He didn’t say he liked Greenleaf, he said that he hasn’t been that bad in the past. There’s a big difference.
However, since I look at those districts particularly closely, just how do you plan to replace Greenleaf with anyone friendlier? I’m assuming you have a candidate or plan in mind? Given the nature of the district, I’d love to hear this one. The Republicans aren’t likely going to be willing to replace a guy who has been in office since ’79, and a Democrat from that area isn’t exactly likely to be friendly. But, if you look from his district, several of the other Republicans are squishy, too. It’s not an area where gun owners are willing to prioritize their issue.
Yeah, I’m afraid Greenleaf is the best you’re going to do in that district. The worst part is he knows it.
The Senate seems like it might be a problem in the future…here’s a good link from Wikipedia showing how the 50 PA Senate seats break out in Red vs Blue and who’s terms are up this year for reelction. But a problem is brewing here, in that leadership roles such as Pileggi (R-Senate Majority Leader – Chester,Delaware counties), Greenleaf (Chairman – Judiciary Committee) and that also many rank and file Republicans (Browne, Earll, Erickson, Vance and Mary Jo White) voted against us for closng the “Florida Loophole”. Yes, they made up for in voting for the Castle Doctrine; but it would seem more proactive to nip these things in the bud (voting against us for closing Florida Loophole) rather than letting it fester and later get out of control. We need to communicate with these PA Senators and let them know ALL of our important issues…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PA_Senate
Bitter,
More a wish than a demand, my apologies if I worded it in a hostile tone. It’s a bit frustrating to stand and watch the very people who are supposed to be representing us hold months of effort hostage. It was enough to watch Caltagirone and Evans do it, to see Greenleaf do it as well at the 11th hour was tough.
I understand wishes, and I understand the frustration. But, I also understand that the political reality doesn’t bode well for the wish coming true. It’s better to direct those wishes to more productive districts. If we can get more friendly folks in there to add a bit of political peer pressure, then it’s more likely to make a measurable difference than venting against a district that, should it change hands, would likely give you a worse choice than you have now.
I completely agree that the alternative to Greenleaf might be worse. However, any alternative would be a junior Senator who would NOT be chairing the Judiciary Committee, and hence not be able to hijack important bills by abusing parliamentary procedure. I know that’s not much comfort for those in Greenleaf’s district, and of course, any new chair might be worse if the Senate majority flipped, but I think we can agree that’s not happening any time soon.
I disagree because it’s a loss we can’t take back. If there’s another anti-gun Senator from this area, it sends the message that gun owners cannot or will not help you. It sends the message that others can start voting against us more often. If you lose the suburbs, then the rest of the state will be outvoted. You have to keep the suburbs as close to intact as possible. Political peer pressure is likely the best opportunity to get Greenleaf back on board in future votes.