Legislative and Hunting Update for Aug. /Sept. 2005
Note: Links were valid at the time of posting. Some sites require registration.
The PA House has passed HB 1717 and is presently awaiting action by the Senate as SB792. The Senate will consider it when it reconvenes in September. The bill is supposed to address domestic violence, but is really 67 pages of new gun control laws. It also increases the fee for carry permits. It is vital that you call and write your state senator (use the pre-written letter below) and tell them to oppose this bill in its entirety. You can find your senator’s name and contact information at:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/find.cfm
A copy of the bill is at:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2005/0/HB1717P2174.HTM
You should also call the NRA-ILA Grassroots Hotline at 800-392-8683 and ask for John Howenwater the PA NRA Liaison. Tell him that you expect the NRA to oppose this bill.
--------Pre-written letter to your state senator---------
Dear Senator
As a gun owner I am opposed to the so-called “Protection from Abuse” (PFA) legislation that recently passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as HB1717, and is presently awaiting action by the Senate as SB792. My reasons are:
I find nothing at all redeeming in the legislation and request that you do everything within your means to prevent its passage in the Senate.
Please let me know what you intend to do to resist this unjust legislation.
Sincerely,
Antlerless License Update
As of 8/25, 12 Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) have exhausted their supply of antlerless deer licenses. Hunters have claimed all of the antlerless deer licenses originally allocated in WMUs 1A, 1B, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 3A, 3C, 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D.
For more information on available DMAP coupons, hunters should go to the Game Commission's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), click on "DMAP" in the "Quick Clicks" box in the upper right-hand corner of the agency's homepage, then select "Participating Properties now available," and then click on the county of interest in the map
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?Q=164979&A=11
USP Requests Court Intervention with Deer Management
Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania have filed a petition on August 16, 2005 in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, alleging capricious and arbitrary deer management by state agencies over the past 5 years, designed to radically reduce our state animal in pursuit of a political agenda not in the best interest of Pennsylvania sportsmen and its citizens.
The USP is requesting the court intervene to prevent future and possible irreparable harm to our deer herd, granting Pennsylvania sportsmen rights of discovery and access to public documents and staff used to justify such a radical attack on the century old tradition of Pennsylvania deer hunting.
http://www.unifiedsportsmenpa.org/news.html
PGC Receives Good Ideas from Deer Feedback
Lower Bucks Co. has a real issue with growing deer populations and the Game Commission wants to hear from any hunter that spends time hunting in this area to let them know what you would like to see change or what new ideas might help them manage the herd here.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/136-08212005-530583.html
Proposed 2005-2006 Waterfowl Seasons and Bag Limits
In addition to releasing waterfowl seasons, Ross also noted that the Game Commission again has posted the waterfowl seasons brochure and maps on its website (www.pgc.state.pa.us). The agency currently is mass-producing brochures to be distributed to U.S. Post Offices within the next two weeks.
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?Q=164762&A=11
Gun Permit Renewal
Notices May Be Late
"Gun owners in Bucks County would do well to check
their permits -- they may have expired. Sheriff Edward J. Donnelly said Monday that
renewal notices have been mailed out late to some of Bucks County's 5,000 gun
permit holders. Donnelly said the
problem was caused by a computer breakdown.
Andrew E. Barniskis,
legislative chairman for the Falls Township Rifle and Pistol Association, said
he became aware of the late renewal notices more than a year ago and brought
the problem to Donnelly's attention. Donnelly
assured him the problem would be fixed, Barniskis said, but in June his own
renewal notice failed to arrive on time.
''That's when I decided to make an issue out of it,'' said Barniskis. ''I didn't get my renewal notice and that's
a violation of the law.'' According to
Barniskis, the sheriff's office is obligated under law to send out renewal
notices to gun owners 60 days prior to the expiration of their permits to carry
concealed weapons. Under law, gun
permits must be renewed every five years.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_2firearmaug02,0,4293253.story
3 Hurt in Bucks County Shootout
A gun battle erupted inside a Bristol Township pawnshop during a brazen daylight holdup Wednesday afternoon that sent three men to the hospital.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-08262005-532719.html
Police Say 'Customer' Planned Holdup
In a follow-up to the above story, the wounded “innocent bystander” that was mentioned turned out to be the man who planned the holdup
The three apparently didn't expect the storeowner to be armed, Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons said Thursday. The owner defended himself, a co-worker and his store - and rightfully so, she said. "Certainly this should send a message to anyone who wants to carry out a crime in Bucks County that you can't go around terrorizing people. You may find yourself on the other end, being threatened," Gibbons said.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-08252005-532179.html
Remove All Anti-Gun Amendments From Lawsuit Protection
Bill
Gun Owners of America feels that the 2 amendments attached to S. 397 turned a marginally beneficial bill into a huge albatross. Rep. Musgrave is pushing the House leadership to get real lawsuit protection enacted, without endangering the Second Amendment rights of gun owners in any way. You can find a pre-written letter urging your representative to support Rep. Musgrave’s efforts at the link below.
http://www.gunowners.org/a081105.htm
Brady Campaign Says NRA Supporters Use Phony Scare
Tactics
The Brady bunch is upset that the National Rifle Association is pushing legislation to block reckless lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=50739
Supervisors Want to Hire Hunter to Thin Deer Herd
Most Lower Makefield, Bucks County supervisors would like a professional hunter to come in and thin out the deer herd at Five-Mile Woods, the township's 315-acre woodlands on Big Oak Road.
I know lots of bowhunters that would do it for free.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-08032005-522748.html
Knowledge Just as Powerful as Firearms
Bucks County outsold
66 other counties - including Philadelphia - to claim the second-highest rank
in the state during the past three years.
Only Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh, had more handgun sales,
according to the Pennsylvania State Police.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-07312005-521437.html
More Women Find Protection in Guns
Steve Reenter, whose
wife owns Pistol People in Bensalem, said a lot of women have been into the
shop recently asking about handguns. "More
women have been coming in lately - more professional women," he said. "They just want to learn."
This ties in with the story just above it.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-07312005-521446.html
Simulated Situations Sharpen Police Skills
Middletown, Bucks
County police force now has a state of the art indoor range where situations
unfold on a big movie screen.
We should put this range on our wish list.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-07312005-521433.html
Driver Acquitted of Gun Threat
A 78-year-old
Middletown, Bucks County man was found not guilty last week of pointing a gun
at another motorist during a traffic dispute on I-95. Philip Henry McCallum of Hedge Road was accused of threatening a
mother and two children with a loaded 9 mm handgun. A Bucks County jury in Doylestown deliberated for just 15 minutes
before acquitting McCallum late Friday.
Eriksen told the
jury it was merely a coincidence that McCallum had a handgun in the car, and
the gun could be removed from the glove box only with the ignition key. He said his client had a permit to carry the
weapon, and the gun was properly registered
As we know, guns are not “registered” in PA
(unless you want to count the State Police’s “database” of handguns).
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-07192005-516170.html
Bill Gets Ruff With Unbuckled Pets
Pennsylvania
lawmakers are considering legislation that would require pet owners to restrain
animals in vehicles, using three options - a crate or a carrier box, a pet seat
belt, or a dog gate or barrier, separating the pet from the driver's area.
No more just letting your hunting dog climb
in the cab with you.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-07112005-512873.html
The Right to Self-Defense
On June 27, in the case of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, the Supreme Court found that Jessica Gonzales did not have a constitutional right to police protection even in the presence of a restraining order. By a vote of 7-to-2, the Supreme Court ruled that Gonzales has no right to sue her local police department for failing to protect her and her children from her estranged husband.
According to the author, the police have no obligation to protect individuals who, therefore, should defend themselves. In the wake of Gonzales, every anti-domestic violence advocate should advise victims — male or female — to learn self-defense. They should lobby for the repeal of any law or policy that hinders responsible gun ownership.
The true meaning of being anti-domestic violence means is to help victims out of their victimhood and into a position of power
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162325,00.html
NRA Pulls Convention Out Of Columbus
The National Rifle Association announced that it would not hold its 2007 national convention in Columbus as planned. The announcement came one week after City Council passed an assault weapons ban.
http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4735086/detail.html
.50 Cal. Rifles a ‘Terror Threat’
The Violence Policy Center (VPC) calls them 50 caliber anti-armor sniper rifles.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050719/dctu029.html?.v=17
Brady Center Files Suit Against Local Gun Dealer
The family of a teenager who was accidentally shot to death by a friend is suing the gun store that sold the weapon. The lawsuit is the second of its kind to be initiated by the Washington-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which successfully pursued a similar case for another Philadelphia family last year; that cased ended with an $850,000 settlement.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=51005
One Gun a Month
Inquirer columnist Tom Ferrick wants readers to write state Rep. Dennis M. O'Brien (R., Phila.), who is chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and ask him to report out House Bill 871, the bill to limit handgun sales.
We should write Rep.
O’Brien and tell him to oppose
HB 871.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/columnists/tom_ferrick/12207044.htm
March Against Violence
The rash of gun violence against young people in the city of Philadelphia is galvanizing their peers to call for an end to the bloodshed. Dozens of young people marched along Diamond Street in a stand against the violence that's claimed so many young lives.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/072005_nw_violencemarch.html
CT Gun Club Can be Sued for Lead Pollution
A group of homeowners who live near a gun club have standing to sue the club for dumping lead and other ammunition-related pollutants into the surrounding area, a Connecticut federal court has ruled.
http://news.findlaw.com/andrews/pl/gun/20050711/20050711simsbury.html
The Second Amendment: A Judge's Magnificent Dissent
In early May, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of California’s Assault Weapons Control Act and refused to recognize an individual -- rather than a collective -- constitutional right to bear arms. Federal Appellate Judge Alex Kozinski was one of six judges dissenting from this decision -- and his passionate and informed dissenting opinion is magnificent.
Scroll to the middle
of the page for the story.
http://www.theadvocates.org/liberator/vol-08-num-07.htm
Local Woman Takes Aim Against the Big Boys of Trapshooting
Lisa Baldwin, the mother of five from West Marlborough, is moving up in the ranks in the state in ladies trapshooting.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14810073&BRD=1673&PAG=461&dept_id=17914&rfi=6
Stop Endangering Employees
Author John Lott makes the case against banning firearms in the workplace.
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.23059/pub_detail.asp