Guest Author Kim Stolfer of Firearm Owners Against Crime
The gun control insanity that has gripped much of our nation has finally raised its’ ugly head here in PA. Next week (9/24-9/25) the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, spurred on by Speaker of the House Rep. Turzai, is slated to consider two bills that were tabled in June – HB 2060 & HB 2227.
These are both an affront to our Constitution at the state and federal level. What’s worse is that Republican Leadership KNOWS this just as they know both expand the power of government at the expense of the Due Process rights of the accused with HB 2227 creating an entirely ‘new’ section of law involving suspension of ‘Due Process’.
Over the summer, FOAC has worked diligently to examine both bills with some great attorneys and have attempted to convey this to other groups, gun owners and PA House members. On Thursday (the 20th of Sept.) we were told that a September Surprise (meaning gun owners were being stabbed in the back) was coming and that both HB 2060 & HB 2227 would see floor action on Sept. 24th & 25th respectively.
We have done EVERYTHING we can to stop this freight train but are told that UNLESS YOU (gun owners) speak out and DEMANDleadership pull these bills they WILL PASS. We as a group (gun owners) have been silent TOO DAMN LONG!! NOW we are faced with House Leadership and SE Republicans and a ‘Host’ of anti-gun Democrats who think they can ignore citizens’ rights along with the reality of all the major gun groups rallying around these two gun bills that will severely damage the short and long term rights of all citizens to be treated fairly in the halls of justice.
Below are just a FEW examples of the Flaws and Traps in these bills:
1. IF a PFA is issued on you and you don’t turn in ALL your firearms, other weapons ‘and’ ammunition within 24 hours you will go directly to jail for 6 months (HB 2060)
2. Completely ELIMINATES your ability to go to court and use the 3rd Party process to ‘legally’ surrender your firearms to a ‘friend or family’ member to keep them for you until the PFA is terminated (HB 2060)
3. Forces you to pay a storage fee on EACH gun kept at a gun dealer or ‘commercial armory’ for up to FIVE years (HB 2060)
4. Buy a gun, get reported and have your gun seized without ‘due process’ THEN to challenge this you MUST spend thousands of dollars on an attorney to go to court and ‘prove’ your innocence (HB 2227)
5. Lose your rights by being reported by even decades old acquaintances and your property seized ‘without due process’ and forced to spend thousands of dollars on an attorney to go to court and ‘prove’ your innocence (HB 2227)
See also Attorneys Joshua Prince and Adam Kraut’s Testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on these issues, as well!
The Talking Points on this legislation can be found below:
• HB 2227 – https://foac-pac.org/uploads/talking_points/A-HB-2227-Extreme_Risk_Protection_Orders-FOAC-Review.pdf
• HB 2060 – https://foac-pac.org/uploads/talking_points/A-HB-2060_pn3820-FOAC_Language_Problems-Final.pdf
I am going to close with the fact that this legislation is an Existential Threat to our rights and is a TURNING POINT for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. We NEED and MUST HAVE your calls, e-mails and ‘presence’ in Harrisburg on Monday and Tuesday!
The straight forward message YOU MUST TELL PA HOUSE MEMBERS is to OPPOSE both bills! No Compromise, no Deals, no Amending either one as their core structure is irredeemably flawed.
Go HERE to find the contact information for EVERY PA HOUSE MEMBER: https://foac-pac.org/PA-Legislator-Info and to find House Committee members you can go here: https://foac-pac.org/PA-House-Committees – we’ve given you the tools so now this is a no ‘excuses’ moment! The apathy of gun owners has put ALL OF US in this predicament and we are now faced with a put up or shut up moment! We have done all we can to stop these bills and NOW it is up to you!!
Yours in Freedom,
Kim Stolfer, President
FOAC
