 |
Lehigh Valley Firearms Coalition |
 |
Judiciary Committee Votes, Tuesday Nov 20, 2007
Recently several bills were in front of the Judiciary Committee which were directed at YOU, THE LEGAL OWNER OF FIREARMS. None of these bills would correct the broken judicial system of plea bargaining away gun charges and the early discharge of violent criminals from prison, to mention just two. The bills were drawn up by representatives of Philadelphia and were pushed by Governor Rendell. The Governor even appeared before the committee trying to sway the votes.
House Bill 18, sponsored by State Representative Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia). The Judiciary Committee defeated this legislation by a vote of 19 to 10. HB 18 would have allowed local municipalities to place further restrictions on the sale, possession, carrying, and use of firearms by gutting Pennsylvania’s preemption law.
If this passed each municipality could have its own restrictions on CC permit holders, resulting in arrests of individuals who enter carrying concealed under Pennsylvania law. To accomplish this the municipality has the power to make a variety of locations off limits to CC holders. Each CC holder would have to know which areas are defined in each municipality.
"Prohibiting or limiting firearms in or reasonably around publicly owned county, municipality or township grounds or buildings, including areas in municipal or county parks or recreation areas".
To make matters worse, once you are charged and convicted, there goes your permit to carry statewide. It would be immediately revoked by your county. It does not end there.
Just imagine how the Philadelphia politicians would treat gun owners living within the city. "Limiting the ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of assault weapons within the city limits". Any rifle with a plastic hand guard could be defined as an "assault weapon" resulting in confiscation, arrest and possible jail time. This bill allows them to make any rules they want.House Bill 22, “one-gun-a-month” legislation, sponsored by State Representative John Myers (D-Philadelphia). HB 22 would have prohibited law-abiding citizens from purchasing more than one handgun at a time, and impose a 30-day waiting period between single handgun purchases.
The desire for this law is a direct result of federal prosecutors failing to charge individuals in other states with "Dealing without a license" and from many counties not prosecuting "Straw Purchases", and illegal transfers of hand guns. In a recent conversation Representative Caltagirone stated his support for this bill. He stated that many "girlfriends" purchase hand guns for their violent criminal boyfriends. I pointed out that we already have laws on the books covering such a transaction. The transfer of a hand gun in Pennsylvania, without going through a licensed dealer to perform a background check, is prosecutable. I got no response from the representative. It is obvious that, despite the facts, the Committee Chairman is anti-RKBA, NRA membership or not.
Representative Caltagirone, Committee Chairman, voted for both bills. Do not be fooled by his statement "I am an NRA member, but something has to be done". I have heard that speech over the phone, have seen it on the Pennsylvania Cable Network, and in person at the Committee Meeting in Allentown in April of 2007. The representative's charade will not hold up to his votes against you, the honest gun owner. He will throw away your RKBA to satisfy the governor, and the anti gunners from Philadelphia.
At the request of the bill sponsor Representative Jewell Williams (D-Philadelphia), House Bill 29, “Lost or Stolen Firearms” legislation, was tabled by the committee. HB 29 would have made it a crime to fail to report the loss or theft of a firearm to police within 24 hours of discovering the firearm missing.This bill turns the victim of a robbery into a criminal. Many households have dozens of old rifles and shotguns handed down several generations. The people in possession of these firearms do not know the makes or models of these firearms which may have been made 80-90 years ago. The only thing they know is "Grandpa hunted with it and once a year we hunt with it". This bill give the state police the power to charge these owners in the event of a break in and robbery. What effect does this have on the criminal?
The bill, if enacted into law, would have a horrible effect on gun collectors. A collection can consist of several hundred firearms. In the event of a robbery the owner would have just 24 hours to identify which firearms were taken, identify them by make, model and serial number, and report them. Try doing that when some unknown number are taken from a very large collection of firearms. Upon returning home the victim does not know if 25, 37, or 63 guns are gone. After 24 hours the robbery victim is a criminal because he was not able to gather all his information. What effect does this have on the criminal?
Below are the votes of the members of the House Judiciary Committee. A vote of Yes is aimed at you and your Second Amendment Rights. Please contact these representatives and thank those who voted No.. Please contact those who voted against you and tell them we will work to get them defeated during the next election.
Bill Ricca/Webmaster
|
Representative |
HB 18 |
HB 22 |
|
State Representative Thomas R. Caltagirone (D-127), Chairman |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Representative Daylin Leach (D-149), Secretary |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Representative Kathy Manderino (D-194) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Representative John E. Pallone (D-54) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Don Walko (D-20) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Ron Marsico (R-105), Chairman |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Lisa Bennington (D-21) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Representative Dan Frankel (D-23) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Representative
Harold James (D-186) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Representative Deberah Kula (D-52) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Bryan R. Lentz (D-161) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Representative Joseph A. Petrarca (D-55) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Sean M. Ramaley (D-16) |
No |
No |
|
State
Representative Greg Vitali (D-16) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State
Representative Chelsa Wagner (D-22) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State
Representative Jesse White (D-46) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Jewell Williams (D-197) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Representative Tom C. Creighton (R-37) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Craig A. Dally (R-138) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative John R. Evans (R-5) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Will Gabig (R-199) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Glen R. Grell (R-87) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Kate Harper (R-61) |
No |
Yes |
|
State Representative Beverly Mackereth (R-196) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Carl W. Mantz (R-187) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Bernie O'Neill (R-29) |
No |
Yes |
|
State Representative Tina Pickett (R-110) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Todd Rock (R-90) |
No |
No |
|
State Representative Katie True (R-41) |
No |
No |
|
Totals |
19 no, 10 yes |
17 no, 12 yes |
 |
|
|
