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necessarily reflect the opinion or endorsement of The PA Federation of
Sportsmen’s Clubs, Inc. (PFSC)
NOTICE: In compliance with Title 17 U.S.C.
section 107, this material is distributed free without profit or payment for
non-profit research and educational purposes only.
Be
sure to check out our Legislative
Alerts pages to follow legislation PFSC is tracking.
April 2008
4-10-08
City
Council passes tough gun measures, legal challenge expected
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080410_City_Council_passes_tough_gun_measures__legal_challenge_expected.html
By Jeff
Shields
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
City
Council passed five gun control measures today that are expected to still
face a legal challenges.
Mayor Nutter has said he will sign the bills into law. The
five bills limit handgun purchases to one a month; require lost or stolen
firearms to be reported to police within 24 hours; forbid individuals under
protection from abuse orders from possessing guns if ordered by the court;
allow removal of firearms from "persons posing a risk of imminent
personal injury" to themselves or others, as determined by a judge; and
outlaw the possession and sale certain assault weapons.
Council members Darrell L. Clarke and Donna Reed Miller
pared their package down from nine bills, including two that would create
registries of gun sales, to five that they say will stand a Constitutional
challenge. The two have sued the state legislature seeking the authority to
enforce the kind of laws they enacted today. The case is before Commonwealth Court.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4-9-08
CCRKBA HAILS PASSAGE OF BILL TO
PROTECT RIGHTS OF GUN-OWNING EMPLOYEES
BELLEVUE,
WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right
to Keep and Bear Arms praised the Florida Legislature today for passing a
measure that expands and protects the right of Sunshine
State gun owners to have firearms
locked in their cars while they are working.
The so-called "take-your-guns-to-work" measure prohibits business
owners from banning firearms that are kept locked in cars by their employees
when those vehicles are parked on company property.
"We believe this
legislation will prevent unfair sanctions against workers who simply want to
exercise their constitutional right to have a
firearm for their personal protection while traveling to and from work,"
said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "Florida
citizens who are legally licensed to carry have gone through background
checks and a licensing process that certainly establishes their standing as
law-abiding. These are not the kind of people who pose a problem in the
workplace."
The legislation now goes to Gov. Charlie Crist.
Gottlieb encouraged Florida gun
owners to contact the governor's office and urge him to sign the measure into
law.
"The Florida Legislature has taken a courageous and sensible step,"
said Joe Waldron, CCRKBA special projects director who resides in Tallahassee.
"There is no reason why anyone should face discipline or dismissal for simply
having a firearm locked in their car when they have a
state-issued permit to carry that firearm elsewhere."
Contrary to a claim from the president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Waldron
said "good policy clearly won over politically-motivated, anti-gun rights
hysteria." -END-
< Please e-mail, distribute, and circulate to friends and family >
Copyright © 2008 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, All
Rights Reserved.
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
James Madison Building
12500 N.E.
Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005
Voice: 425-454-4911
Toll Free: 800-426-4302
FAX: 425-451-3959
email: InformationRequest@ccrkba.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4-9-08
PA Fish & Boat Commission
New legal notices have been
posted to the PFBC's web site.
Please
click here to view the new notices.
AGENDA POSTED FOR FISH AND
BOAT COMMISSION SPRING MEETING
Harrisburg, PA — The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission will hold its spring quarterly meeting April 21-22 at the Clarion
Hotel in DuBois, PA.
Commission committees will meet
beginning at approximately 9:45 a.m. on Monday, April 21, and again at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22. The full
Commission will meet for formal consideration of the agenda beginning at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. All committee meetings and
the review of the agenda are open to the public. Attendance is encouraged.
Among the items for the
Commissioners to consider at the meeting is the approval of a Boating
Infrastructure Grant (BIG), administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, in the amount of $1.35 million to the Urban Redevelopment Authority
of Pittsburgh. The grant is for construction of a 525-foot tie-up facility
for transient boaters and day dockage uses for up to seventeen 26-foot or
larger non-trailerable boats. The main purpose of
the project is to provide transient recreational boaters with access to the South Shore Riverfront Park and the SouthSide
Works, a major mixed-use development, along with multiple sites of scenic,
cultural and historic significance in Pittsburgh.
CLICK
HERE to read the full release
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NRA-ILA
April 8, 2008
Barack and Load
- American Spectator
Much has been made of Barack Obama`s
audacious embrace of Second Amendment rights for rural Pennsylvanians. Since
entering the national scene, the Illinois senator has kept mum about his
undeniably anti-gun voting record. Now he`s
actively courting firearm-rights supporters.
Read More
| Read
Other News
Obama and Guns: Two Different Views
- JohnLott.com
Something happens to Democrats on the gun issue when they run for president.
For John Kerry during 2004, it was awkwardly posing in brand new hunting gear
at a seemingly endless series of hunting photo-ops. But in what will probably
be the most improbable change, the Politico reported on Saturday that Barack Obama was making a big
play for gun votes in Pennsylvania. It is not particularly
surprising that this change is occurring with the crucial Pennsylvania primary soon approaching.
Read
More | Read Other News
Virginia Tech blocks plans of
gun-control group
- Richmond Times
Virginia Tech said yesterday that it will not allow a national gun-control
advocacy group to hold a campus demonstration on April 16 while the school
commemorates last year`s massacre. The decision
threw the Brady Campaign`s callous efforts to use
the tragedy to advance their anti-gun agenda into disarray.
Read
More | Read Other News
Pa. sportsmen, hunters oppose more gun legislation
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When the subject of handguns arises at the state Capitol,
most of the recent attention has focused on Gov. Ed Rendell and other
gun-control Democrats from Philadelphia who are trying to impose new
gun laws. But supporters of the Second Amendment`s
guarantee of the right to have weapons struck back forcefully, organizing the
third annual Right to Keep and Bear Arms rally at the Capitol.
Read More
| Read
Other News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THIRD ANNUAL RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR
ARMS RALLY HELD IN CAPITOL ROTUNDA
By
Rick Morrison, PA Legislative Services
4-7-08
More
than 40 legislators, several national Second Amendment advocates,
representatives of various sportsmen’s groups and a large contingent of gun
owners gathered in support of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
in the state Capitol Rotunda today.
Led
by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), the united coalition first observed a
moment of silence in honor of the late actor Charlton Heston,
who passed away over the weekend and was a staunch defender of gun owners’
rights.
Read More……
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 7, 2008
American
Sporting Dog Alliance Seeks
Investigation Of Kennels In Oprah Report
Asks U.S. And PA Attorney Generals To Find Out Why, Prosecute
by JOHN YATES
American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org
An April 4 report on the
Oprah Winfrey Show was a scathing indictment of abuses in Pennsylvania puppy
mills, but it failed to ask or answer the most basic and important question.
How can this horrible situation happen in light of tough existing state and
federal kennel and animal cruelty laws?
The American Sporting Dog Alliance is asking U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett to
find out the answer to that question, and to prosecute anyone who is
responsible for not requiring the kennels portrayed on Winfrey’s show to
follow the law.
Every kennel in Pennsylvania must follow stringent state kennels regulations, and also comply
with more than 60 pages of federal kennel regulations if puppies are sold to
pet stores or dealers. In addition, every dog in Pennsylvania is protected by a comprehensive
animal cruelty law, and everyone who buys a puppy from any source is
protected by a “lemon law.”
The report on the Winfrey show by special reporter Lisa Ling showed video
footage of several puppy mills in Pennsylvania. All of those kennels were operating
in clear violation of existing laws. None of the terrible and heart-breaking
things shown in the report would be happening if current laws were being
enforced.
The video footage makes it crystal clear that the kennels were operating in
open and flagrant defiance of existing laws.
Why aren’t those laws being enforced? Is someone protecting these kennels
from the law? Are these kennels licensed and inspected? If so, have dog
wardens and animal cruelty police officers been ordered to ignore these
kennels? Why haven’t rescue groups that obtain surplus dogs from these
kennels on a regular basis reported them to authorities? Has there been a
cover-up?
We are quite surprised that Winfrey and Ling didn’t ask or answer those basic
questions.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance (ASDA) can’t answer those questions,
either. We don’t have a crystal ball, but we do know the laws. We have spent
hundreds of hours studying existing kennel and cruelty laws, and have worked
with our committee of attorneys to be able to interpret them correctly.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, existing laws could have shut down every
commercial kennel shown on the Winfrey show, protected the dogs and resulted
in prosecution of their owners.
ASDA also believes that everyone in America who loves dogs and is concerned about
their welfare has a right to demand answers to those basic questions.
Thus, we are asking the U.S. and Pennsylvania attorney generals to intervene.
We believe that an independent investigation is required because the agencies
that should have enforced the laws cannot investigate themselves objectively,
and because the Pennsylvania Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement answers directly
to Gov. Rendell, who has close personal, political and financial ties to the
Main Line Rescue Group in Chester County, PA.
Main Line Treasurer William Smith was the primary source on the Winfrey/Ling
report and escorted Ling on a guided tour through every step of making the
report. Main Line Vice President Marsha Perelman has social ties to Rendell
and contributed a reported $7,500 to his election campaign. Rendell also has
adopted dogs from Main Line. Thus, any investigation by the Rendell Administration would be
clouded by the potential for conflicts of interest.
The Winfrey/Ling report was enough to break anyone’s heart. This reporter has
seen some terrible things in 20 years of hard news and investigative
reporting, but I couldn’t hold back tears several times during the Oprah
Show.
Non-stop video images showed dogs in cramped and crowded quarters, turning
exercise wheels like caged gerbils, wallowing in mud, suffering from
untreated illnesses and injuries, being unable to walk on solid ground after
a lifetime on wire floors, showing fear of people, and victimized by having
pipes rammed down their throats to destroy their vocal chords to stop
barking.
All of these situations are in clear violation of existing laws, yet Ling
apparently never asked Main Line’s Bill Smith to explain the contradiction between kennel conditions
and the law as he led her from kennel to kennel to film the report.
This reporter was deeply impressed by the depth and intensity of caring about
these animals shown by both Winfrey and Ling, and commends them for bringing
animal welfare issues before a national audience of millions of people. This
reporter also has great respect for Winfrey’s sincerity and love of animals.
However, it also seems that the intensity of their emotions may have gotten
in the way of asking tough and objective questions to get to the bottom of
this issue. It also was apparent that they were being manipulated and used by
animal rights groups to advance a hidden agenda that is not what it appears
to be on the surface.
A review of existing laws shows why tough questions should have been asked of
the sources for this report. Strangely, the Oprah team never went to the key
source for accurate information: The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement.
“Neither the Department of Agriculture nor Dog Law Officials were contacted
at any point to participate in the show or provide information or comments
about what is being featured,” Bureau Deputy Director
Jessie Smith wrote to ASDA on Sunday. “We do not know at this point
all of the kennels featured and whether or not they are state licensed.”
In Pennsylvania, the law says animal cruelty means someone who “wantonly or
cruelly ill(-)treats, overloads, beats, otherwise abuses any animal, or
neglects any animal as to which he has a duty of care, whether belonging to
himself or otherwise, or abandons any animal, or deprives any animal of
necessary sustenance, drink, shelter or veterinary care, or access to clean
and sanitary shelter which will protect the animal against inclement weather
and preserve the animal's body heat and keep it dry.”
Almost all of the abuses shown in the Winfrey/Ling report would fall under
this definition, and the alleged practice of tearing out dog’s vocal chords
is covered by another section on mutilation and disfiguring. Legal precedent
clearly has been set for all of these problems, and literally dozens of cases
are successfully prosecuted each year under this law in Pennsylvania. The law also provides for forfeiture
of any animals that are in danger, and fines and possible imprisonment for
someone who is found guilty of violating this law.
Main Line’s website has a page devoted to what
people can do to stop animal cruelty. After describing cruelty in much the
same way as it was shown on the Oprah Show, the Main Line website says:
“Don't sit by, day after day, and watch your neighbor's pet suffer, call the
proper authorities and report the abuse. Again, the police WILL act on
anonymous tips.”
We must wonder why Bill Smith doesn’t follow his own advice. On the Oprah
show, he told of building long-term relationships with these puppy mills, so
that they would allow him to rescue any dogs that are no longer wanted by the
kennel owner. While those relationships allow Smith to rescue some dogs,
shutting them down under animal cruelty laws would allow all of the dogs to
be rescued, and eliminate the problem once and for all. There are six
registered animal cruelty police officers for Chester County, and all of them are only a phone call
away.
Smith also brought one of his own dogs onstage. The dog, named Shrimp, was
happy and healthy, but a photo showed him near death when Smith took him from
a puppy mill. Did Smith report Shrimp’s puppy mill for cruelty to animals?
The dog clearly had been treated in an inhumane manner.
Is Smith protecting these kennels? If so, why? Are revenues from adoption
fees for these rescued dogs, plus invaluable publicity for fund-raising to
cover a reported $2.3 million construction project and political lobbying for
the animal rights agenda, factors in Smith’s silence on this issue? We don’t
know the answer to any of these questions, but we are urging Attorney
Generals Mukasey and Corbett to find out.
Animal cruelty laws are only one part of the picture. State kennel laws apply
to every kennel that keeps 26 or more dogs over the course of a year, and all
of the kennels in the Winfrey/Ling report clearly would require state
licensure and, at a minimum, at least two inspections a year.
If these kennels are licensed, we must ask why the regulations are not being
enforced. If they are not licensed, we must ask why Smith and other people at
Main Line haven’t turned them in to the Bureau
of Dog Law Enforcement. An unlicensed kennel is breaking the law. It can be shut
down immediately and a fine of up to $500 for each day of noncompliance can
be ordered. Any dog that is deemed to be in danger can be seized and
protected under the law.
State kennel regulations set strong standards for health care, food and
water, cleanliness, and pen sizes, and numerous violations were observed at
the kennels filmed by Ling and her associates.
The report clearly showed numerous situations where several dogs were crammed
into tiny cages with wire bottoms. Wire bottoms are legal, but they must be
coated with vinyl, the holes in the wire must not allow dogs’ feet to pass
through them, and resting boards must be provided. From the films taken by
Ling, none of these requirements appeared to be met.
Kennel size requirements also weren’t met. The minimum legal enclosure size
is based on a complicated formula, but in general requires four square feet
for each small dog, eight square feet for each medium-sized dog, and 12
square feet for each large dog. None of the cages shown in the Oprah report
would even come close to meeting this legal requirement.
The law also mandates special size requirements for females with puppies:
“Each [censored] with nursing puppies shall be provided with an additional
amount of floor space, based on her breed and behavioral characteristics, and
in accordance with generally accepted husbandry practices as determined by
the attending veterinarian. If the additional amount of floor space for each
nursing puppy is less than 5% of the minimum requirement for the [censored],
the housing shall be approved by the attending veterinarian.” The Oprah
report also showed several clear violations of this provision.
Why are these violations being allowed to continue? Are dog wardens failing
to enforce the law? Or, are they being told to back off from certain kennels?
Again, we don’t know the answers, but are asking for an investigation to find
out. We do know that a dog warden has been assigned to Chester County, and is
being backed up by a special team of wardens and attorneys created
specifically to investigate and prosecute puppy mills in that part of the
state. We also know that Gov. Rendell has mandated a crackdown on
non-compliant kennels, and the number of citations for unsatisfactory
conditions issued increased by 10-percent statewide last year alone. In other
parts of the state, dog wardens are being specifically instructed to issue
citations for every violation.
We commend the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement for doing an overall fine job to
protect dogs in Pennsylvania kennels, and also commend the Bureau and Gov. Rendell for stepping
up enforcement of the laws.
This reporter has personally known six Pennsylvania dog wardens and two regional
supervisors. None of these dedicated and honest professionals would have
ignored the situations shown in the Oprah report.
Then why are the kennels shown in the Oprah report falling through the
cracks? We are asking Attorney General Corbett to find out.
State kennel regulations are only a part of the regulatory picture. All
commercial kennels that sell wholesale to pet stores or dealers also must
have a federal kennel license and comply with 60 pages of U.S. Department of
Agriculture regulations. These kennels are inspected at least once a year by
a team of USDA officials that includes a veterinarian.
The federal regulations cover many of the same protections as their
counterparts in Pennsylvania. They set stringent requirements for food, water, sanitation,
cleanliness, construction and kennel sizes. The kennels depicted on the Oprah
Show also completely fail to meet the test of these federal regulations.
In the report, Smith emphasized that many of the dogs never get out of their
kennels, and some can’t even walk on solid ground after a lifetime on wire.
The film footage verified his claim.
However, there is no explanation about why this situation is allowed to
continue, as it clearly violates federal regulations.
The federal rules require that all dogs over 12 weeks of age must be given
the chance for exercise, and a plan for doing this must be approved by the
kennel’s veterinarian. There are several ways that the requirements for
exercise can be met, including by larger cage sizes.
For a single dog, a cage twice as large as the minimum requirement would
suffice. For a cage that houses several dogs, the total space would have to
be the combined total of the space required for each of those dogs
individually. None of the cages shown on the Winfrey/Ling report would meet
those requirements. None would even come close.
In the report, Smith said the worst kennel he has seen uses wheel-shaped
treadmills to exercise dogs. Graphic film footage was shown to prove his
point.
However, Smith failed to mention that such devices are a specific violation
of existing federal regulations, which say: “Forced exercise methods or
devices such as swimming, treadmills, or carousel-type devices are
unacceptable….”
The federal regulations also encourage – and for many dogs require – human
interaction and contact with the dogs.
At one point in the broadcast, Ling asked Smith if a lot of dogs die from the
cold in the winter. Smith said that they do.
Smith did not say that both state and federal regulations, as well as the
animal cruelty law, offer very specific and stringent requirements to protect
dogs from extremes of weather. Dogs that are housed in indoor facilities must
be in a climate-controlled environment, and outdoor kenneling is banned for
dogs that are not used to the weather, or which are elderly, infirm or of
vulnerable breeds.
Smith also alleged that puppy mill owners routinely shoot dogs that are no
longer useful. This is a violation of the federal regulations, which require
euthanasia to be done only by a veterinarian.
There is not even a shadow of a doubt that all of the kennels shown on the
Winfrey/Ling report could have been – and should have been – shut down under
existing animal cruelty laws, and both state and federal kennel regulations.
But they were not shut down. Was justice obstructed? Or was it simply an
accident? We want Attorney Generals Mukasey and
Corbett to find out why.
If these laws are not being enforced, or if they are being enforced
selectively, new laws are not the answer. The answer is to commit the money,
resources and supervision necessary to enforce the current laws. New laws
will not fix a system that is broken. They simply will add to its list of
failures.
Within the next few days, The American Sporting Dog Alliance will release our
proposal for making the current system do its job better. This proposal will
include amendments to regulations that will triple minimum cage sizes,
clarify that the sizes must be increased if more than one dogs is put in a
cage, ban the use of wire flooring of any kind, restructure the enforcement
of Pennsylvania kennels laws to require dog wardens to be law enforcement
professionals, and to use a $15 million Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement budget
surplus to make sure the job gets done right.
While the Oprah report was about puppy mills, it gives a black eye to all
kennels in Pennsylvania, the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, Gov. Rendell, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance believes that black eye was intentional,
even though that was not the intention of Winfrey and Ling. It was the
intention of the animal rights groups that used Winfrey and Ling to
accomplish their camouflaged true agenda.
Another guest on the Oprah show was Wayne Pacelle,
who heads the Humane Society of the United States. HSUS is not like a local humane
society, which is set up to help animals. HSUS is a political group that is
organized to push for an animal rights agenda.
On the Oprah show, Pacelle showed his public
relations skills of trying to appear moderate and caring. Before he entered
the public spotlight, however, he showed his true colors in several
interviews with groups that share the same agenda.
Here is one example from Animal People Magazine: “We have no ethical
obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through
selective breeding ...One generation and out. We have no problems with the
extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective
breeding.”
Thus speaks this so-called friend of animals. Perhaps he forgot to inform
Oprah about his real beliefs.
Here is another quote from Pacelle that might
surprise Oprah: “I don’t have a hands-on fondness for animals…To this day I
don’t feel bonded to any non-human animal. I like them and I pet them and I’m
kind to them, but there’s no special bond between me and other animals… In
fact, I don’t want to see another dog or cat born.”
Dog lovers have been led to believe that new and tougher laws are needed to
protect animals. As we demonstrated above, current laws are more than
adequate to protect dogs, if they are enforced. If the problem is
enforcement, then fix the enforcement problem. Creating new laws will simply
create more enforcement problems.
Those new laws are not aimed at puppy mills. They are aimed directly at
everyone who breeds, owns or works with dogs. The laws are deliberately
written to confuse and burden all kennel owners, and impose irrational,
meaningless, time-consuming and often impossible demands on them. The penalty
provisions are meant to impose frightening liabilities that can destroy good
people’s lives for even minor infractions.
I wish I had the opportunity to sit down with Winfrey and Ling over a pot of
coffee and go over both existing and proposed laws line by line with them. I
believe I could convince them that they are being misled and used to
accomplish an animal rights agenda that they would find horrifying and in
direct opposition to their own love for animals.
The clear goal of animal rights groups is to completely eliminate the
ownership of animals in America. That goal has been stated clearly by
their spokespersons thousands of times on the public record. There is no
doubt about this agenda whatsoever.
The problem is that people who love animals are not being told the truth by
the animal rights groups. They are being told that the proposed new laws will
help animals.
What they aren’t being told is that the true intention of the proposed laws
is to drastically reduce the number of animals in America, eliminate breeding
of dogs by anyone for any purpose, and then to spay or neuter all of the
survivors.
As Pacelle put it, “one generation and out.”
If we were talking about human beings, it would be called genocide.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance works to protect the rights of people who
own and work with dogs of the breeds commonly used for hunting. Our
grassroots approach is based on informing hundreds of thousands of people
about the issues, and then empowering them to take direct action as citizens.
Please visit us on the web at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org. Your participation and membership are
vital. We maintain strict independence and are funded only by the donations
of our members.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CROSS-POST AND FORWARD THIS REPORT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NRA-ILA
April 4, 2008
On The Campaign Trail,
Obama Climbs Back On His Anti-Gun Horse
With the Democratic
Presidential nomination process turning into what would have been an
unthinkably close race only a few months ago, we continue to see the
political contenders pulling out all of the rhetorical stops to distinguish
themselves as the "candidate of choice" for their
constituency. We also continue to see the candidates test the limits of
credibility in the process.
Update on D.C.'s "Voluntary"
Gun Search Program: On March 14, we reported on Washington, D.C.'s so-called "Safe Homes
Initiative"--an ill-advised proposal aimed at reducing the District's
high rate of gun crime. Under the controversial plan, officers would
show up at a residence and ask parents and guardians to allow
"voluntary" searches of their homes and childrens'
(or other relatives') bedrooms, to look for firearms. These searches
would be done without notice or warrants.
In the weeks since it
was announced, there has been much public outcry over the program's proposed
methods.
Outrage Of The Week: "Safest
for everybody?" Pizza Hut punishes employee for defending himself
"The incident
wasn't something quick and simple. ... It was a long ordeal.my
life was, without a doubt, in danger."
On the night of March 27, 2008, Pizza Hut deliveryman James Spiers
of Des Moines, Iowa was delivering pizzas--just as
he had many times before over the past 10 years. He walked into an
apartment complex thinking he was making another routine delivery, but found
himself in a battle for his life: he had been set up by a
"customer" who had lured him into the complex by pretending to
order the pizza over the phone, but who had an armed accomplice waiting in
ambush.
Setting The Stage Locally For A New,
Broader "Assault Weapons" Ban Nationwide: If you don't live in a
state that has an "assault weapon" ban, that
issue might be off your radar screen these days. After all, the federal
ban--on standard-capacity magazines and semi-automatics with a certain
combination of cosmetic features--has been defunct for nearly four
years.
But anti-gun
politicians and news media at the state level are ginning up for a 2009
campaign to enact a ban like that proposed by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.),
because they know that both of the front-runners for the Democrat Party
presidential nomination would sign such a ban into law in a New York
minute.
Stop BATFE Abuses -- Urge Your
Congressman To Cosponsor H.R. 4900: Continuing concern about the
treatment of firearm dealers by BATFE has caused members of the U.S. House of
Representatives--with NRA-ILA's full support--to
push for new and improved reform legislation. That push has taken the
form of H.R. 4900 -- the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act."
PENNSYLVANIA: Anti-Gun
Amendment Voted Down in Pennsylvania! On Tuesday, April 1, the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives defeated an amendment to House
Bill 1845, that would have required gun owners
to report the loss or theft of a firearm to law enforcement or face criminal
prosecution. By a vote of 75 to 128, the amendment was voted
down! The House overwhelmingly passed two NRA-supported amendments to
HB1845, which further protect the rights of Pennsylvania's gun-owners. One amendment,
which passed 197 to 5, would eliminate the prohibition of concealed
carry permit holders right to carry in State Parks. Another
amendment, which passed unanimously, would prohibit any government agency
from confiscating or regulating the lawful sale, possession, transfer,
transport and carry of firearms during a state of emergency. Thank you to everyone who called his or her State
Representative voicing strong opposition to State
Representative Levdansky's amendment. Please keep checking www.NRAILA.org
and your email for further updates.
Pennsylvania:
Emergency Powers Bill Heads to House Floor For Consideration! This week, Senate
Bill 1172, Pennsylvania's "Emergency Powers"
legislation, passed out of the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency
Preparedness Committee. This legislation now heads to the House floor
for a possible vote. SB 1172 would protect our Second Amendment rights
by prohibiting any government agency from confiscating or regulating the
lawful sale, possession, transfer, transport and carry of firearms during a
state of emergency. Please
contact your State Representative today and urge them to protect your Second
Amendment rights by supporting SB1172. To contact your State
Representative please click here.
Hunting Under Discussion in the
Management Plan for Erie National Wildlife Refuge:
Staff of
the Erie NWR, an 8,800-acre refuge 35 miles south of Lake Erie in northwestern PA, is
launching the first stage in the process of developing a 15-year management
plan for the refuge. The first stage is to obtain suggestions and
information on the scope of issues to consider. The public is invited
to comment until April 30, 2008. It is important for the refuge
staff to hear from hunters because the refuge is open to waterfowl, big game,
small game, and turkey hunting. We want to ensure that those hunting
opportunities are included and enhanced in the new management plan.
Comments can be sent to northeastplanning@fws.gov. Include
"Erie NWR CCP/EA" in the subject line. Information about
public meetings to be held can be found at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/erie. You
may also call Thomas Roster, Project Leader, at (585) 948-5445.
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April 2, 2008
Reporting Lost & Stolen Handguns Amendment Defeated
House vote on an amendment to HB 1845 that
would have required reporting of lost
& stolen handguns and resulting in criminal charges for failure to do
so, failed last evening 75-128. Several other amendments were
passed. See below for descriptions. We did not get a vote on the
Castle Doctrine, but we did get an amendment allowing concealed carry in
state parks and limiting confiscation during emergency powers. The bill
is not on today's calendar for final consideration, but it could be voted on
next week, and then sent to the Senate for consideration.
HB 1845
Sabatina Amends Title 18 (Crimes
& Offenses) further providing for possession of firearms with altered
manufacturer's number & for altering or obliterating marks of
identification.
4- 1-08 10 Floor amendment(s) adopted
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading Floor Amendment
A06178 
Levdansky - Failed:
75-128 (Lost & Stolen) View Roll Call votes: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2007&sess_ind=0&rc_body=H&rc_nbr=1524
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading Floor Amendment A06170
Harper - Adopted: 159-44
(Penalty for false reporting of lost or stolen firearm)
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading Floor Amendment A06346 Fairchild
- Adopted: 203-0 (Military
concealed carry permit extension)
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading Floor Amendment A06414 Godshall - Adopted:
202-0 (law-enforcement exempt from PICS)
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading Floor Amendment A06415
O'Neill - Adopted: 202-0
(Penalties for false statements when purchasing a firearm)
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading Floor Amendment A06465 D.
O'Brien - Adopted: 202-0
(Extending statute of limitations on firearm straw purchases)
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading
Floor Amendment A06467
Fairchild - Adopted: 180-22 (Emergency Powers)
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading
Floor Amendment A05131 Cappelli - Withdrawn
(Castle Doctrine)
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading
Floor Amendment A06378
Adolph - Adopted 202-0 (Tecnical Amendment)
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading
Floor Amendment A06348
Metcalfe - Adopted 147-55 (Temporay Emergency CC Permit)
· (4/01/08) House S. Smith Motion to Suspend
the Rules to Consider Amendments A06547 and
A06542 - Granted: 193-9
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading Floor Amendment A06542 Godshall - Adopted:
202-0 (Authority to create lost & stolen registry)
· (4/01/08) House 2nd Reading
Floor Amendment A06547 Staback - Adopted:
197-5 (Concealed Carry in State Parks)
To review all the roll call
votes on HB 1845 amendments: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action1.cfm?sess_yr=2007&sess_ind=0&rc_body=H&rc_dte=04/01/2008
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