I forgot to blog this over the holidays, but a local sheriff resigned her position to accept a job at a local university. I’m sure the pay is comfortable, and she doesn’t have to run a re-election campaign. However, this is relevant to Montgomery County, PA gun owners because she did actually announce at public events that she “signed licenses,” something he predecessor did not do.
What kind of licenses did she mean while talking about the kind that her predecessor wouldn’t sign? Form 4.
The replacement sheriff has to be a Republican, according to this article, and will be appointed by the Governor. Hopefully, law abiding gun owners will be able to continue to count on the successor to keep the policy of approving Form 4s. Even local elections matter when it comes to your rights, though they are often overlooked by many voters.
“The constitution does not provide that the right to bear arms SHALL NOT BE QUESTIONED in any part of the commonwealth except Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where it may be abridged at will, but that it SHALL NOT BE QUESTIONED in any part of the commonwealth.”
Heh!
CRAP!! That was supposed to be with the Erie story.
“a new sheriff, who must be a Republican, the same party that Eileen Behr belongs to.”
That’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it? Not individuals, but the continuity of the oligarchies.
I haven’t been keeping up, so I gotta ask: Was she still charging almost twice the codified fee for a carry permit, the way the bastard before her was, or has that whole fee thing finally been tamped down?
Unfortunately, being a Republican does not guarantee the next sheriff will be friendly to gun owners. That’s especially true in Montco. Behr’s predecessor, John Durante, was a Republican and wouldn’t sign Form 4s, and continued that ridiculous local police check card that Montco and only Montco uses for gun licenses (Behr continued using that form too). His predecessor, Frank Lalley, was a Republican and was the same way.
According to the sheriff’s website the fee for a license is $20, so at least she got that right.
No one here believes that simply being a member of the GOP makes you pro-gun. That portion was stated because since many gun owners don’t even participate in local elections, it was safe to assume that most wouldn’t know how she would be replaced. I know I didn’t, and the article made it sound like it’s a requirement as opposed to just standard appointment procedure.
I may be over-generalizing, but the last I (think) I recall, all resigned, deceased, etc., public officials in Pennsylvania have to be replaced by members of their same party. I think some lower officials can be nominated by their party, while others (like, apparently, a sheriff) have to be nominated by the governor.
I remember only vaguely, because it was one of the privileges conferred on a minor party if it achieved “ballot status.” The Libertarian Party achieved county-level ballot status in 1991 while I was county chairman, and then our committee was deposed by the state party, once the state party achieved statewide ballot status the following year.
If you want a replacement Sheriff that will sign Form 4s, I suggest that you CALL Corbett’s southeast office and let Joshua Novotney know. Ask to speak directly to him, having his secretary pass it on isn’t the same. He’s familiar with the issue, so you just have to call and let him know it’s important to you.
Contact info:
GOVERNOR’S SOUTHEAST OFFICE
Director: Joshua Novotney
200 S. Broad Street
11th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 560-2640
Counties Served: Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware & Philadelphia
More info here:
http://forum.pafoa.org/nfa-class-3-title-ii-34/242839-if-you-live-montco-please-contact-gov-corbett-new-sheriff.html
If the NFA trust changes happen in June, then nobody, trust or otherwise, is getting any NFA without a Sheriff who will sign off. It will literally take all of 5 minutes to call.
First, it never hurts to make these gestures, just to register what is important to you. So yeah, write.
But, do you think the replacement wasn’t already known and in the works, maybe weeks before the current sheriff made her announcement? Maybe it’s even why she “decided” to move on.
Not write, call – and ask to speak with Joshua Novotney (as opposed to leaving a message for him.
We can do nothing, and have the decision entirely out of our hands, or we can call and let Corbett know that this is important to his constituents. 5 minutes of your time can have an impact. And if the new Sheriff is already chosen, then we still have the opportunity to have Corbett suggest that he/she sign the papers. But we need to let him know it’s important to us. I hope we can count on you to call, since even a handful of people calling with the same concern will put it on Corbett’s radar.