There are currently fourteen Pennsylvania State Universities that are looking at their concealed weapons policy, citing recent court decisions, and a concern for being good neighbors. I tend to think that the regents of state universities are political subdivisions of the state, and therefore preemption should apply to them. Currently, there’s no law in Pennsylvania that prohibits someone with an LTC from carrying on a college campus. Most colleges and universities ban firearms from campus by policy rather than law.
Category: Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s Capacity Limits
I realize this is off topic, but this is just one of those “what the hell” topics that blows my mind. In Pennsylvania, we restrict the capacity of your bags of potatoes.
No, I’m not kidding.
Apparently, eight pound bags of potatoes are one of the most popular sizes in many states. In Pennsylvania, selling potatoes in bags that hold eight pounds is illegal. We can buy them in bags of three pounds, five pounds, or even ten pounds. But, eight pounds is where someone thought it was important to draw the line.
While there’s an effort to get this absolutely absurd potato capacity law off the books, it doesn’t seem to be moving anywhere fast. That’s part of the problem in government. No one seems to put any real priority on repealing bad laws that in no way serve or protect the public.
High School Rifle Teams Targeted
An Emmaus High School sports team went undefeated last year, but there’s no mention of the record in the yearbook. In fact, the fact that there was a school rifle team at all was left out. The photographer for the yearbook provided a photo to the staff, but the yearbook advisor is so far not answering questions from parents about why their children were left out of the yearbook while other teams were featured. It’s great that the parents are taking this issue all the way to the top and demanding public accountability for why the yearbook staff appears to be picking on some kids by leaving them out of the yearbook even after being provided pictures and a story.
I actually came across this story by chance when I was looking up the school because they are in need of a new rifle coach – pronto. They aren’t the only school in the area in need, as Freedom High School nearby also needs a rifle coach. If you know anyone who would be interesting in coaching a high school rifle team in the Allentown region, please shoot me an email and I’ll connect you with the people looking to help these teams out.
It would be a shame if the yearbook staff who may have decided that competitive shooters aren’t even worth acknowledging as their fellow students won by not only successfully ignoring the team’s existence, but then also got to celebrate the fact that the team was forced to disband.
Pennsylvania Politics Gets Worse for Gun Owners
If you’re a gun owner in Pennsylvania, you need to be worried about 2014. You need to be very, very worried. Gov. Tom Corbett was amazing about putting down all talk of getting Pennsylvania to pass more gun control back in December that would bring us closer to the nightmares of neighbors New York and New Jersey. But his poll numbers are in the toilet, and the Democrats smell lots of blood in the water.
That wouldn’t be the end of the world if we had a serious pro-gun Democratic candidate, but we don’t.
Today comes news that a Bloomberg ally currently serving with MAIG has taken the legal steps to announce a run for governor. So far, every MAIG mayor in Pennsylvania who has tried running for higher office has lost. However, that doesn’t mean that trend will continue. I mean it was the supposedly pro-gun middle of the state that really ran up the numbers for Attorney General Kathleen Kane who has been doing everything she can to screw with reciprocity agreements for concealed carry. She also refuses to back any pro-Second Amendment briefs on federal cases.
However, the other issue is that the alternatives aren’t looking good, either. The leading candidate is F-rated Rep. Allyson Schwartz. There is no gun control idea she hasn’t backed – banning many semi-autos, effectively closing down gun shows, magazine bans, mandating “smart guns” that don’t exist – you name it, she’s backed it. She has no apologies for these positions, and she thinks she can win Pennsylvania on such a platform. She might be right.
Some other names in the running include Katie McGinty who is reportedly running on a “tighter gun control” platform, and Tom Wolf who is a possible slight improvement running on only “some gun control.”
The sad part is seeing just how much the Pennsylvania media will do to try and cover up any extreme positions on this subject so that it can never be a controversy. In 2010, a major local political news site at the time reported that the Democratic gubernatorial candidate was on the “right flank” of the party on guns and supported gun rights. A look at his policy proposals actually showed he was more extreme than even many F-rated lawmakers out of Philly.
It’s up to gun owners to spread the word about these candidates. Unfortunately, I’m not sure they are that excited to do it over the course of the next 14 months. Too many times, we hear people who don’t take the threat seriously because the GOP holds the House and Senate, too. Unfortunately, when we are losing seats in these chambers, they tend to flip from A to F-rated. When the switch is finally flipped in Pennsylvania, there’s a very good chance that the transition to New York & New Jersey-style laws will not be gradual. It could happen very quickly.
Free and Clear to Carry at Bloomsburg Fair
I’m a bit late to this story, where Bloomsburg, PA had banned firearms from its fairgrounds, but it seems they have reversed their policy.
“Proper permits with a firearm will be allowed on the fairgrounds – even though I’m going against the recs from homeland security,” said Bill Barrett, the Bloomsburg Security director.
DHS can shove their recommendations where the sun don’t shine. Is it any surprise the Obama Administration is peddling anti-gun advice under the banner of Homeland Security? Either way, the people who run the fair are wise to act quickly, before the preference cascade kicks in. That’s the big mistake that the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show made.
Local Elections Matter
In Pennsylvania, we elect our judges. This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. One of the biggest issues is the fact that even the most informed voters often know nothing about the judges on the ballot before them. Add to that the fact that these judges are elected in off-year elections with very low turnout, and it’s both an opportunity and an uphill battle if you want to see meaningful change in the justice system.
Consider the case in Erie right now. Erie 4th Ward District Judge Tom Robie isn’t on the ballot again until 2015. He last won in an unchallenged race in 2009 with the support of both parties from the looks of one of the election results pages I found. Unfortunately for the citizens of Erie, that may not be such a good thing if Judge Robie’s reported actions in a recent gun possession case are any indication.
Pennsylvania has a pretty clear preemption law that doesn’t allow local governments to regulate possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens. The City of Erie violated the ban and passed their own ban on possession in city-owned parks. Several men were cited in violation of this illegal ordinance. And, according to social media posts by those involved in the case, the judge decided to find them guilty of violating the illegal ordinance anyway, despite the case law on the subject. I haven’t found a news story about the decision yet, but here is one with better background on the case.
For purposes of legal action, these guys can clearly appeal and hope that, at some level, they get a judge who cares about actually making sure that the laws are followed by both the government agents and citizens. However, even if that happens, the judge who ignored the case law on the issue gets to enjoy the perks of his taxpayer-funded job with few people caring that his cases may end up overturned because he appears to have opted to ignore the state’s preemption law and related established case law.
For election purposes, this is a great opportunity for local gun owners to get involved with local parties and start finding a replacement for Judge Robie on the next ballot. They can find him a primary challenger from either side. So, will local gun owners pick up this cause? It’s a long way to 2015, but since they need to find a candidate willing to take on this judge, the process needs to start early. But, if local gun owners would be willing to take up this cause, then it can send a clear message to many more local politicians – judicial or otherwise.
Upcoming Action Day for Gun Control
Most folks have heard that President Obama’s Organizing for Action group has declared August 21 to be their gun control day. But have most of you actually looked at the schedule around you to see who they are targeting?
Here in suburban Philly, we have some highlights. They start tonight with a phone bank in Solebury and tomorrow night in Bethlehem targeting the entire area of Southeast PA.
They really want to cause problems for Rep. Jim Gerlach judging by the Trappeand Exton rallies planned. Most gun owners probably assume that Rep. Joe Pitts has no major election concerns, but they are targeting his district with two rallies and a phone bank effort. Even Rep. Charlie Dent who managed to defeat a MAIG mayor in a recent election will be facing pressure.
If Republicans who signed on to co-sponsor a few bills thought that would make the left go away, they were sorely mistaken. Rep. Patrick Meehan will be subject to two rallies attempting to keep gun control the issue alive in his district. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick is also slated for a rally to keep the divisive issue on the front pages.
Gun owners need to make sure that gun control voices aren’t the only ones that these lawmakers hear from next week. Even if some have already signed on to bills we don’t like, don’t give up. If they hear silence from our people, they’ll think it’s okay to sign on to even more extreme gun control.
AP Article on Pennsylvania GOP
The AP has an article on the GOP, that I could best sum up as “Tax protesters, tea partiers and creationists, oh my!” Also with a healthy heaping of homophobia and xenophobia, just to round out the article. Pennsylvania has always politically divided more along urban, suburban and rural than by party, which isn’t something this article alludes to. The media will obviously do what they can to scare suburban voters by bringing forth the likes of Metcalfe and Bloom, and it will work. Corbett would be smart to distance himself from the GOPs far-right heading into his re-election campaign.
They Can Add Me to the List …
… of people who are not fans of Chief Kessler. IÂ think his being the public image of this issue in Pennsylvania is more harmful than helpful. In the past few years, I’ve I haven’t been talking as much about what I think is smart activism, versus what I think is just clownish behavior can actually hurt the cause. I’ve heard Chief Kessler speak, and heard what he has to say, and I did not walk away with a favorable impression of him as someone who can carry our message effectively. The news stories since then have not dissuaded me from that view.
In the wake of the Newtown tragedy, we had a strong, local upwelling of pro-gun sentiment that happened relatively spontaneously. After years of trying and failing to organize in various contexts, it was something to feel optimistic about. But as time wore on, the sensible folks who wanted to do real political engagement were pushed out by the clowns and whack-a-doodles, and the crowds aren’t turning out anymore. The potential is there, but it’s not surprising to discover most gun owners don’t really want to engage in loud and aggressive open carry protests and counter-protests all of the time. Every tactic has its limits.
After this groundswell got started, the local politicians were paying attention. Even politicians we never figured would touch the gun issue with a 20 foot pole were at least willing to come see what the buzz was about. Now I’d be surprised if they want to touch the gun issue with a 50 foot pole, especially if they think it’ll mean having to explain their involvement with a group allied with Chief Kessler’s CSF to their largely suburban constituents.
Only about half of households are gun owning, and many of them are completely unfamiliar with the gun culture. They have a difficult time even putting something like IPSC or IDPA into context, let alone something like a Constitutional Security Force. Additionally, it’s always a good rule of thumb is that when even fellow gun owners are put off by your tactics, it’s a signal you might want to rethink what you’re doing. You can hew and haw all you want about how wrong they are, and you might have a point, but at the end of the day you need to bring those people along with whatever you want to accomplish.
There is a very strong strain in the pro-gun community that seems to believe only good intentions matter, and arguing over what makes for effective tactics amounts to a form of elitism. I’ve resisted these conversations in recent years, because to be honest, I haven’t had the time or energy to deal with it. But I’ve watched too much opportunity here in Pennsylvania get sacrificed to clownish behavior in the past few months to keep completely silent about it.
Here’s the cold, hard truth: if we do not manage to keep suburban legislators and suburban voters on the side of, or at the least acquiesced to the idea of civilian gun ownership, Pennsylvania will slowly begin transforming into New Jersey and New York. Attitudes might be a bit different in places like Gilberton, but because of migration patterns in Pennsylvania, it’s increasingly suburban Philadelphia voters who call the shots in state elections. You can’t avoid having to consider what those voters think of you.
And it’s not just suburban voters; suburban gun owners have to feel comfortable being involved. Tactics that alienate and keep them on the sofa are cutting off your nose to spite your face. It takes more than a couple dozen activists with megaphones, banners, flags, and ARs and AKs strung across their chests to defeat a gun control bill, to push a pro-gun bill, or to successfully swing elections. Whether you want to accept it or not, those three things are the meat and potatoes of political action. Anything that doesn’t involve supporting those processes is window dressing.
As a movement, we seem to enjoy window dressing a bit too much these days, and my fear is that’s going to kill us if we’re not careful.
Self-Defense Law in Pennsylvania Changing?
Eugene Volokh highlights how the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has opened the door to redefine Pennsylvania’s self-defense standard from one which requires the state to disprove a claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, to one where the defendant has to prove self-defense by a preponderance of the evidence. This would essentially shift the burden from the state to the defendant. Prof. Volokh notes that the legislature can codify the standard and settle the issue, which we might need to start pushing. A burden shift like this is going to mean more ambiguous self-defense cases are going to end up going to trial, even if the state doesn’t have a remarkably strong case.
Looks like we’re not finished on this subject yet in Pennsylvania. Looking at the opinion here, it would seem to me that there might be the votes to change the standard, since three justices joined in the Chief’s opinion, while only two filed concurring opinions that took issue with the self-defense statements. Note that Orie Melvin did not participate in this case because she was on leave from the court, and eventually convicted of several felonies.
Pennsylvania conducts Supreme Court elections in off years. A lot of people, including gun owners, don’t vote in these elections. These are the wages of that belief. Or perhaps I should say the continuing wages of that belief, because we’re still living with de facto registration in Pennsylvania thanks to the ruling in ACSL v. Rendell. I’d note that opinion was handed down in 2004, and we’re still hearing nothing but promises from legislators in terms of fixing that, nearly a decade later. I would not hold out hope they’ll fix the self-defense issue if the Supreme Court acts there in any kind of timely manner. Supreme Court elections are very important.