Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Someone should sell tickets. Just when you think things could not get any bizarre-er….
Today useful idiots march, protest, disrupt graduations and stop certain people from freely moving about campus. Today criminals run rampant with the help of “progressive” DA’s. Today millions of “undocumented” illegal immigrants freely flow across our border.
With all of this going on, PA House Leadership is waged another battle in the war on the rights of law-abiding citizens. Today they pushed bills that would criminalize the private property of gun owners and push for an electronic database creating a defacto registration of gun owners.
Seems as if the PA House leadership is somewhat misguided, does it not?
With all of the chaos happening in our communities, the PA House Leadership is targeting a specific cross section of Pennsylvanians. Not because of what they have done, but because of who they are…. gun owners.
Today House Leadership advanced HB2206 and HB335.
“House Bill 2206 is yet another attempt by the liberal majority of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to institute a backdoor illegal gun registry in Pennsylvania,” said Jim Stoker, President of FOAC-ILLEA. “Such a registry is illegal under federal law 18 USC 926 which clearly prohibits the registration of firearms.”
Bills like this do NOTHING to stop violent crime. All they do is create an illegal “digital gun registry”. The proof is in the pudding. House leadership is not really interested in saving lives or stopping violent criminals, they are hell bent on expanding the “registration” infrastructure to control a specific cross section of the citizenry. This is VERY clearly their intent.
Let’s engage for a moment in a thought experiment. Keep in mind FOAC-Institute is a 2 issue organization (pro-gun /anti-crime). Please excuse me while use some other issues for the purpose of "devils advocacy".
What would PA House Leadership say if someone pushed a bill in the house to maintain a government registry of people who had an abortion?
What would PA House Leadership say if someone pushed a bill in the house to serialize Bibles, Torahs, and Korans and maintain a registry of “owners”?
What would PA House Leadership say if someone pushed a bill in the house that requires all citizens obtain a government issued license to have sex, notating different sexual proclivities by “class” and require people register “physical transactions” maintaining a “paper trail” of one’s sexual partners?
I would like to think (and hope) PA House leadership would be appalled by these types of bills and say words to the effect as “it is none of the government’s business!”
Why is the free exercise of the Second Amendment any different?
What about the more clearly written Article 1 Section 21 of the PA Constitution?
“The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.”
All gun control sounds a bit “question-y” don’t you think?
Rep Abby Major is often heard on the floor of the house challenging gun control bills by simply reading Article 1 Section 21 of the PA Constitution. BTW…. Not only do PA legislators swear an oath to uphold the PA Constitution they also swear to OBEY it. It would seem as if many on the house floor need a lesson on what the word “obey” means.
House Leadership often deny that they are disobeying the Constitution, and they justify their actions by touting terms such as “saving lives”, “safety”, “public health”.
How many millions of babies are terminated each year? Throughout history, how many people have died in the name of organized religion? How many people have died because of sexually transmitted diseases, rape, and fetishes?
Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? More?
Is it really all about saving lives, safety, and public health?
I submit to you…. NO… it is all about CONTROL. This begs the question, WHO does House Leadership seek to control and why?
Do they want to control violent criminals? Do they want to control roving mobs of destructive protestors dressed as and claiming to be a terrorist organization? OR, do they want to control law abiding Pennsylvanians because they choose to exercise their individual right to keep and bear arms?
Actions speak louder than words.
So why target gun owners?
The Seizure of Arms has Always Been an Act of Tyranny. (to read an excellent op ed by Keith Stanglin click here). James Madison expands on this notion in Federalist Paper number 46.
PA House Leadership wants ANY possible documentation, registration, and restriction of gun owners so that they (the government) can control them (the gun owners).
Gun owners have the means to protect themselves from a tyrannical government. This can ONLY cause concern to tyrants.
An armed and educated citizenry is the true check and balance in our constitutional republic and the ultimate homeland security.
"Mass Shooting Events, From Virginia Tech to Red Lake: An Analytical Examination" By George E. Emanuel
Mass Shootings are not a new phenomenon. As evidence may I suggest the Boston Massacre?
In discussions surrounding gun control, it is essential to ground our discourse in empirical evidence rather than emotional conjecture. Here, I present an accurate analysis of mass shooting incidents, drawing upon authoritative sources such as the FBI and insights from Michael Martin of the United States Concealed Carry Association.
Virginia Tech (April 16, 2007): Within a harrowing 15-minute timeframe, 30 lives were lost. The assailant wielded handguns, discharging 174 rounds. This rate of fire, averaging 11.6 rounds per minute, is reminiscent of the 1873 Trap Door Springfield. This firearm was used at the “Battle of the Little Big Horn,” in 1876.
Sandy Hook (December 14, 2012): In a mere 9 minutes, 26 precious lives were extinguished. The perpetrator employed an unidentified .223 caliber firearm, firing 154 rounds. This equates to a rate of fire akin to the Henry Rifle of the Civil War in 1864.
San Bernardino (December 2, 2015): Two individuals orchestrated a devastating attack, claiming 14 lives in just 5 minutes. Utilizing .223 caliber rifles obtained through illicit means,(straw purchase) they discharged 65-75 rounds, approximating the rate of fire achievable with the Sharps Rifle from the Civil War era.
Fort Hood (November 5, 2009): Over a chilling 21-minute span, 13 lives were tragically cut short. The perpetrator utilized an FN Five-Seven Pistol, firing 214 shots. This rate of fire, approximately 10 shots per minute, echoes the capability of historical firearms such as the 1873 Springfield single-shot rifle.
Binghampton, NY (April 3, 2009): In a brief 4-minute onslaught, 13 individuals fell victim as the shooter discharged 99 rounds. With an average rate of fire of 25 rounds per minute, this incident mirrors the rapidity achievable with the Civil War-era Henry Rifle.
Columbine High School (April 20, 1999): Across 47 tumultuous minutes, 13 lives were claimed by two perpetrators armed with AR15-style rifles and unidentified pistols. Despite the duration, the actual combined rate of fire remains within the bounds of a Revolutionary War Musket.
Aurora Movie Theater (July 20, 2012): Within a compressed 9-minute window, 12 lives were lost as the shooter employed various firearms. The aggregate rate of fire, approximately 9 rounds per minute, evokes comparisons to the Civil War-era Sharps Rifle.
Umpqua Community College (October 1, 2015): Over 9 minutes, 9 lives were tragically snuffed out. The rate of fire observed aligns with a Revolutionary War musket.
Charleston Church Shooting (June 17, 2015): In 7 minutes, 9 innocent lives were extinguished. While surpassing the capability of some historical firearms, the Henry Rifle of the Civil War would have been more than capable of wreaking such havoc.
Red Lake (March 21, 2005): Within a mere 9 minutes, 19 lives were claimed with 45 shots by a lone gunman wielding a Glock Pistol and a Shotgun. With a total rate of fire barely exceeding that of a Revolutionary War musket.
More recent cases yield similar conclusions except the Las Vegas shooting which employed numerous firearms and a single shooter. Bump stocks were found on several rifles at the scene but no conclusion has been revealed as yet that they were or were not employed.
As can be seen from the data so-called “high capacity” magazines, which are standard for the arm they are intended to feed, nor the potential mitigation of the loss of life by instituting an all-out ban on so-called “assault rifles” are bogus arguments as shown in the above cases.
By adhering to the empirical data provided by esteemed sources such as the FBI and informed analyses from experts like Michael Martin, we can engage in reasoned discourse and advocate for evidence-based strategies to address the complex issue of mass shootings in our society. Of course, the anti-gunners do not like facts, but liking or disliking just does not change them.
The USCCA’s book “Countering the Mass Shooter Threat’ by Michael Martin is available on the USCCA Website. It is highly recommended as an objective treatise on the subject of mass shootings.
ATF Changes Definition of “Engaged In The Business”, Expands Licensing RequirementsOriginally Posted on the Prince Law Blog by Kevin P. Fenchak, Esq.
The ATF has – yet again – issued a regulation that threatens to criminalize a wide range of conduct based on criteria that are vague at best, and perhaps even incomprehensible. A new final rule signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland purports to amend the regulatory definition of when someone is “Engaged in the Business” as a dealer in firearms and would require a Federal Firearms License. This follows a change to the underlying federal law as a result of the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” (BPSCA) of 2022, which among other gun control measures amended the definition codified at 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(21)(C).
Previously, this section of the federal code read:
The term “engaged in the business” means–as applied to a dealer in firearms, as defined in § 921(a)(11)(A), a person who “devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms, but such term shall not include a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms.”
The 2022 Act amended this by replacing “with the principal objective of livelihood and profit” with the far less precise language “to predominantly earn a profit.” What does it mean to “predominantly earn a profit” from selling firearms? That’s anyone’s guess, especially because the following language still excludes a person who makes “occasional” sales for “personal” or “hobby” purposes. It is unclear where the threshold is crossed from “occasional” to “repetitive,” or when a hobby becomes a regular course of trade, or how much of a profit one must make on sales from a personal collection before it becomes “predominant.” The result of this is to place private collectors and sellers into an increasingly uncertain gray area of the law, in which they have to guess at what point the Federal government will consider them to be in violation and subject to criminal prosecution. The carve-outs for traditional hobbyist and collector activities offer precious little reassurance.
It is precisely this language that the ATF is now inserting into their regulations, adding a new subsection to the Federal Register at 27 C.F.R. § 478 to include a definition of “engaged in the business as a dealer in firearms other than a gunsmith or a pawnbroker” at § 478.13(a) that mirrors the one given in § 921(a)(11)(A). This regulation fails to provide any clarity on the uncertainties introduced by the BPSCA and, alarmingly, directs the inquiry to the “totality of the circumstances,” effectively providing no guidance at all for those at risk of criminal penalties. The definition continues at § 478.13(b), and reads:
“Selling large numbers of firearms or engaging or offering to engage in frequent transactions may be highly indicative of business activity. However, there is no minimum threshold number of firearms purchased or sold that triggers the licensing requirement. Similarly, there is no minimum number of transactions that determines whether a person is ‘‘engaged in the business’’ of dealing in firearms. For example, even a single firearm transaction or offer to engage in a transaction, when combined with other evidence (e.g., where a person represents to others a willingness and ability to purchase more firearms for resale), may require a license; whereas, a single isolated firearm transaction without such evidence would not require a license.”
The ATF says that “other evidence” may make a single transaction without a license into a violation, but does not clarify what that evidence may be, beyond an actual offer to purchase more firearms for resale (i.e. an offer to make an illegal straw purchase).
The regulation also lists a series of “presumptions” concerning when a person is considered to be engaged in the business as a dealer. Besides the aforementioned offer to acquire more firearms for resale, it includes, in relevant part, a person who “repetitively resells or offers for resale” firearms, within 30 days after the person purchased them, or within one year if the firearms are new or like new in their original packaging, or the same make and model of the purchased firearms, or variants thereof.
Finally, the regulations contain yet another list of presumptions concerning when someone is considered to be engaged in the business “predominantly to earn a profit.” These include engaging in marketing (such as by listing firearms for resale online , tagging them with prices, making business cards, or even promotion through informal means), renting space for display of firearms offered for resale (such as a table at a gun show), making business records, establishing security measures to protect firearms assets, establishing a business entity or trade name, or securing a state business license for reselling firearms.
What is the sum total of these regulations? Well, it’s no secret, and many readers will have already noticed that, while intentionally vague, these changes tend to point towards the classic gun-show-table reseller of firearms. The ATF’s stated purposes and responses to various comments on the proposed regulation indicate a desire to increase the number of background checks performed on private gun sales, in effect realizing a longstanding desire by gun-control proponents to “close the gun-show loophole.” Following the rejection of universal background checks by Congress, it appears that the Biden administration and Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice have set out to institute them via the regulatory backdoor, with the willing assistance of those Republican congressmen who voted in favor of the BPSCA.
How exactly the ATF intends to enforce this new regulation when it goes on the books is an open question, and anyone who feels they may be at risk of enforcement should consult with qualified legal counsel before engaging in future private sales. Regular gun show table sellers or those who regularly sell firearms through online auction sites like Gunbroker should be especially wary, and should consider obtaining a Federal Firearms License if they are more than an occasional reseller of firearms. Litigation over the new rule is bound to be hot on the heels of its coming into effect on May 20th, but in the meantime caution is strongly advised.
Upcoming Dinner and A Seminar in Beaver County!
FOAC-Institute EventsFOAC-Institute presents Concealed Carry Seminars with Pro-Liberty Elected Officials, works with County Sheriffs at Satellite License to Carry Events, provides information tables at Gun Shows, and organizes for Pro-2A Rallies, gun bashes, and special events. To see the most up-to-date schedule of FOAC-Institute events and meetings, CLICK HERE.
To read the Blog Posts from FOAC-Institute President Jim Stoker Click Here
To read the Blog Posts from FOAC-Institute VP Klint Macro Click Here
To Read the Blog Posts from FOAC-Institute Board Member Stephen LaSpina Click Here
To Read past editions of the FOAC-Institute Newsletter Click Here
Pennsylvania Handgun Carry Ban on 18 to 20 Year Olds Blocked in Second Amendment Lawsuit
Supreme Court Takes Up Biden Administration’s Attempt to Reinterpret Meaning of “Firearm”
SCOTUS Schedules 'Assault Weapon' Ban Cases for May 16th Conference
26 States File Lawsuits in Federal Courts Over ATF Redefinition of Gun Dealers
UK Sword Attack Kills Teen, Leaves 5 Injured...But At Least No One Had A Gun
Quirk in Pennsylvania Law Leads to Charges Against Armed Citizen
Alleged Philly Straw Buyer Sold Guns, Tried to Hire Hitman for $200
White House, Gun Control Groups’ Trojan Horse
Anti-Gun Control Arguments 2024:Facts Gun Control Lobby Suppress
Thank you to all the FOAC-Institute members that came out to the Harrisburg 2A Rally and joined us as we visited with legislators.
FOAC-Institute President Jim Stoker and VP Klint Macro at the 2024 National Gun Makers Match at Pitcairn-Monroeville Sportsmen’s Club in North Versailles, PA
Jim Stoker Speaking at the 2024 National Gun Makers Match, North Versailles, PA
FOAC-Institute volunteers at the USCCA / FOAC-ILLEA PA Gun Law Seminar at Disobedient Spirits in Homer City, PA
USCCA/FOAC-ILLEA PA Gun Law Seminar, at Disobedient Spirits, Homer City, PA– Jim Stoker Presenting
USCCA/FOAC-ILLEA PA Gun Law Seminar, at Centerpoint Training, Everett, PA – Jim Stoker Presenting
These last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.
FOAC-Institute leadership and volunteers crisscrossed the Commonwealth educating our fellow Pennsylvania citizens and elected officials. In addition to his travel across the state, President Jim Stoker has spent HOURS AND HOURS on the phone consulting elected officials and helping to write legislation and formulate strategy to overturn and ultimately defeat anti-gun bills.
I was honored to once again be part of the National Gun Maker’s Match. FOAC-Institute is a supporter and sponsor of this event. President Jim Stoker came out and spoke for a few minutes before the match started. FOAC-Institute is and aways has been a supporter of our proud American heritage and tradition of gun building. You can read the FOAC-Institute white paper on the subject by clicking here.
At the Gun Makers Match Americans from across the country competed using the guns that they made with their own hands. People competed with pistols, pistol caliber carbines, and rifles; some were built (80% kits) and others were made from raw materials (wood, metal, and or 3D filament). Innovation and creativity abounded.
Interestingly enough, there were 100’s of undocumented “homemade” firearms and not one crime was committed and there were no injuries or hauntings. Just lots of fun, sportsmanship, fellowship, and free celebration of the 2A.
I am very pleased to announce that I came in 2nd in the staff match. More than my ability to press the trigger while not moving the gun much, I was impressed that my 3D printed pistol ran nearly flawlessly. As you have read in past editions of the newsletter, my experience with 3D printing pistol frames has been littered with “learning opportunities” and failures. During a side event, I was also lucky enough to split a playing card using my 3D printed pistol! There was a LOT of luck involved with that feat.
Later that week, many members of FOAC-Institute got up before the sunrise and headed to Harrisburg to attend the 2A Rally.
In a previous blog post, President Jim Stoker spoke of sacrifice.
I am proud of the FOAC-ILLEA turnout at the rally, but there is one member I feel that I should speak of specifically. One who has sacrificed a lot for the cause of freedom.
Recently, Blaine Toy, FOAC-Institute Life Member and President of Unified Sportsmen of PA, had an accident and broke his neck. If anyone had a legitimate excuse to NOT attend the Harrisburg Rally, it would be a man who recently fractured his neck bones. With this said, who did I see walking up the steps at the Capitol? Yep… you guessed it.
Blaine attends many of the FOAC-Institute events, he is one of the first to volunteer, and on April 30th, he got up at 4AM to travel to Harrisburg (with a broken neck) to stand with his fellow Pennsylvanian gun owners.
Blaine, I salute you! You lead by example and we ALL can take a page out of your book!
So folks, next time you say to yourself, “meh… it is a pain in the ass”, or “someone else can do it….” Remember, Blaine did it…. So can you!
Yours In Liberty,
Klint Macro
FOAC-Institute VP
FOAC-Institute is continuing to fight for the hearts and minds of our fellow Pennsylvanians to promote individual liberties and freedoms. We are steadfast and resolute and dedicated to protecting our Constitution and advancing the cause of the 2nd Amendment and Article 1 Section 21 of the PA Constitution.
FOAC-Institute’s educational efforts are expanding across the Commonwealth. FOAC-ILLEA volunteers are teaching more concealed carry classes each month and additional virtual education events are forthcoming.
FOAC-Institute is continuing to fight in the courts. Whether this means new litigation to challenge local tyrants, fight the bureaucrats that make it harder for Pennsylvanians to exercise their most basic rights, or the funding of amicus briefs to support others who are already involved in court battles, we are actively helping to establish case law that will help advance the cause of liberty.
FOAC-Institute volunteers research proposed legislation, consult with experts, and offer advice to elected officials about legislation as well as educate the public on the strength or folly of legislation that could have lasting positive or negative effects upon our liberty and the liberty of our children.
I urge you to help me spread the word about FOAC-Institute. Share this newsletter and the website with your sphere of influence. Get a fellow gun owner to join FOAC-Institute.
Contact your Legislators HERE.
Read previous newsletters HERE.
The FOAC-Institute website is a wealth of information. Track current legislation, contact legislators and elected officials, look up gun laws, read easy to understand synopsis’ on stand your ground, castle doctrine, and legal use of force. Keep up to date with current gun related news. There is all this and more on the FOAC-Institute website.
Get involved!
If you have read this entire newsletter and made it here to this statement… you are already interested and vested.
Donate your time, your talents, or your treasure. VOTE pro-2A and get your friends to vote pro-2A as well. Become a member and get your friends to become a member. If you are already a member, consider “upping your membership” to a higher level. Volunteer to help at the bash. Volunteer to join a committee to send emails, write letters, make phone calls… NOW IS THE TIME TO DO. DON’T PUT IT OFF. “We the People” have been sitting on the sidelines too long.
An Armed and Educated Citizenry is the true check and balance in our Constitutional Republic and the ultimate homeland security!