Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
We are in the final stretch of the 2024 General Election.
Once more we face the most important election of our time. Each time I hear this or SAY it I can’t believe it is being said again. However, if you care about the 2nd Amendment, Article 1 Section 21 of the PA Constitution and your INDIVIDUAL right to bear arms in defense of yourself and those that you love…. It really IS the most important election of our time.
FOAC-Institute is a non-partisan organization. We do not favor one party over another. We will call out candidates or elected officials, no matter their party, if they speak out against the “Unquestionable” individual right to bear arms for protection against criminals and tyrants.
Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Bob Casey, Summer Lee, and Chris Deluzio, ALL have supported gun control. Their tactic is often to chip away at rights over time. It is death by 1000 cuts.
Open carry is often a topic that gun control advocates demonize. In Pennsylvania, we have “open carry”. So long as your firearm is clearly visible and NOT covered by clothing AND you are not IN or ON a vehicle, you do not need a license to carry your openly in Pennsylvania. You DO need a LTCF in a city of the 1st class. Philly is currently the only city of the 1st class in Pennsylvania. With that said, putting your side arm on your side and walking about town in public on public property is not illegal in PA.
FOAC-Institute will fight to keep open carry, no matter how hard the anti-gun forces seek to eliminate it.
However, just because you can don’t mean you should. Let me tell you why.
Currently there are record amounts of illegal aliens in our communities. The Biden/Harris administration has let MILLIONS of illegal immigrants, many are male and “military age and/or have criminal histories in their home countries.
Illegal aliens that DO have criminal inclinations, might be greatly enticed by seeing you with your hog leg strapped to your hip. They cannot buy a gun at an FFL, so taking your gun might be cheaper for them than buying a stolen one on the black market.
There are basically 3 types of criminals: casual criminals, career criminals, and apex predators. All 3 have one thing in common… they commit crimes of opportunity.
Crimes are not reported correctly in this country, read more about it in the “In Closing” section of this previous FOAC-Institute newsletter. Recently, John Lott exposed how the FBI fudged the crime numbers. The feds are NOW admitting that violent crime is very much on the rise. You can read more about that later in this edition.
Criminals are empowered opportunists.
If a criminal sees an opportunity to take, steal, kidnap, murder, or rape… they are more likely to do it. If you are open carry and have a limp, are not paying attention, have your back turned, are alone, look passive, are overburdened by packages, holding a baby, look sloppy, or unfit… you are drawing lots of attention to yourself.
A casual criminal might say, “Hey, I deserve to have a gun. I’m going to take it from this person.” A career criminal might say, “I can sell that gun for money or use it to commit my next criminal money-making enterprise.” The apex predator might say, “I’m going to take that person’s gun and kill them with it after I rape them and their family.”
If your gun is concealed, you are less likely to dray this type of attention.
One other consideration is that of 2A Ambassadorship.
Most of our fellow Americans are not comfortable around strangers with guns. I am a nationally recognized 2A advocate and firearms safety and defense instructor. I am not “wigged out” about guns. I WILL however stand between a stranger with a gun and my family. You know why? Because people are dangerous.
Open carry often draws negative attention. Although it is not the intent of a law-abiding gun owner to intimidate, intimidation is often the perceived message of the non-gun owning public.
If your gun is concealed, you are less likely to dray this type of attention.
There IS a time to make a statement. Sometimes open carry is as much a 1st Amendment exercise as it is a 2nd Amendment exercise. Just be very careful if you choose to do this.
Do not open carry or concealed carry in Federal facilities/property (post offices and post office parking lots, federal courts, the bathroom and structures at the Ft Necessity or other national parks).
Do not carry IN PA courts. You must declare your firearm to security and they SHOULD provide a locker for you to store it.
You DO need a PA LTCF to open carry in Philly.
You DO need a PA LTCF to open carry in a state park.
Double check the laws before you go to a National Park, National Battlefield, Army Corps of Engineers area, etc.….
If someone asks you to leave their private property because you are carrying a firearm, you must leave. Personal property rights are a thing and should be respected. Perhaps the best protest to a business that restricts your right to bear arms in defense of yourself and those that you love is to take your business elsewhere.
If you would like to learn more about this topic, how to interact with law enforcement while armed, dealing with school zones, learn what the definitions of a firearm are in PA statutory law, (yes there are more than one) and learn how some of the aformentioned elected officials have sought to rid you of your natural born right to self defense, attend a FOAC-Institute gun law seminar.
“Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets.”
-Abraham Lincoln
"Yes, it's a difficult situation, but this is the only way to make a new society. We have to challenge the violence. The people are scared, but they have hope in this process."
-62-year-old Iraqi literature professor Abid Jassim al-Sa'adi voting in Iraq, 2005
“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote...that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”
-Samuel Adams
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
-Abraham Lincoln
Originally posted on Prince Law Blog October 16, 2024 by Joshua Prince, Esq.
As there has been a lot of confusion and misinformation regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s Order yesterday in Lara, et al v. PSP Commissioner, I thought it prudent to explain what actually occurred and what it means.
First and foremost, the Order did not address the merits of the matter. Rather, as is customary when the U.S. Supreme Court issues a recent decision (in this case, U.S. v. Rahimi) that could have bearing on other pending cases, the Court GVRs (Grants, Vacates, and Remands) those other pending appeals, so that the lower courts have opportunity to address the new precedent, before necessitating the Court’s review of the matters. As several federal appellate courts have recognized, the issuance of a GVR does not speak to the underlying merits of the case and does not necessitate an automatic reversal.
In fact, in this regard, there were eight pending Second Amendment-related cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including cases upholding and striking down firearm laws, in both the civil and criminal context, when Rahimi was decided. All of those cases were almost immediately GVR’ed, including Doss v. U.S., 23-6842 (U.S. July 2, 2024), where the Eighth Circuit found 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) was constitutional in relation to an individual with numerous felony convictions. The issuance of the GVR in Doss was not the U.S. Supreme Court declaring that the Eighth Circuit was wrong and that the law should be held to be unconstitutional; but rather, the Court wanted the Eighth Circuit to analyze the law under its most recent precedent, before considering whether it would review the matter.
In relation to Lara, while the Third Circuit had already decided the case before the Rahimi decision was issued, as the Commissioner had not yet appealed it to the U.S. Supreme Court, there was some delay in the Court issuing the GVR. Regardless, as the Rahimi decision does not change the outcome in relation to the Lara matter, we expect for the Third Circuit to affirm its prior decision that the Second Amendment’s protections apply to 18 to 20 year olds, now under the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Rahimi.
I hope this helps better explain what actually occurred, as it can be very confusing, and some people start to read into it something that it is not.
If your state or federal constitutional rights have been violated, contact FICG today to discuss your options.
Originally Published by News2A Team on October 19, 2024
In a recent email exchange, Sarah Joy Albrecht, founder and Executive Director of Hold My Guns®, expressed significant concern and frustration with the inclusion of her organization in a federally funded initiative called “Pause to Protect,” without prior consent or notification. This initiative, run by the University of Colorado, was recently referenced in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Executive Orders on gun control under a section aimed at promoting “Voluntary Out-of-Home Storage to Prevent Firearm Suicide.” Albrecht’s reaction comes after discovering that Hold My Guns® was named as a resource on the Pause to Protect website, leading to public confusion and potential reputational damage.
Click here to read the actual email referenced in this article.
Misrepresentation of Hold My Guns®
The email begins with Albrecht recounting her previous interactions with Jehrin Clark, an advisory board member of Walk the Talk America, who also goes by the name “J. Hood.” Albrecht noted that Clark had reached out to her about endorsing the Pause to Protect initiative, which she declined. However, the discovery that Hold My Guns® was included in this federally funded project shocked her. She emphasized that no one from Pause to Protect had informed her organization of its inclusion, leading to confusion among those familiar with Hold My Guns’® mission, which is based on private, voluntary storage solutions, not government-backed programs.
Albrecht voiced her alarm about the implications of the unauthorized inclusion of Hold My Guns®. She explains that the organization is deliberately privately funded to maintain independence from government influence and preserve the privacy and rights of gun owners. “What you might not realize is that the inclusion of Hold My Guns®… falsely implies that we receive federal funding, are part of the Biden-Harris Executive Orders, and/or are affiliated with and are endorsing Pause to Protect,” she wrote. She further stressed that the misleading association damages the organization’s standing within the firearms community, which largely distrusts government programs aimed at regulating gun ownership.
Click Here to read the entire article
Originally Published by Epoch Times Written By Makai Allbert
October 12, 2024, Updated: October 16, 2024
Two hurricanes have barreled through the Southeast in just two weeks. Hurricane Helene thrashed North Carolina, while Hurricane Milton—the most destructive storm to hit the Tampa area in a century—left more than 3 million without power and at least 10 people dead in Florida.
“[We] were not expecting a one-in-1,000 event,” one resident told our photographer and editor Richard Moore amid the wreckage. Motel operator Sharon Parton said: “My son and his wife lost everything. My mother-in-law lost everything.”
Such major storms display nature’s unpredictable force, exposing how vulnerable our communities truly are.
“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ such events will occur,” Creek Stewart, an author of more than 40 books on survival, told The Epoch Times. Being ready to face adversity is a responsibility that each family must accept and embrace.
Prepping doesn’t have to be daunting. “Preparedness is very simple,” Stewart said, “but without a proper guide, you are going to become overwhelmed.”
In this guide, we streamline the process by outlining the essential items recommended by survival experts.
“Think of preparedness as an insurance policy,” preparedness expert Paul Martin told The Epoch Times. “None of us like paying insurance premiums, but we do it in order to transfer the risk of loss.”
A robust preparedness plan has three core elements: family communication, evacuation, and sheltering in place.
To continue reading this article CLICK HERE
Click here to download and print the free infographic.
Originally published on the ‘From the Desk of the VP” by Klint Macro 02/11/2024
Did you know that (according to the US Census Bureau) 154.6 million people allegedly voted in the 2020 Presidential election?
Did you further know that currently there are an estimated 393 million “civilian owned” firearms in the United States.
Did you even further know that in 2023 there was an estimated 82,880,000 individuals who owned at least one gun in the US?
According to NBC News, 52% of voters (those that are registered to vote and do vote) say that they own a gun or live in a household with a gun?
No matter how you juggle the numbers, one must ask, “How in the hell are anti-gun politicians getting into office?”
The answers are varied and can include laziness, apathy, disbelief, denial, and a little election hanky-panky here and there. I believe the biggest reason is a complete disrespect for the real threats to our 2nd Amendment.
EVERYDAY in every level of government there are plots and schemes hatched where the outcome is the disarmament of the American people. “The People” cannot be truly controlled if they are armed. “The People” cannot be stripped of their right to free speech, assembly, religion, and vote if they are armed. “They” gotta get rid of #2 first, before they can come for the rest. The gun grabbing elected class know this.
We have no real way of knowing and tracking exactly how many gun owners there are. This is actually a good thing and how it should be. It is my opinion that other people, and especially the government, have no business knowing how many Americans own guns. They also have no business knowing how many Americans own Bibles, baseball cards, or Liza Minnelli records. It just ain’t none of their damn business. With that said, I think it is safe to say that there are likely MORE gun owners than we have data for. The gun grabbers know this too. That is why they so fervently strive to disarm “The People” every chance they get.
Back to the math. The “gun owner” data we DO have is interesting.
To continue reading the entire blog post CLICK HERE.
Originally Published by Hillsdale College Imprimis written by Ryan Cleckner
The following is adapted from a talk delivered on July 23, 2024, at Hillsdale College’s Blake Center for Faith and Freedom in Somers, Connecticut.
In March of this year, Bryan Malinowski, the executive director of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, was killed by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) during a pre-dawn raid of his home. It was an unwarranted and indefensible killing of a kind that should never, ever happen in a free country like the United States. Because we have a media that no longer serves in its traditional role as a government watchdog, this incident was not widely reported. Because too many members of Congress no longer take seriously their responsibility to protect the rights of those who elect them, the ATF has suffered no repercussions.
How and why did this killing take place?
Bryan Malinowski grew up as an avid collector of coins and, more recently, firearms. He took to displaying his coin and firearm collections at gun shows, where he would occasionally purchase and sell firearms.
Under federal law, it is perfectly legal to buy and sell firearms as a collector or hobbyist, even without a Federal Firearms License (FFL). An individual doesn’t need to obtain an FFL unless he is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms. Congress has defined “engaged in the business” to apply to those who deal in firearms “as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit” as opposed to those who make “occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby.”
To continue reading CLICK HERE
Top Left: FOAC-Institute Booth at Rod of Iron Festival, Kevin Jackson, Jim Stoker, Kathleen and Dave Weaver, and Stephen LaSpina, Greeley, PA
Top Middle: FOAC-Institute President Jim Stoker presenting at Rod of Iron Festival, Greeley, PA
Top Right: FOAC-Institute President Jim Stoker, with the “That Gun Talk Crew” at Rod of Iron Festival, Greeley, PA
2nd Row Left: Klint Macro and Jim Stoker at “You want to buy the RIGHT defensive pistol?” Seminar, Homer City, PA
2nd Row Middle: Klint Macro presenting at “You want to buy the RIGHT defensive pistol?” Seminar, Homer City, PA
2nd Row Right: PA Rep. Eric Davanzo and Jim Stoker, PA Gun Law Seminar, Bridgeville, PA
Bottom Left: Jim Stoker presenting at USCCA/FOAC-Institute PA Gun Law Seminar, DuBois, PA
Bottom 2nd Pix: Kevin Jackson, Will Hoffert, Jim Stoker, Matt McNaul, Bob Canova, Klint Macro, at USCCA/FOAC-Institute PA Gun Law Seminar, DuBois, PA
Kevin Jackson with WWI Chauchat French Machine Gun
Kevin Jackson, Jim Stoker, and Scott and Erica Miller of Frog Sacks
By John R. Lott Jr., Real Clear Investigations October 16, 2024
When the FBI originally released the “final” crime data for 2022 in September 2023, it reported that the nation’s violent crime rate fell by 2.1%. This quickly became, and remains, a Democratic Party talking point to counter Donald Trump’s claims of soaring crime.
But the FBI has quietly revised those numbers, releasing new data that shows violent crime increased in 2022 by 4.5%. The new data includes thousands more murders, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults.
The Bureau – which has been at the center of partisan storms – made no mention of these revisions in its September 2024 press release.
RCI discovered the change through a cryptic reference on the FBI website that states: “The 2022 violent crime rate has been updated for inclusion in CIUS, 2023.” But there is no mention that the numbers increased. One only sees the change by downloading the FBI’s new crime data and comparing it to the file released last year.
To read the entire article CLICK HERE.
The fall 2024 FOAC-Institute gun bash is on like Donkey Kong! Join us on Saturday November 16th, 2024, from 1PM to 6PM. This is the best gun bash ticket in the Commonwealth!
The FOAC gun bash is as legendary and all American as the stories of young George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, the Doolittle Raiders, and Timothy Murphy. However, 2 times a year, YOU can be part of that legend and tradition.
Be sure to mark NOVEMBER 16th, 2024, off your calendar and join us at the Washington County Fair Grounds for our fall bash. The bashes are out main fundraising events, and the money raised through the bash are used to defend our right to keep and bear arms and Article 1 Section 21 of the PA Constitution ALL across the Commonwealth.
Over the last year FOAC-Institute has gained a lot of members from the eastern side of the state. Let me tell you, the food, fellowship, and fun that is had at the bash is well worth the trip. In addition to the main ticket drawings, there are pick of the table drawings, 50/50 raffles, a mystery safe drawing, and a WALL of guns. Join like-minded individuals as they celebrate the individual’s right to keep and bear arms.
To learn more about FOAC-ILLEA and its work to protect the Second Amendment, visit www.FOAC-ILLEA.org.
FOAC-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.
Look for seminars in Monroeville, Altoona, Laceyville, Pipersville, and more!!!
Gov. Walz’s ‘Hunt’ for Harris Votes Misses, Like So Many Prior Attempts
The Stupidity of Demanding Gun Control Knows No Borders
Fall Hunting is Here! A few tips to remember when going afield
Pennsylvania Senator Calls for End to Filibuster to Pass Gun Control
Supreme Court leaves in place Pennsylvania law barring people under 21 from carrying guns
Why Kamala Harris is facing criticism for owning a Glock
Tim Walz tries to act like an 'everyman': Dana Loesch
Vice President Harris Doubles Down on Disastrous Gun Control
Opposing Gun Laws Is NEVER 'Protecting the Criminals'
Why Carry Guns to Polling Places? Because of Things Like This.
Carrying a Firearm While Voting – It’s Political Speech and It’s Lawful!
Study Links Psychopathy to Illegal Gun Use, Not Legal Ownership
Biden’s Swan Song: More Executive Orders on Guns
Supreme Court Weighs Case Over Biden Admin’s ‘Ghost Gun’ Regulations
The following was originally published in the FOAC-Institute Newsletter from November 6th, 2023.
I remember how proud I was to vote in my first election back in 1992.
I studied the candidates, watched all of the debates, learned about their positions, consulted with mentors, made my decisions, and CAST MY VOTE! I voted for President all the way down the ballot to township supervisor.
I was very proud when I left the voting booth and deposited my ballot.
Unfortunately, “my” Presidential candidate did not win in 1992, but nevertheless, I was proud to exercise my right to vote. It was one of the rights that my uncle “Ab” died for in WWII, I was not going to squander it.
Every election since his birth, my son Augie has accompanied me to the polls, and he will be with me on November 5th! Our children (and many adults) need to learn to fight the narratives that are perpetuated by the anti-Constitutional propagandists that control our media.
YOUR VOTE DOES COUNT! Don’t let ANYONE tell you different!!!!!
There may have been hanky panky at the polls throughout history. It is very likely the election was stolen from Nixon in 1960. Many folks might raise an eyebrow at more recent elections as well, but when you DON’T vote…. THEY ALWAYS win!
You must educate yourself on each individual candidate and vote for only those that will uphold the Constitution, especially (since you are reding this newsletter) those who will uphold and protect the 2nd Amendment and Article 1 Section 21 of the PA Constitution.
With an estimated 6 million+ gun owners in Pennsylvania, why the F&%K must we be forced to deal with anti-gun/anti-liberty elected officials in Pennsylvania? Well, it has to be 1 or 2 reasons. It is either because gun owners aren’t voting… or they are voting for anti-gun candidates.
Educate yourself about the candidates and vote accordingly…. But get out and VOTE!!!!
See the PA Voter Guide from our sister organization FOAC-PAC.
GET TO THE POLLS and take your friends with you!
NOT VOTING IS A VOTE FOR THE WINNER!
Stay frosty, stay armed and BE well regulated!
Yours Most Respectfully,
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!
