Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
See…. Don’t Look…..
We are often aware of what we think is going on around us, but we don’t always recognize what is actually occurring. We know somewhere, some place, the anti-gun forces are hard at work, doing their anti-gun things, and spewing their anti-gun rhetoric. But do you know how many ways our liberties are being threatened and by how many angles the attacks are coming from? Let us discuss just a few examples.
Everytown For Gun Safety is an organization that has a very big presence in the legislative lobby world as well as in the courts (many of the cities that violate preemption in PA are represented or consulted by Everytown lawyers). FIRST…. Speaking as someone who is a professional full-time firearm safety and defense instructor, I am greatly insulted that this organization has hijacked the term “safety”… but that is another conversation.
Everytown manufactures propaganda studies to be used to influence elected officials and the media to push anti-gun/anti-liberty legislation and gun control narratives. Take for instance this creative piece meant to demonize FFL’s and gun shops. The report remarks,
“In 2022, there were nearly 78,000 licensed gun dealers in the United States—more than all McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and Wendy’s locations combined, and twice the number of US post offices.”
As if this is a bad thing? This statement implies that there is an oversaturation of seedy “gun dealers” across the US that indirectly supply the “scumbags of America”.
There is lots of implied science and “creative” data in this report. Yet, never once does this “report” discuss how government has failed the citizenry and empowered criminals by providing an environment where drugs, violence, and lawlessness thrive. This “report” fails to acknowledge that record millions of law-abiding citizens are purchasing firearms to defend their families because they have learned that “the government” is likely not going to protect them.
I assure you that an elected official somewhere is studying this report right now and buying into its anti-gun message “hook line and sinker”… or perhaps even “lock, stock, and barrel.”
Take for instance a commentary from “The View” where they discuss the defensive shooting in the Indiana mall food court in 2022. This clip from Fox News ‘The Five’ exposes the hypocrisy of this anti-gun propaganda. Pay close attention to how someone with a “law enforcement background” implied that the “Good Samaritan” risked peoples lives by shooting at the bad guy.
She also redirects the conversation to illustrate that the one person who SAVED LIVES was someone who broke the law by having a concealed firearm in a “gun free zone”. So, the message is the good guy is the bad guy?
She also insinuates that someone who is “trained in defensive firearm training” (like she apparently was) would have a hard time hitting that target and therefore the non-LE-non-trained civilian was reckless for taking the shots that in reality saved countless lives.
NEVER ONCE does she admit that the “gun free zone” sign had no influence on the violent criminal who was indiscriminately murdering innocent people in a public space, AND she made no mention of the fact that LE was not on the scene while the violent criminal mass murder killed 3 innocent people. The only reason this criminal failed to kill more people was because Elisjsha Dicken, an armed citizen, was there and took on the responsibility to stop the criminal using righteous defensive violence against an evil criminal.
Take for instance recent legislation proposed in the Pennsylvania House. PA House Bill 1563 would
“require all attendees at Pennsylvania gun shows to present valid identification prior to entering the show. A copy of every attendee’s identification would be made, and the operators of the gun show must maintain these copies for at least five years. Additionally, operators would be required to make these records available to the Office of Attorney General and any county prosecutor or municipal police department upon the request of the Pennsylvania Attorney General.”
The ”reason” for this legislation as stated in the memo by Rep. Amen Brown, is that “ghost guns” and kits are readily available at gun shows and he claims “the number of ghost guns in the city (Philadelphia) continues to rise at a disturbing rate.”
First, creating a database of gun show attendees is unreasonable, unmanageable, and ineffective. Do you think a criminal could get their hands on a fake ID if they wanted to?
Do you think it could have saved Hitler and Stalin a lot of work if they had lists of people who attended gun shows?
FOAC-ILLEA is vehemently against PA HB 1563 and ANY legislation that vilifies a “thing” and calls for a database of law-abiding gun owners.
Never once does the memo or any of the anti-gun representatives from the eastern part of our Commonwealth mention that violent crime has continued to rise at a disturbing rate in Philadelphia largely due to the blatant pro-criminal policies of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
In a recent article on nationalpolice.org, Doug Wyllie wrote of Krasner,
“Since taking office as district attorney, Larry Krasner has presided over an unprecedented period of lawlessness throughout Philadelphia.
According to ABC News, over the past three years there has been an average of about 725 sexual assaults, more than 7,300 vehicle thefts, over 5,000 robberies, and nearly 9,000 assaults reported to police annually. According to local and FBI crime data, Philadelphia ranks third in the nation—behind St. Louis and Detroit—in homicides per capita. According to PPD CompStat Reports, there were 494 murders in Philadelphia in 2020 and 551 murders in 2021. Homicides declined slightly last year, numbering at “only” 504 fatalities.”
Krasner and Rep. Brown both tout that the reason for the lawlessness in Philly is the fault of “ghost guns” and AR15’s not a result of a culture of criminal violence that is perpetuated by pro-criminal policies.
Wyllie also wrote,
“Rob Pincus is a former law enforcement officer presently serving as Vice President of 2AO.org and Director of Gun Makers’ Match. In an exclusive interview with NPA, Pincus explained—in plain language—how the vilification of privately made firearms completely misses the mark.
“Criminals have been using firearms that couldn’t be traced directly to them forever, [and] private gun making kits and 3D-printing have never been a significant part of that problem,” Pincus said. “Stolen guns and guns sold privately—legally or illegally—are the primary means by which someone with criminal intent comes into possession of firearms that aren’t ‘traceable’ to them.”
Pincus explained further that there are only a handful of cases where privately made kit or printed firearms have actually been involved in violent events.
“When it comes to high profile crimes, such as mass shootings, murders that occur between known persons, ‘crimes of passion,’ and suicides involving firearms, the vast majority of the guns used were legally purchased by the person who use them in those acts and are ‘traceable’ to them,” Pincus said.”
Why would the anti-gun forces vilify gun owners, concealed carriers, and gun makers but let habitual violent criminal murderers, rapists, and thieves run rampant in the streets? It sure ain’t for safety! It can only be for control. Remember…. Gun control leads to people control.
The only thing tyrants fear is an armed and educated citizenry. YOU are in their way!
Recognize that all of the individual rights and liberties of ALL Americans are under attack from many people at all levels of government and in the media. Educate your friends, loved ones, co-workers, and colleagues. Help them to SEE not look.
An Armed and Educated Citizenry is the true check and balance in our Constitutional Republic and the ultimate homeland security!
By Stephen LaSpina, FOAC-ILLEA Board Member
Today is the official launch of my column for FOAC-ILLEA: Firearms and Freedom. So why the name?
Some things in life just go together so naturally. Peanut butter and chocolate, Batman and Robin, fireworks and Independence Day…it’s hard to picture one without the other.
The Founding Fathers of our nation clearly understood that a free people was an armed people. They could not picture one without the other. Indeed, they knew that they could not be truly free if they were not armed.
Thomas Jefferson said, “No free man shall ever be barred the use of arms.”
George Mason, giving a speech in 1788, said, "To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." He equated being disarmed with slavery.
George Washington said, “Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the people’s liberty’s teeth.”
There are those today who advocate for disarming the people. Their attempts are less and less subtle. They propose the banning of the most commonly used rifle in America, or suggest taking away people’s guns before they have been convicted of a crime. These modern-day Redcoats walk among us. Some of them even hold elected office while having views completely antithetical to those our nation was founded upon.
We at FOAC-ILLEA stand vehemently opposed to them and their agenda. Knowingly or not, they push for enslavement, and not liberty. The end result of disarmament is bondage, not freedom. Firearms and Freedom go together, and they’re American as baseball and apple pie.
John Lott said, “A man with a gun is a citizen. A man without a gun is a subject.”
So, here’s to many future columns devoted to helping us all be a better educated and trained citizenry. As our Vice President, Klint Macro often says, “Stay well-armed, and be well-regulated!”
By Larry Keane, originally published July, 7, 2023 on the NSSF Website
Philadelphia Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner’s reaction to the horrific tragedy that unfolded in Philadelphia after a mentally unstable man fired randomly, killing five innocent bystanders reveals why he’s arguably the country’s most notorious example of a soft-on-crime prosecutor.
Authorities are still gathering facts. That didn’t stop DA Krasner from shamelessly asserting more gun control would have prevented the tragedy and taking political pot shots at those who support the Second Amendment.
At least San Francisco voters recalled their infamous district attorney Chesa Boudin for his failures. DA Krasner is still front and center in Philly.
‘I’m Against You’
It’s now known the murderer has severe mental problems. He also has a record of previous criminal charges, including misdemeanor gun charges. He exhibited recent increasingly alarming behavior. Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore reported that seven people who lived with the alleged murderer “witnessed him exhibiting abnormal behavior for quite a while.”
Pennsylvania, according to a Brady gun control report card, already holds a Top 10 spot in America for states with the strictest gun control laws. Philadelphia has even stricter gun control laws. Those didn’t stop DA Krasner from making unfounded political attacks.
“Finally, I just want to say this: it is disgusting, the lack of proper gun legislation that we have in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” DA Krasner said at a press conference immediately following the tragic shootings and before facts were gathered. “It is disgusting that you can go to New Jersey and find a whole list of reasonable gun regulation that we don’t have, that you can go to Delaware and there’s almost as long a list of reasonable gun legislation that we don’t have.”
He continued. “It is time for everybody and our legislature… it is time for every one of them to face the voters. And if they’re not going to do something, then voters are going to have to vote them out… It means ‘Vote me out. I am against you, and I’m against your safety.’”
Abysmal Public Safety Record
DA Krasner’s posturing is ironic. State legislators – elected by voters – successfully voted to impeach him last year for his abysmal record of keeping the public safe and holding criminals to account for their crimes. The Pennsylvania Senate failed to convict him, which would have required a two-thirds vote.
“One man has put himself above the law and has arbitrarily decided what laws are valid,” said Pennsylvania state Rep. Timothy Bonner. “In Philadelphia, a prosecutor is at the center of the rule of law and protecting the law and enforcing the law in this country.”
State Rep. Martina White agreed, saying that DA Krasner, “has denied that there is even a crisis of crime happening on our streets.”
DA Krasner’s obliviousness to the consequences of his inactions is astounding. He searched out the media lights to cast blame and deny responsibility. Joining PBS Newshour days after the murders, DA Krasner called for more gun control laws and defended his office’s “successful record” of falling conviction rates for gun possession crimes.
“It is more important to go after shooters than to act like anyone who possesses a gun, but failed to get a permit to carry it, is equally dangerous,” he said.
Those comments fly in the face of what Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director Steven Dettelbach said at an event to highlight cooperative efforts with NSSF to combat illegal “straw purchases” of firearms and recognized all firearm crimes are serious crimes.
“Any successful strategy to reduce gun violence requires preventing the diversion of lawful firearms into unlawful commerce,” Director Dettelbach said. “Once there, these firearms end up in the hands of people who are sometimes violent criminals and intend to do harm to the people with whom we live, the innocent people who are victims and survivors of gun violence.”
Instead of going hard on criminals in his city, especially those committing crimes involving firearms, DA Krasner chooses to push even more unconstitutional gun control restrictions.
Mayor’s Costly Advice
It wasn’t just DA Krasner who spouted wrongheaded comments in the aftermath of a tragedy. Philadelphia’s Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney criticized the lawful firearm industry and had some unsound advice for the families of victims.
“We will figure out where he got those weapons. That gun dealer or that gun show will be sued till they’re out of business,” the mayor said. “It’s just ridiculous. Every family member of someone who died or was injured in this incident should get together with a big law firm and take these gun dealers down.”
That advice is completely counter to what the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) law prohibits. Basic understanding of tort law explains that criminals that cause harm are responsible for that harm. Attempts to sue the firearm industry for crimes committed by unrelated and remote third parties is the definition of a frivolous lawsuit. Yet, Mayor Kenney and gun control groups want to abuse the judicial system to force gun control instead of holding criminals accountable.
In Colorado, Brady misled the parents of one of the victims of the Aurora movie theater shooting and urged them to sue the company that legally sold the ammunition for the heinous crime committed by the murderer. The case was thrown out of court as lacking any merit and the judge, applying Colorado law, ordered the parents to pay the seller’s legal bill. Brady failed to tell the parents this could happen and they were forced to file for bankruptcy.
No Politics for Safer Communities
Gun control politicians frequently cast blame on Americans of the other political party or those who may disagree with their beliefs on the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. That’s not how the firearm industry operates. NSSF’s Real Solutions. Safer Communities.® initiatives prevent firearms from getting into the hands of those who shouldn’t possess them. There is no political litmus test. No questions. These efforts have decades of data to back up their successes and have even garnered the praise of then-Vice President Joe Biden.
As long as ineffective politicians look to solve serious problems by pushing more laws that will be ignored by criminals, or perhaps worse by prosecutors, crime will fester. The firearm industry will continue to take the other path to safer communities no matter who wants to be a part of the solution.
By John Petrolino | 9:30 PM on July 13, 2023
Last week a lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania concerning unconstitutional zoning requirements. Unfortunately, our countrymen over in the Keystone State have been dealing with a big bout of infringements that don’t seem to be slowing. The thing that always makes my ears perk up at attention a bit in these situations are all the Jersey guys that said they fled across the border for liberty, and now the formerly solid Second Amendment friendly state is turning a deep purple. My friends over at Firearms Owners Against Crime alerted me of the latest filing.
To read the entire article…. CLICK HERE!
FOAC-ILLEA 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-ILLEA events and meetings, CLICK HERE.
Folks, FOAC-ILLEA is building a pro-gun/pro-liberty advocacy team in Philadelphia. If you are on the “east coast” of Pennsylvania and can volunteer time to help us educate elected officials and visit the occasional government building to spread the message of liberty, please let us know you would like to step up and help. EMAIL US TODAY.
Our fellow citizens in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are facing a monumental infringement bill that overreaches like no other legislation. GOAL (Gun Owners Action League) is a similar organization to FOAC-ILLEA in Massachusetts and they are dubbing Bill HD4420 the “Lawful Citizen’s Imprisonment Act”.
Gun Owners Action League head Jim Wallace told Bearing Arms “the proposed legislation is an abhorrent anti-civil rights effort. No community in Massachusetts faces this kind of intentional bigotry and oppression from the State Government! It is simply a post Bruen tantrum, very similar to Governor Wallace after Brown v. Board of Education.
HD4420 Details include:
Ban on possessing any gun, loaded or unloaded:
So why am I sharing this with you here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?
I assure you that an elected official somewhere is studying this legislation right now and buying into its anti-gun message “lock, stock, and barrel.” Do you think there are PA Legislators that would love to impose this level of tyranny on the gun owning citizens of Pennsylvania? YOU BET YOUR ASS there are!
There was a time years ago when men gathered in Pennsylvania and decided to band together and come to the aid of Massachusetts for the sake of Liberty for all in defiance of a tyrant King.
See…. Don’t Look…..
Stay Frosty, Armed, and Be Well Regulated!
Klint Macro
FOAC-ILLEA VP
FOAC-ILLEA 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-ILLEA’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-ILLEA 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-ILLEA 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-ILLEA. Share this newsletter and the website with your sphere of influence. Get a fellow gun owner to join FOAC-ILLEA.
Contact your Legislators HERE.
Read previous newsletters HERE.
The FOAC-ILLEA 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-ILLEA 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. Join us at the gun bash; purchase a ticket. 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!