Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Monday June 12th, a small contingent of gun owners joined us at the PA Capital for the 2023 Pro-2A Rally. The attendance was indeed more than last year, but the showing was less than impressive.
Those who were in attendance were eager to celebrate the free exercise of their Constitutional Right to defend themselves and those who they love.
Special thanks to FOAC-ILLEA member, Con Engels for sharing his fantastic photos.
Speeches were given by the rally hosts, House 2A Caucus Chair, Rep. Abby Major, and the Senate 2A Caucus Chair Sen. Chris Dush. Special guest speakers were Karise and Jerel Crew, fellow Pennsylvanians, educators, leaders in the PA Chapter of the National African American Gun Association, and founders of That Gun Talk LLC.
There was a slight drizzle, and there were massive audio issues with the PA system, that were never resolved, but the speakers used their “outdoor voices” and all in attendance heard their messages of freedom.
That day, FOAC-ILLEA leadership and other concerned gun owners met with various elected officials and staff members to further the cause of freedom and our US and PA Constitutions.
What will it take for Pennsylvania gun owners to get involved?
Perhaps if the legislature passed an AR-15 gun ban, would that motivate people to make a showing and get involved? How about a red flag law? Maybe a magazine capacity restriction law? How about a gun confiscation act? Maybe mandatory storage laws? Perhaps mandatory training to BUY a firearm? What about a law that limits the number of guns and ammo you can buy each month? How about a law that lets every individual town and municipality make their own laws about guns and ammo? Oh wait, I know, what if the government tried to re-write or repeal the 2A of the US Constitution and Article 1 Section 21 of the PA Constitution… I bet gun owners would get active THEN, RIGHT???
Hey… guess what…. There are elected officials and appointed officials in all branches of government trying to do all of those things RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!
Here are 44 “anti” bills out of over 100 “gun” bills that have been proposed this year (so far) in the Pennsylvania Legislature. Let me tell you…. THEY ARE TRYING TO DO EVERTHING I LISTED ABOVE AND MORE!
If you want to read a short synopsis of each of these bills, CLICK HERE.
Gun owners’ inaction as VOTERS has placed anti-Constitutional representatives in positions of major influence. Our government is being run by those that are trying to disarm you and they are hog wild on wielding their power by enacting a blitzkrieg of legislative assaults upon our personal liberties. We have an uphill battle to take back the ground we lost in the last election. We are being assaulted by more anti-Liberty / anti-Constitutional, Anti-2A legislation EVERYDAY. We cannot wait any more.
During the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, Small groups of US Military personnel were over run. Men lost their lives because they were out of ammo and “back up” could not arrive in time. The US Military in Africa was far superior than any ground force when you consider their continent-wide capabilities, but the small groups of men, on the ground, in the streets, were no match for the hoards and mobs. These soldiers fought valiantly, some Americans were saved, but some paid the ultimate price because they were simply outnumbered on the ground.
We cannot let ourselves get outnumbered in the halls of government!
We need the help of gun owners! We need your emails, phone calls, and stamped envelopes. We also need you to join us and stand beside us at events, rallies, and seminars to show our numbers and resolve. If you wait till these bills pass to get involved… you will be too late.
Now is the time to organize. Now is the time to get motivated!
Are you reading this newsletter as a non-member of FOAC-ILLEA? Join us! I guarantee it will be the best $30 you can invest in the future of our right and liberties. We will not spend it in another state or on a “free” Chinese knife. If you are a member, do you have a family member that would like to join? Help us grow the ranks! Are you a member that would like to get more involved on committees? Send us an email and let us know how you would like to get involved.
We can fight off the anti-gunners in Harrisburg if we work together!
Usually when you leave the “solution” to any “problem” up to the government, there is inefficiency, overreach, and abuse. The government insists on trying to regulate all behavior (except perhaps criminal behavior), and many Americans are fearful of retribution when they reach out to others for help.
Gun owners are held to a different standard.
If you are a drug addict and want more drugs or substitutes you can get them and get them from the government in many cases. If you want food or an apartment for free, you can get it. If you want to sleep in a tent and defecate on the street… you can. In many cities, if you want to steal from a store, you can take what you want without fear of reprisal. However, if you want to get medical treatment or mental health treatment, and you are a gun owner, you are treated different. You may lose your ability to protect yourself by asking for help. This is a travesty.
There are safe places to seek mental health help from “our own”.
Hold My Guns is a Pennsylvania based organization that has a nationwide footprint. Hold My Guns’ mission is to connect responsible firearm owners with voluntary, private off-site storage options, through their national network of partnering gun shops and FFLs, during times of mental health crisis or personal need.
The HMG’s website states:
To be human is to go through ups and downs. We believe that times of hardship should be met with an outpouring of compassion and camaraderie.
While many organizations use “gun safety” as a cover to take away your rights, our focus is to never compromise rights for the sake of “safety”.
Each HMG Storage Partner is vetted through a process that includes attorney review of storage contract, and proof of licensing and insurance coverage.
Another fantastic organization is Walk the Talk America. The WTTA website states:
Walk the Talk America believes that by improving the quality and availability of mental health resources to gun owners we can reduce suicide by firearm. We are paving the way by educating mental health professionals about gun culture and breaking negative stigmas around mental health for gun owners. We are saving lives.
Walk the Talk America offers free, anonymous mental health screenings online. We also provide informational flyers for gun manufacturers or firearms store owners to distribute with each sale gun owners are aware of mental health resources.
Bridging the gap between the gun culture community and therapists, Walk the Talk America offers cultural competence classes to educate mental health professionals about the gun culture/2A community to better serve their clients.
Walk the Talk America works together with national organizations such as Mental Health America and local organizations like Zephyr Wellness. Through these partnerships, we have been able to bring the mental health community to national firearm shows such as the NRA and SHOT Show.
By Matthew Blank, MA, LPC, Hold My Guns® Board Member
Originally published in the Hold My Guns Newsletter
June, Men’s Health Month, provides an opportunity to address burnout and prioritize mental wellness in your daily routine.
Men bear significant responsibilities in their homes, workplaces, communities, and country, often feeling stressed by the multitude of tasks.
Recognizing these challenges, it’s crucial to proactively prevent burnout. As part of the firearms community, the Hold My Guns® team appreciates your efforts and encourages you on your journey.
Here are some practical tips to invest in your mental health and create a fulfilling life:
Prioritize Yourself:
Carve out time each day for activities that bring you joy, rejuvenate you, and restore your energy. Engaging in shooting sports, exploring the outdoors, or pursuing hobbies that ignite your passion should be given time in your life. These activities serve as vital investments in your mental health, help reduce stress and recharge your battery.
Action item: Identify three activities that you enjoy doing and put them on your calendar.
Set Healthy Boundaries:
Recognize the value of setting healthy boundaries to protect your well-being. Learn to say no to commitments that you can’t wholeheartedly fulfill. This will help free up time to prioritize yourself. Consider delegating tasks to others that do not fit into your schedule. Guard your time against working for free at the cost of your personal time. Delegate tasks, seek support from loved ones, and design a schedule that gives you time for reflection and regrouping.
Action item: Practice saying no to one commitment that doesn’t fit in with your priorities.
Master Stress Management:
Stress is inevitable, but ensuring our basic needs are met first can make a significant difference in how we manage stress. Getting proper sleep and rest is extremely important when managing stress. Most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep. To support good sleep, don’t drink more than 24 - 32 ounces of coffee per day, get off those screens 30-60 minutes before you go to bed. Getting regular exercise will also support good sleep. Just an extra 30 minutes of walking per day can make a difference. And finally, write down the things stressing you out. Carry around a Field Notes or other small notebook and a pen to jot down your to do lists or frustrations. There’s something calming about getting those things on paper that’s more effective than using an app.
Action item: Choose one thing you will do to manage your stress and incorporate it into your daily routine.
Cultivate Meaningful Connections: Nurture relationships with individuals who share your values and understand the importance of mental health. Engage with the firearms community, connect with like-minded enthusiasts, and foster supportive connections. Share experiences, challenges, and successes with trusted friends, mentors, and family members who are there for you and inspire you. Reach out to friends and people you’ve been meaning to hang out with. Investing your time in meaningful connections provides a sense of belonging and support during difficult times.
Action item: Reach out to one friend or mentor who backs you up and inspires you.
Remember, your well-being matters, not just during the month of June – but it’s a great starting point to build healthy habits.
The Hold My Guns® team is here to support you every step of the way! Take charge of your mental health, embrace a balanced lifestyle, and enjoy the journey to a more fulfilling life.
If you would like to see a past episode of Meet The Pressers with guest Sarah Joy Albrecht, founder of Hold My Guns, CLICK HERE. BTW… this particular episode has a special message from the late Kim Stolfer.
FOAC-ILLEA President, Jim Stoker, guest co-hosted an episode of Meet The Pressers. Stay tuned to see the episode when the show “airs”. FOAC-ILLEA is a sponsor of Meet The Pressers.
FOAC-ILLEA President, Jim Stoker, FOAC-ILLEA Board Member Lisha Mihalko, and FOAC-ILLEA VP Klint Macro at the Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League June Meeting.
FOAC-ILLEA Vice President, Klint Macro met with Unified Sportsmen of PA Vice President, Pete Kingsley at the Sinnemahoning Snake Hunt.
"Made it harder for people buy stabilized brief— braces. Put a pistol on a brace, it turns into a gun, makes it more, you can have a higher-caliber weapon, higher-caliber bullet coming out of that gun."
- President Joe Biden
The anti-gunners in Harrisburg would confiscate all of our “defensive tools” if any of us acted or spoke the way Joe Biden does most of the time. Yet… Joe still has the “button” to the US strategic nuclear arsenal. Isn’t it ironic…. don’t you think?
As we continue to expand and evolve as an organization, we are going to begin publishing blogs on the FOAC-ILLEA website and re-tool the look of the FOAC-ILLEA Newsletter. We will also be engaging in some exciting ways to spread awareness about FOAC-ILLEA. Expect these changes within the next month!
Jim Stoker and Klint Macro will soon be hosting a FOAC-ILLEA Podcast. More info to come….
You can read news stories, articles, previous editions of the newsletter and SOON blogs on the FOAC-ILLEA Website!
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.
Yesterday was Father’s Day.
I shudder to think what the founding fathers would say about the state of our country and the state of “We The People”.
I believe they would say that “We The People” have allowed ourselves to be subjugated and have given the government too much power over our individual lives and liberties.
I am reminded of the “frog in the pot of water” analogy. Put a frog in a pot of boiling water and it will jump out. Put a frog in a pot of water and heat the water up slowly and the frog will die. Many Americans have become acclimated to the warmth emanating from the water we are immersed in.
When I work throughout the Northeast USA with folks in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island (all states with worse gun laws than ours in PA), they often say, “what can you do, it sucks!”, then they go on living with the tyranny as their rights continue to be chipped away with each legislative session.
We must not allow ourselves to perceive the heat being turned up as “OK”. We must not allow ourselves to settle for “mostly free” or “at least we are not as bad as NY, MD, NJ, CT, MA, or RI.” I am here to tell you we are one more bad election cycle from being WORSE that all of those states.
NOW is the time to step up. NOW is the time! Don’t wait till it is too late.
Stay Frosty… Armed and Be Well Regulated!
Yours In Liberty,
Klint Macro
FOAC-ILLEA 1st 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!