Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
“…the Second Amendment is becoming a suicide pact,"
- California Governor Gavin Newsom
In an interview following the illegal, horrific, and deadly attacks in California last week, Newsom made this polarizing and emotional claim, but later back stepped and said "…I have great respect- I have no ideological opposition to someone who is reasonably and responsibly owning firearms and getting background checks and being trained”. Newsom seems rather inconsistent.
California arguably has the strictest gun laws in the country. California imposes tests, mandatorily training, background checks, licenses for ammo and firearm purchases, red flag laws, registries, gun bans, magazine capacity limits, and waiting periods. Yet, horrible senseless tragedies such as Monterey Park, and Half Moon Bay occur.
In a newsletter, on January 28th, California Attorney General, Rob Bonta stated, “California has some of the lowest firearm mortality rates in the nation…” He later states, “At the DOJ, we will continue to work every day to enforce and defend our state’s commonsense gun safety laws”.
Bonta pledges NOT defend the citizen’s right to self-defense but defend “commonsense gun safety laws”.
Even though, Bonta claims California has “some of the lowest firearm mortality rate” his website claims:
If you look at the Attorney General’s Website, you would believe that things are out of control everywhere in the country, including California. Now, Bonta seems rather inconsistent.
So which is it?
Do the “commonsense gun laws” that AG Bonta so fervently “defends” work… or do they not?
Let us not forget one of the pages from the far left’s playbook for tyranny:
“You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
- Rham Emanuel
In another post on the California AG’s website, Bonta claims that the way to protect citizens in houses of worship is to disarm the people that attend. He is quoted as saying, “The fact is, more guns in more places makes us less safe and interferes with the ability of our citizens to exercise their constitutional rights”.
So, Bonta appears to be implying that exercising one constitutional right infringes upon another constitutional right? Or is it perhaps that he does not in fact recognize that if citizens arm themselves to protect themselves, they are INDEED exercising a constitutional right?
In the article it states, “In the United States, tragic mass shootings such as those we've seen in recent days are all too common and as we see this trauma compound in our communities, we must do more, not less. We must provide the public with protection from gun violence, and respect the authority of states as they implement commonsense gun regulations to safeguard their communities.”
Once more the folks that are hell bent on disarming law abiding Americans are using an evil criminal action as a way to promote the usurpation of the Constitution and the individual’s right to self-defense.
So why should we be aware of and examine California’s pathway to tyranny?
Bonta joins AG’s from across the county (including Pennsylvania AG Michelle Henry) in submitting an Amicus Brief urging court to maintain states’ authority to limit possession and use of firearms in certain sensitive public places.
Don’t think it can’t happen here! Think again!
So what is happening elsewhere in the world?
On January 28th, an evil heinous attack was carried out against a Synagogue in Jerusalem murdering 7 and wounding 2. Ironically enough, the Israeli government is not calling for gun bans and restricting and disarming the Israeli people.
Recently, Joe Biden approved sending 31 M1 Abrams Tanks to the Ukraine. Ironically, it would seem that the solution to the aggression of an invading army is not to disarm the Ukrainian people, it is to send them even more fire power.
So why are many currently in “power” in the United States so aggressively pursuing the restriction and limitation of the individual American’s Right to arm themselves for defense?
“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.”
- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, 1787
“Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins.”
- Elbridge Gerry, Spoken during floor debate over the Second Amendment, Annals of Congress, August 17, 1789
“For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.”
- Thomas Jefferson, Eighth State of the Union Address, 1808
“The ultimate authority...resides in the people alone...The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition.”
- James Madison
Many of those “in power” are letting criminals run rampant. Many of those “in power” are promoting lawlessness and they are actively empowering criminals and tyrant local elected officials.
WHY?
“You never let a serious crisis go to waste”
Do not be fooled by fear and rhetoric!
The recent years of government overreach, and house arrests have taught us that many in government today are saying similar things that tyrants of the past have also said.
“The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force.”
“Tell a lie loud enough and long enough and people will believe it.”
“It is a quite special secret pleasure how the people around us fail to realize what is really happening to them.”
- Adolf Hitler
YOU are the ultimate check and balance in our Constitutional Republic. Our Constitutional Republic is seemingly broken. It is not seemingly broken because of the tyrants in the hall of the government; It is seemingly broken because WE HAVE ALLOWED the tyrannical elements to root themselves in the halls of government like weeds and briars in a garden of Liberty. It is time we take responsibility for this and do what is necessary to right the ship.
We must educate ourselves and impose our insistence of liberty upon those elected officials and demand that they not “defend” “commonsense gun laws” they must faithfully defend the Pennsylvania and U.S. Constitutions, and the individual’s right to self-defense, or they will become unelected officials. We must however, back up our words at the polls, show our presence in the halls of the Capitol and continue to fight tyrants in the courts.
PA Constitution Article 1 Section 21, Right to Bear Arms:
The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.
Second Amendment of the US Constitution:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Recognize, YOU are “The People” and “We The People” have the power in this country. GET INVLOVED and do the extra work we must do to ensure we leave this country better than we found it. An armed and educated citizenry is the TRUE check and balance in our Constitutional Republic and the ultimate homeland security.
Act accordingly!
Joshua Prince is a prominent Pennsylvania attorney who has been responsible for many of the arguments that have led to decisions that have had long standing positive effect upon the rights and liberties of Pennsylvanians. Many of these decisions have helped to ensure that gun owners’ rights were not trampled upon by local municipalities and governments.
Joshua Prince has represented FOAC and FOAC-ILLEA in various legal actions including:
FOAC, et al v Harrisburg (Preemption Violation)
FOAC, et al v Pittsburgh (Preemption Violation)
FOAC, et al v. Lower Merion Township (Preemption Violation)
FOAC-ILLEA, et al v PSP Commissioner Evanchick (PICS Delays)
FOAC-ILLEA, et al v AG Shapiro (PICS Hearing Delays)
Commonwealth v Hicks (Amicus Brief)
Barris v. Stroud Township (Amicus Brief)
Commonwealth v Crawford (Amicus Brief)
Joshua Prince’s campaign website states:
Commonwealth Court Candidate Joshua Prince is the principal of the Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C. and an associate at Prince Law Offices in Berks County, P.C. Josh is a native of the Commonwealth dedicated to making life better for all liberty loving Pennsylvanians.
Josh is a Cum Laude graduate of McGill University in Montreal and Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg. At Widener, Josh was a member of the Widener Law Journal before he graduated Cum Laude, again, in the top ten percent of his class.
Josh joined Prince Law Offices in 2009 and immediately began his civil rights practice where he defends victims of civil rights deprivations at the local, state, and federal levels. In 2016, Josh, seeing the need for a law firm devoted to the ardent protection of our civil liberties, founded the Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C. Beyond handling all civil rights issues at the state and federal level, Civil Rights Defense Firm has several divisions, including one concentrating on firearms law and second amendment issues, where Josh serves as Chief Counsel. Josh has represented more than 8000 individual clients in the protection of their right to bear arms, without consideration for all the other constitutional matters that he has handled in his career.
Josh routinely defends citizens against unlawful seizure, failure to provide due process, and violations of equal rights. In fact, he has appeared before the appellate courts in Pennsylvania 45 times since 2009. He has litigated everything from significant class action cases to mental health commitments under Pennsylvania’s Mental Health and Procedures Act. Josh has also secured major victories in criminal law and education law. One landmark case ensures that students over 18 years old are afforded due process in disciplinary cases.
Moreover, Josh was the first attorney in the Commonwealth to file a challenge, before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, to the disastrous COVID lockdowns, even when Governor Wolf declared that law firms were non-essential and attempted to preclude him from challenging the unconstitutional restriction. And, his team was among the first to challenge the draconian fines levied against establishments, like Taste of Sicily, that were alleged to have violated the COVID lockdown orders and to contest the mask mandates in schools that have seriously harmed our children. Pennsylvania needs Joshua Prince on the Commonwealth Court. His established record reflects that he is beyond qualified for the job.
It is very important that every American educate themselves about those that are seeking office. If you care about the 2nd Amendment and Article 1 Section 21 of the PA Constitution, only vote for those candidates that have a record of protecting the individual’s right to self-defense by upholding the Constitution.
An armed and educated citizenry is the true check and balance in a Constitutional Republic and the ultimate homeland security.
By Jim Stoker, FOAC-ILLEA President
So now we have the ATF once again trying to legislate through regulation. What am I referring to? New ATF Final Rule 2021R-08F… “Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached ‘Stabilizing Braces’”. Three hundred pages of ATF babble and confusing legal speak that even their own attorneys couldn’t understand. In short, the intention is that any pistol with a barrel length of less than sixteen inches that is equipped with a stabilizing brace that allows it to be fired from the shoulder is now considered a short-barreled rifle and is subject to the restrictions (they mean infringements) of the National Firearms Act.
The rule is an overstep by the ATF and a blatant infringement on the 2nd Amendment and Article I, Section 21 here in Pennsylvania. The ATF has a long history of attempting to legislate through regulation. These decisions on legality are to be left to the legislative body which obviously in this case would be Congress. This is clearly a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.
Having said that, what are your remedies? You can register it with the NFA, replace the barrel with one over sixteen inches long, remove the brace and permanently modify the firearm so no brace can be attached to it again, surrender it to the ATF, or destroy it. While we are aware a lot of U.S. citizens are conforming to the new “rule”, we firmly believe it will be struck down once the pending lawsuits make it to the courts. The Second Amendment Foundation has already filed suit along with Rainier Arms, LLC and two private citizens. SAF et. al. v. BATFE, et. al. We are confident that this will strike down the ATF’s overreach and bring the issue to a close, at least outside of Congress. Just one more indication that the ATF is becoming a more and more a tool for the different administrations to push unconstitutional goals around the legislature.
Roughly one week after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the bump stock ban (See Article Here), the ATF’s wonder kids put this one out. Federal research indicated there could be as many as 40 MILLION of these weapons out in sportsmen’s hands. How long do you think it will take to get a tax stamp in the NFA process now? The good news is that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ATF’s bump stock ban stating that it was not within the power of the executive branch to take action against bump stocks and that only the U.S. Congress could do so. What does that mean for the ATF’s pistol brace rule? It means legal trouble. Separation of powers means Congress, the legislative branch, writes the laws, not the executive branch, of which the ATF is a part. It means the ATF’s writing of regulation to outlaw devices not covered by the scope of current law has been deemed unlawful by a higher court, and combined with the opposite opinion from three other Federal courts will most likely lead the debate to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Their decision, should they choose to hear the matter, will determine for the U.S. citizen whether we have an elected representation in charge of our laws, or a tyrannical agency too long let loose on American liberty and our way of life. It will have a direct impact on numerous other initiatives by this rogue agency including their recently released “Frame and Receiver Final Rule” redefining partially completed firearms and privately made firearms under the ruse of combating the ever so dreadful “ghost gun”… a term created to generate fear in the common citizen if there ever was one.
Pay attention, brothers and sisters, and become vocal in the fight. Expect the courts to shoot down this blatant infringement but remember that the battle to defend our natural rights is an ongoing effort and we need each and every one of you to engage in it. Reach out to your elected officials, support our organization and others like us, make sure you and everyone like you gets to the polls to vote when the time comes. The anti-gun crowd is chomping at the bit to take another 5% away from us, and we need to be vigilant and outspoken to prevent it from happening.
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.
FOAC-ILLEA Event Coordinator, Kevin Jackson, is looking for volunteers to help man a table at the Washington County Gun Show on April 15th & 16th 2023- 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. If you can help, please contact Kevin at 412-302-3544 or by E-Mail.
FOAC-ILLEA spring gun bash tickets are available NOW.
The FOAC-ILLEA gun bash is known to be one of the BEST BASHES in Pennsylvania.
Feast your eyes on the list of guns:
We will also have our famous special package side raffles. This time we will be adding a special “Gun Builders Package” that will include a 3D Printer and all the parts needed to build your very own semi-automatic pistol.
The FOAC-ILLEA Spring Gun Bash will be held on Saturday, March 18th, 2023 at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Washington, PA.
Tickets are $50 and will be available NOW on the FOAC-ILLEA Website.
This month, I have done a lot of work with gun owners and FFL’s across the Commonwealth. FFL’s have said that PICs is running more reliably and faster since FOAC-ILLEA’s lawsuit with PSP Commissioner Evanchick. Many of them, however, were aware that it was FOAC-ILLEA that funded this action. Many were unaware of the work we have done in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
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.
Let’s see if each one of us can get at least one person to visit the website and join our ranks as a member of FOAC-ILLEA!
Stay Armed and Be Well Regulated!
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.
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, or 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!