According to a press release:
Alan Sandals spoke at the Hunting and Fishing Expo about the need to "preserve the rights of lawful gun owners at the same time that we protect children from gun violence in our cities." While he was initially met with skepticism by the rural hunting community, Mr. Sandals made the case that the safety of urban children should be a top concern. Mr. Sandals regularly visits minority Churches in Philadelphia to support community efforts such as Mayor John Street's "Operation Safer Streets."
Bloggers affiliated with Chuck Pennacchio's campaign are having an online petition drive. I'm not sure I grasp the concept but a lot of people are enthusiastic about it.
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7 comments:
First, let me preface that I like both Alan Sandals and Chuck Pennacchio and that I personally attended both their debates -- the one in Harrisburg as well as the one in Philadelphia.
Sandals tried to differentiate himself from Pennacchio in the Philly debate by saying that he would be stronger on gun control than Pennacchio. That stuck in my head. Now, Sandals is appealing to hunters.
You can't have it both ways. I read Sandals' press release, and items 1 (1 handgun/month limit), 2 (eliminating the gun show loophole), and 5 (restriction of ammo) are definitely anti-hunter.
Sandals has said publicly that gun control is a main issue for him (which is fine), and he uses it as a point of differentiation. While it is possible to both in favor of reasonable, common sense gun laws and be pro-hunter, Sandals' specific stances are contridictory at best.
John Featherman
Republican Candidate, US Senate-PA
www.featherman.com
Mr. Featherman,
How is closing the gun show loophole anti-hunter? For that matter, how many hunters do you know that hunt with handguns? And need to _buy_ more than one handgun per month?
I'm not sure that you have the Pennacchio thing right -- I didn't see any online petition there, just (a) a request for blog publicity and money, and (b) mention of the current period being that for ballot petitions (meaning voter signatures required for a candidate to get on the primary ballot). I'm not sure if you are confounding those two...
ACM,
It is being billed as an online petition drive -- that is what it was named in the communications I have received and the postings I was referred to. It may be that it is simply a name used to describe a blogswarm, but since it was called an online petition drive that is what I called it to. Blogging late at night has its disadvantages and one is that I am more easily confused. ;)
heh... I have that problem in the *morning*! :)
Thomas,
To answer your questions:
1. The Gun Show Loophole. Understand that existing gun laws apply just as much to gun shows as they do to any other place where guns are sold. If dealers sell a gun from a storefront, from their home or from a table at a gun show, the rules are exactly the same: they can get authorization from the FBI for the sale only after the FBI runs its "instant" background check. What the "Gun Show Loophole" applies to is private sellers of guns -- people who are not engaged in the business of selling firearms. The overwhelming majority of guns offered for sale are from federally licensed dealers. Eliminating the loophole would make it difficult for private sellers to sell their guns. In many cases, we are talking about widows who are selling their deceased husband's gun collection.
2. Hunters and handguns. Handguns are very popular for deer and big game hunting in Pennsylvania.
3. One handgun per month. First, such a law sets an unconstitutional precedent -- namely, that government can limit the frequency with which a law-abiding citizen may exercise a constitutionally-protected right.
Second, it won't make any difference -- people who disobey laws against murder and other violent crimes are not going to obey a law prohibiting them from buying a second handgun in a 30-day period. There is no evidence that "one gun a month" has definitive benefits, such as a reduction in violent crime, for citizens of states that enact such laws.
I support reasonable, common sense forms of gun control, as I talked about in my interview with Jane.
Understand that I am not criticizing Alan Sandal's views on gun control. I'm just suggesting that he says one thing to one crowd and another to another crowd. I was at the debate where he said he would take a hardline on gun control.
John Featherman
Republican Candidate, US Senate-PA
www.featherman.com
I can clear up the confusion about the Pennacchio Online Petition Drive. This post explains it. A few of us - most not affiliated with the Pennacchio campaign, but all supporters of his - wanted to boost his name ID in blogtopia since we believe that his candidacy is as important as Ciro Rodriquez's and Ned Lamont's, both of whom are getting lots of bloggy love.
We started planning right before the ballot petition drive started in PA so we linked the two events. We want to get Chuck on blogtopia's ballot, as it were.
Thanks very much for the mention. Yesterday's update is here.
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