AUGUST / 2002 NEWSLETTER PENNSYLVANIA GUN OWNERS ASSOCIATION P. O. BOX 116 CENTERVILLE, PA. 16404 PHONE 814-827-8522 Reported by: ROY D. PITTMAN Provided as a Source of Information, Education and Unification for actions to preserve our right to arms xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Get Your Friends REGISTERED to VOTE! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx INFORMATION ON; xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -MEMBERS UPDATE- PGOA HOSTS STATEWIDE PRO-GUN SUMMIT MEETING SEPT. 22 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ANTI-GUN LIES & HOW TO DEFEAT THEM XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX RAMIFICATIONS OF OVERKILL 9/11 LEGISLATION XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX UPDATE ON THE LAWSUIT FOR KEEPING ILLEGAL LIST OF LEGAL GUN OWNERS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx All Members Are Welcome: Next Meeting AUG 28 at: Sparta Sportsmens Club 5:00 to 7:00 target practice, 7:00 to 9:00 Meeting xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxzzzzzzzzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxzzxxxxxxxxxxxxx ANNOUNCEMENTS, APPLICATIONS, AND MORE !

Every individual should know it is a duty of Citizens to stay informed in order to make correct decisions. It is our goal to furnish as much accurate information on the threats to our "right to keep and bear arms" and the efforts to preserve that right, as we are able to provide. We urge all interested parties to register now and attend the September 22 Summit Meeting. You know there is a problem. Come be part of the solution! PGOA Members Update by Roy Pittman, President August brings with it warnings of cold to come, and more driving heat that is already here. As the days roll by and another birthday draws a steady bead on me, I look back over the last year to gauge the PGOA's efforts and results, (as it does take a good part of my life). Not too shabby for a group that was supposed to be extinct by now. We've given several ongoing pro-gun efforts both meaningful moral, and financial support. The real shocker is that nearly all of them continue to progress and have very good chances of being totally successful! True grit, determination, and planning-planning-planning, pays off! Financially we are more sound than we've been in the last 5 years. In the somewhat screwy world of legislation and politics, we have done quite well by gathering together many of the independent groups of Pennsylvania into a successful sort of patchwork quilt network across the state. Several pieces of pending pro-gun legislation are being pushed feverishly in negotiations. While yet others await only the scheduling of statewide coordinated pushes by members of dozens of clubs. If we are successful or not, we will know that we have given it our best shot, and are a major part of many efforts all designed to preserve our Constitution and right to keep and bear arms. Disappointments, yes we've seen our share. When part time volunteers are going against full time well paid professionals, the part timers are going to be handed some set backs. Get use to it! We haven't lost anything. Those that think passage of unconstitutional laws means the death of a right, are absolutely wrong. Trying to implement a law that is not accepted by the bulk of the population would be a very rough and disabling job for any administration. To get such a situation reversed is what statesmen do! Even in the federal legislature there are still many good people. Anyone of them could step up to the task, when the time is right. We need to stick together, get educated, educate our friends and neighbors, and be ready to help with legislative, educational, and funding efforts when the time is right! No, things haven't gone bad at all this year. If everyone would commit themselves to really pushing to get more members between now and Christmas, we could be well on our way to regaining the numbers it takes to get legislators on the right side of issues, and the anti-gun crowd shut down in Pennsylvania. We've got them part way squelched right now, but after the election, look out "ya-all!" xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The PGOA is holding a Fall Summit Meeting on September 22. All members and pro-gun groups in Pennsylvania, are invited to attend. The meeting will be held in the Milesburg area from 10 AM to 4PM. All attendants are required to register with the PGOA. Reservations, topics for the agenda, questions, and potential speakers should contact PGOA President, Roy Pittman at: 814-827-8522. Agenda items include updates and run downs on: pro-gun lawsuits in Pennsylvania; activities of independent groups; legislative efforts and specific bills; plans to coordinate legislative efforts; November election points of concern; best course for communications; and follow-up actions. We have limited seating available and there is no charge for attendance. We do however need reservations made through the PGOA to assure no overbooking. A good reasonably priced lunch is available on site. Specific directions are available when scheduling. These Summit Meetings have always been more uplifting and successful than we have thought possible. We strongly suggest interested parties to attend and see for themselves just what others have to say and what is being done all around the state to defend your right to keep and bear arms. The updates are often from the very people directly involved with court, legislative, funding, political and research projects they are reporting on. There is usually time for questions and interaction as well. As organizer of the meeting, the PGOA does preside over the meeting, but allows input of views as time allows. We don't expect complete agreement on every subject, although it does happen on most subjects. We are providing a forum for direct presentations and the base for follow-up with those Pennsylvanians who are the most devoted to the preservation of the Constitution and the right to keep and bear arms. We have never had a single incident of misbehavior nor even admonished a single person for poor conduct. If you attend, rest assured you are among the most active pro-gun groups in the state. We invite and welcome those with like interests to meet with us. Roy Pittman, PGOA President The following lays out in very practical terms strongly supported points and concerns of millions of Americans. As Pennsylvanians we must pull together to hold serious pressures to establish some sort of checks on the new powers of the Whitehouse. We currently have nothing to keep any administration from declaring Martial Law, disbanding Congress and assuming a total Dictatorship with support from an ever growing illegal National Police Force, and likely foreign troops. Nothing that is except a military that is being issued UN uniforms (which way will that mop flop), and an armed populace that is the target of every evening news broadcaster, all socialist legislators, and most major newspapers(I use that term loosely). Roy Pittman, PGOA President From: UNAmerican Activities Inv. Commission Thursday, January 24, 2002 12:54 PM Swatting Flies While Vultures Pick Your Bones by R. Lee Wrights Two tragedies occurred on September 11, 2001. The first was horrendous in nature that claimed the lives of thousands of Americans as it unfolded before our very eyes on the television screens of the world. Time after traumatic time we viewed the film of one of the tallest structures on the face of the earth crumble into a smoking mountain of rubble. A nation was in shock and the whole world mourned the innocent lives snuffed out at the hands of a few men that needed nothing more than box cutters to cause the greatest terrorist catastrophe in the history of mankind. The second tragedy was more subtle as if it were a tremor following a major earthquake. The first tragedy is bad enough so that the second hardly seems like anything to be concerned about at all. However, I am afraid this time the aftershock is far worse than the quake itself. While the first tragedy on that fateful day in early autumn claimed the lives of a few thousand unfortunate Americans, the second has claimed tens of millions. The terrorist achieved exactly what they set out to do. By killing only a few thousand citizens, along with themselves, they were able to send untold millions into such a panic that they have turned their backs on the very things this great country was founded and built upon. Lying buried beneath the tons of stone and steel that once was the World Trade Center, along with thousands of innocent Americans killed, are those precious American siblings -- Liberty and Freedom. The tragedy that we now face as a nation is the State's manipulation of the effects of fear. Fear that causes people to act and think in ways they never would in its absence. Fear that turns brother against brother and allows politicians to rob citizens of their riches and freedom. Fear that causes citizens to willingly sacrifice their liberty before the great god Security, promised them by a government that seeks to enslave them. A government that uses fear as a deflection in the hopes that citizens will not notice the real terror that is produced by the parties that control its Houses. The State uses fear to keep you distracted swatting flies while the vultures pick your bones. Now, I can hear the screams from the hawks already. They are screeching blatant lies such as, "You are un-American," and, "You say, Aha! This proves that America is altogether evil." Some will even go as far as Mr. Scott on our message board and accuse me of hating America. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it is my love for this country, and the liberty and freedom that are her foundation, that prompts me to write of the atrocities of the State. It is my affection for our beloved Constitution that commands me to call attention to the actions of unscrupulous politicians in their attempts to destroy its meaning. The flies of fear will not distract me while the vultures of CONgress pick my bones! I have been castigated lately because I refuse to support Mr. Bush's War on Terrorism. Because I disagree with the hawks, I have been told I am un-American, un-Libertarian, ignorant, a terrorist sympathizer, and that I lack compassion. So, I will ask you the same thing I asked Mr. Scott in our discussion forum, "What makes you think we can win a war against a phantom called Terror?" We have NEVER won one of these wars before, so why will this time be different? We have waged war on Poverty since the sixties, and people are still poor. We have engaged the evil enemy Ignorance since the seventies, and still our children cannot read. We have gallantly fought the demon Drugs for decades, and all we have done is fund terrorist organizations in other countries. And you expect us to believe that the US will stamp out terrorism? You are comforted by the effort; I am appalled at the lack of results. You believe the lie, and I speak the truth. These are our differences. We are told the mission of the War on Terrorism is two fold. To capture or kill Osama bin Laden specifically; and, to generally rid the world of terrorists altogether. The first will be easier to accomplish than the second, because just like America's other phantom wars the mission of ridding the world of terrorism is impossible to achieve. I don't think even the staunchest war hawk really believes that we can possibly stamp out terrorism. The difference I have with them is they find comfort in the government's effort while I remain suspicious of the State's hidden agendas that practically everyone acknowledges. It should throw up some pretty big red flags when CONgress passes into law a bill that takes the Bill of Rights and feeds it to a paper shredder, without even reading the damn thing! Ron Paul says the bill wasn't even printed for his colleagues and himself until AFTER the treasonous law was passed and ready for the president's signature. It looks like CONgress is not immune to the fear themselves. Why else would you do something so foolish as to vote to enact a law that you had not read? This is what the vultures were doing, Mr. Scott, while you were busy swatting all those flies. I know it is a hard truth to accept, especially for those of us that cherish America and the "grand experiment" handed down through every generation of a nation from her founders. It is the love for liberty and devotion to freedom that has perpetuated a way of life that before America was unknown to mankind. The only way that "way of life" will be passed on to the next generation, is if we stay ever vigilant to preserve its very nature. Before she died in 1961, American newspaper columnist Dorothy Thompson wrote: "When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered." This is what concerns me. This is why I remain skeptical and untrusting of the State at war. The most dangerous threat to our freedom is allowing the fear of the world to blind us to the terror we face at home. Stop swatting at the flies and pay closer attention to the vultures. Enough is enough! (END) * * * * * * * * * * If you are one of those that haven't been paying to-much attention to the way things appear to be sizing up in your own country, shame on you. Since the 9/11 fiasco, the feds have been real busy shredding one of your rights after another. All of course without Constitutional grounds, but with their cheer leading sections in the "Congress and the News Media beating the drums of fear". They have also brought themselves to all but totally ignore the million or so illegal aliens inside this country and the sieves we call boarders, while taking deep bows for the strip searching and scanning of the Americans that are stuck with flying with no rights at all. Oh, I must give the fed credit for seizing ten's of thousands of fingernail files, toenail nippers and likely a number of other toiletries. I myself would rather see the planes on the ground than the Citizens being treated and acting like prisoners. I didn't mind not seeing or hearing five jets at a time all night long in the skies of my rural home. By the way, I hear they have about the same agenda coming up for the train and bus industry! Aren't you just bubbling over with pride and support for your legislators now! Survey: Top Cops Don't Mind Concealed Carry Laws By Jim Burns CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer November 30, 2001 (CNSNews.com) - A survey released Friday by the National Association of Chiefs of Police finds that over 60 percent of the nation's police chiefs and sheriffs favor a national system allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms. The survey asked 23,113 chiefs and sheriffs around the country, "Do you agree that a national concealed handgun permit would reduce rates of violent crime as recent studies in some states already reflected?" According to the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP), 62 percent of those surveyed said "yes." John Michael Snyder, NACOP vice president and director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said the response was striking, especially since this is the first time in the survey's 14-year history that this particular question was asked. Snyder said the survey shows that 93 percent of the commanding officers believe any law-abiding citizens should be able to purchase a firearm for sport of self-defense. Eighty-six percent think anyone who violates state and federal firearm possession laws should be prosecuted by federal attorneys, and -- if convicted -- receive a maximum prison term. Ninety-six percent of those surveyed believe criminals can still obtain any type of firearm illegally and 94 percent believe police officers and/or retired police officers should be allowed to carry a firearm from state to state. Snyder also noted that the survey found that 69 percent of police chiefs and sheriffs oppose limiting law-abiding citizens to buying only one firearm per month, while 90 percent said that their agency has not had to arrest anyone for making a false statement on an application to purchase a firearm. Ninety percent of the police chiefs and sheriffs surveyed believe that foreign or domestic acts of violence will increase in the United States in the coming year. NRA: Poll not surprising The National Rifle Association said the poll was "good news," according to NRA spokesperson Trish Gregory. "We think it's certainly good news but it's really not surprising because we see this all the time. We think that law enforcement officers do support giving citizens the right to self-defense," said Gregory. The Law Enforcement Association of America was pleased with the survey, saying it supports the rights of people to carry concealed weapons, according to LEAA spokesman Kevin Watson. "We're wholeheartedly in support of that. We're an organization whose members want crime control and not gun control. The idea of law abiding citizens who get the permit to carry a concealed firearm for their own protection is something that we support," said Watson. PGOA: Comment The track record of the gun grabbers has one constant drum beat. The louder the media coverage is for their side, the less fact there is to their arguments. The harder they try to sneak legislation through hidden in unrelated bills or during late night sessions, the less impact it will have on the criminal, and the worse it will be for or country and people. I received the following message and thought it makes some interesting points. I know a higher rate taxing on property owned by non-state residents is practiced in several states such as Michigan. With the next state administration about to plead "poverty, we need higher taxes", maybe we should suggest this information. NEWSLETTER fodder- tax the rich out-of-staters on their holdings in PA. Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 07:17:11 -0700 (PDT) From: Thomas Maloney I offer the following observation as a resident of MD. Many employees live and retire in PA for several reasons but work outside PA. These people have generally moved from liberal regions (MD, NJ, DC) and brought their values and beliefs to PA. Let us look at the reasons they have moved. First, income tax is lower. Second, property tax is lower. Third, federal employees and certain other employees are exempt from paying income tax on their retirement. I would recommend that PA residents support several forms of what I will call Pro-RKBA legislation that should cut down on the number of liberals infesting PA. Federal retirees should have to pay income tax. People working outside of PA should pay a higher income tax or a clean air tax to help the environment. Higher property tax rates for those who work out of state to help offset the time spent away from the local community. PAers aren't ruining the values of PA, it is the great influx of non-PAers that has corrupted the values of PA. * * * * As of August, we have dropped the members that have not kept up with their dues for this year. They were given repeated warnings in the newsletters and have been mailed a post card with an offer to rejoin. We hope to hear from many of them, but must continue to search for new members that will help with the upcoming battles for our rights. We have several hundred extra copies printed of each newsletter for handouts. Most are gone within a week or two, but we will try to have a extras for those of you who are willing to hand or put them out in your home areas. It is an excellent way to help get more folks informed and involved. Gun shops and gun shows are two places that gun owners are always going to be found. If half of the dealers in this state were to pass on our newsletters, gun owners as a group would be much better off, and so would the dealers! With the November elections just about on top of us, the media rhetoric is about to go into frenzy mode. Granted, no one can tell how most candidates really stand on the gun rights issue from their commercials, but we can tell they've got a lot of money to spend avoiding the issue. Very few will touch the gun issue during the campaign unless they really have a good track record or an exceptional plan for future proposals to go public with. I haven't seen Governor candidates Fisher or Rendell either one offering more than slip shod lip service to gun rights. Mr. Rendell has made an attempt to appear to be gun owner friendly which may have fooled two or three dozen people across the state. Most of us remember the less than intelligent methods he has used to curtail the rights of anyone inside the limits of Philadelphia. I hope people realize what a mistake it is for anyone with his attitude to be in government at all. Mr. Fisher seems to be, beginning to understand that he gets unemployed if he doesn't put the gun owners in this state on his side. I hope he realizes we won't show up in numbers large enough to get the job done if he doesn't get with the program and lay out a serious pro-gun agenda, now! (He can ask Bob Casey Jr. and anyone in the real pro gun movement in a position. So they save some time by pulling one lever in the election booth and not bothering to consider their options. I believe they fail their obligation and duty as a Citizen. I understand why the leaders of the first and second parties put down the third parties so hard. "These days, I don't think it would take a whole lot to better either one of the big ones". Spoiler my foot! The more third party candidates run and win, the sooner the big two will have to stop offering "Twiddle De and Twiddle Dumb" type candidates! IN MY VIEW: by ROY PITTMAN