Pennsylvania Gun Rights » Joan Orie Melvin

With Few Precincts Remaining, NRA-Endorsed Candidates Win

EVC PA-13 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:20:57 +0000

Though the media has focused on races in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York, Pennsylvania gun owners turned out for NRA-endorsed judicial candidates last night. And for that, we say thank you!

The turnout was stunning, and quite unexpected in political circles.

For the Supreme Court, NRA Political Victory Fund endorsed Joan Orie Melvin in the spring. She not only won her primary race, but she also took the statewide race by substantial numbers considering her opponent had a massive warchest for a judicial race. With 99% of the precincts reporting this morning, she is up 53%-47%. For the counties we represent locally as EVCs, here are the breakdowns:

Adams: Orie Melvin 66%-34%
Bucks: Orie Melvin 55%-45%
Cumberland: Orie Melvin 69%-31%
Montgomery: Panella 51%-49%
Philadelphia*: Panella 79%-21%
York: Orie Melvin 67%-33%

For Superior Court, voters were asked to select 4 candidates of 9. NRA-PVF endorsed 3 candidates in the race. Two of the endorsed candidates won seats on the Court. We send our hearty congratulations to Judges Judy Olson and Sallie Mundy. The final endorsed candidate put up a great race, coming just ~10,000 votes shy in a race with nearly a million voters casting ballots for top vote-getters. Temp Smith came in 6th in the race, just a fraction of a point behind candidates who came in at 4 and 5.

For Commonwealth Court, voters were asked to select 2 candidates for seats on the Court. NRA-PVF endorsed Kevin Brobson and Patricia McCullough for those seats. We are happy to report that they won with a solid showing.

In coming days, we’ll have more reports from local races. Though NRA does not endorse in these races, there is still interesting data to be gleaned given the effort to usurp state authority on gun control in many towns.

* Philadelphia has still not submitted all of their election results.

Have You Voted Today?

EVC PA-13 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:00:37 +0000

Go! The polls are open until 8pm.

The NRA Political Victory Fund recently endorsed these candidates for various judicial races:

Commonwealth Court: Kevin Brobson & Patricia McCullough

Superior Court: Sallie Mundy, Judy Olson & Temp Smith

Earlier this year, NRA-PVF also endorsed Joan Orie Melvin for Supreme Court.

If you need to look up your local polling location, do so here.

If you would like more information about the voting system in your county, check out the latest guides for your county.

Turnout in these elections is always low, so your vote is more powerful today than in busier Congressional election years. Don’t waste it!

Lower Profile Elections Next Week

EVC PA-13 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:51 +0000

Be honest, how likely are you to vote next week? Maybe you’re received advertisements for local elections from auditor to supervisor. If you live in a Bloomberg-controlled town, perhaps you’re fortunate to find out that your anti-gun leader is being challenged. But let’s face it, if it is raining and you wake up a little late or feel the need to stay at work for an extra half hour, are you still going to swing by your polling place next Tuesday?

But if you want to stand up for freedom, this election has at least one race on the ballot statewide that is likely to make a direct difference for our gun rights.

The NRA Political Victory Fund endorsed Judge Joan Orie Melvin for Supreme Court earlier this year.

The election of a pro-rights candidate to the Supreme Court is vital as gun owners around the state challenge their town leaders who are passing illegal gun control ordinances. Thirteen years ago, the Court ruled that when the Legislature passed firearms preemption, local gun laws could not stand. This meant that Philadelphia couldn’t ban people from carrying lawfully to protect themselves, hunters crossing the state didn’t need to worry if their firearm was legal as they crossed each county line, and if a sport shooter moved to another town, he would have the same protections for his gun rights.

Right now, mayors under the leadership of NYC’s Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group are challenging that ruling by passing local ordinances ranging from “lost-and-stolen gun” laws forcing gun owners to prove their innocence in several towns around the state to semi-auto gun bans in Philadelphia & even Pittsburgh. These efforts have been challenged in lower courts, and some gun owners may well end up taking their cases to the Supreme Court in coming years. Should that happen, it is important to have Justices who believe in the rule of law and recognize that the state legislature has long held control over the issue of our gun rights.

If you can help at all by either putting up a sign or lending a hand to make a few voter phone calls, sign up through her webpage here. It’s not too late to lend a hand.

UPDATE: NRA-PVF has also announced they have endorsed the following judicial candidates:

Commonwealth Court: Kevin Brobson & Patricia McCullough
Superior Court: Sallie Mundy, Judy Olson & Temp Smith