Back in April, we covered the bill shortly after it was introduced. At the time, we could proudly pat nine House members from the Commonwealth on the back for their support of the bill. Since then, more came on to co-sponsor, including Reps. Mike Fitzpatrick, Lou Barletta, and Tom Marino.

Based on a rule vote yesterday, it appears that the majority of the Pennsylvania lawmakers plan to support the bill.

These lawmakers deserve our thanks for their support in the vote:

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-3)
Rep. Jason Altmire (D-4)
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-5)
Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-6)
Rep. Pat Meehan (R-7)
Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-8)
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-9)
Rep. Tom Marino (R-10)
Rep. Lou Barletta (R-11)
Rep. Mark Critz (D-12)
Rep. Charlie Dent (D-15)
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-16)
Rep. Tim Holden (D-17)
Rep. Tim Murphy (R-18)
Rep. Todd Platts (R-19)

These are the lawmakers who voted against us on the rule:

Rep. Bob Brady (D-1)
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-2)
Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-13)
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-14)

Congressmen Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) have introduced vital legislation that will enable millions of permit holders to exercise their right to self-defense while traveling outside their home states.

There are now only two states that have no clear legal way for individuals to carry concealed firearms for self-defense.  Thirty-nine states have shall-issue permit systems that make it possible for any law-abiding person to obtain a permit, while most of the others have discretionary permit systems.

H.R. 822 would make a major step forward for gun owners’ rights by significantly expanding where those permits are recognized.

Dozens of states have passed carry laws over the past 25 years because the right to self-defense does not end when one leaves home.  However, interstate recognition of those permits is not uniform and creates great confusion and potential problems for the traveler. While many states have broad reciprocity, others have very restrictive reciprocity laws. Still others deny recognition completely.

H.R. 822 would solve this problem by requiring that lawfully issued carry permits be recognized, while protecting the ability of the various states to determine the areas where carrying is prohibited. The bill would not create a federal licensing system; rather, it would require the states to recognize each others’ carry permits, just as they recognize drivers’ licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards. Rep. Stearns has introduced similar legislation since 1995.

In the few weeks since its introduction, H.R. 822 has added over 120 cosponsors. Click here to see if your Congressman is a cosponsor. However, more support is needed to make this bill a higher priority.

If your Congressman is not yet a cosponsor, respectfully urge him or her to support the fundamental right to self-defense by becoming a cosponsor of H.R. 822. If your Representative is already a cosponsor, please offer your thanks for his or her support.

These members of Pennsylvania’s delegation have signed on to support the bill as of 4/8/11:

Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.)
Rep. Mark Critz (D-Pa.)
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.)
Rep. Tim Holden (D-Pa.)
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)
Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.)
Rep. Todd Platts (R-Pa.)
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.)

The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is endorsing Charlie Dent for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District this November.

Chris W. Cox is NRA’s chief lobbyist. He also serves as chairman of NRA-PVF. The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund is responsible for political candidate rankings. These are based on candidate voting records, public statements and responses to NRA-PVF questionnaires.

This race is vitally important for gun owners since Congressman Dent’s opposition is working with New York’s Mayor Bloomberg to bring more gun control to Pennsylvania. His opponent is the last of the Bloomberg allies to seek higher office in Pennsylvania this year.

In the meantime, please take a few minutes to thank the members of the legislative branches of government who worked on our behalf to encourage the Supreme Court toward this position.

US Senate
Bob Casey

• Facebook

Arlen Specter

• Twitter – @SenArlenSpecter
• Facebook

US Congress
Jason Altmire

• Facebook

Christopher Carney

• Twitter – @ChrisCarneyPa10
• Facebook

Charlie Dent

• Twitter – @DentforCongress
• Facebook

Jim Gerlach

• Twitter – @JimGerlach
• Facebook

Tim Holden

• Twitter – @TimHoldenPA17
• Facebook

Paul Kanjorski

• Twitter – @kanjo4congress
• Facebook

Patrick Murphy

• Facebook

Tim Murphy

• Twitter – @RepTimMurphy
• Facebook

Joe Pitts

• Twitter – @JoePitts4PA
• Facebook

Todd Platts

• Facebook

Bill Shuster

• Twitter – @RepBillShuster
• Facebook

Glenn Thompson

• Twitter – @CongressmanGT
• Facebook

State Officials
Tom Corbett

• Twitter – @CorbettforGov
• Facebook

Joe Scarnati

Karen Boback

• Facebook

Michele Brooks

Bryan Cutler

• Twitter – @RepBryanCutler
• Facebook

Bill DeWeese

Glen Grell

• Facebook

Rob Kauffman

• Facebook

Mark Keller

• Facebook

John Maher

Daryl Metcalfe

• Twitter – @DarylMetcalfe

Merle Phillips

Kathy Rapp

RoseMarie Swanger

• Facebook

Will Tallman

• Facebook

Katie True

• A rated Congressman Bill Shuster may be facing a new opponent in November. No Democrat filed to run in time for the May 18 primary, so now one man is waging a write-in campaign to be included in the general election.
• $10 for Liberty candidate Congressman Charlie Dent is showing some early signs of success over his opponent who is working with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg to shut down gun shows.  Gun owners can’t afford to fall asleep at the wheel, though.  This seat is being targeted by the White House to flip over to anti-gun.
• Charlie Cook has reclassified PA-12 as leaning Republican after recent polling data about voter enthusiasm was released.  With either candidate in the special election, gun owners win since both scored As on their NRA questionnaires.
• NRA has released select endorsements for the primary elections in May.
• Pennsylvania has lost more Congressional seats than any other state from its peak representation.  We have lost a seat for a record number of apportionment count cycles – 8, and that will grow to 9 after this year’s Census is completed.  This makes a big difference in our state elections because the legislature and governor will be charged with passing the redistricting legislation that could severely impact how gun owners fare at the federal level.

District 12
Tim Burns, Republican

• Twitter – @TimothyBurns
• Facebook

Bill Russell, Republican

• Twitter – @Russell2010
• Facebook
• YouTube

Mark Critz, Democrat

• Twitter – @critz4congress
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Ryan Bucchianeri, Democrat

• Twitter – @Bucchianeri
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Flickr
• MySpace

Ron Mackell, Democrat

• Twitter – @RonMackell4Rep
• Facebook

District 13
Dee Adcock, Republican

• Twitter – @Adcock4Congress
• Facebook
• Flickr

Josh Quinter, Republican

• Twitter – @Josh_Quinter
• Facebook
• YouTube

Brian Haughton, Republican

• Twitter – @brianhaughton
• Facebook
• Flickr

District 15
Charlie Dent, Republican

• Twitter – @DentforCongress
• Facebook
• YouTube

John Callahan, Democrat

• Facebook
• YouTube

District 16
Joe Pitts, Republican

• Twitter – @JoePitts4PA
• Facebook
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

Lois Herr, Democrat

• Twitter – @herr2010
• Facebook

We’ll feature more candidates in the future.

For one, I really love this idea from one blogger itching to make a difference right now:

Conservatives/Libertarians/Independents are, by this point, acutely aware of the need to remove Democrats from office. This takes money. Lots and lots of money. As someone who is woefully underemployed, I don’t have large stashes of cash to send to candidates, so I was thinking that the best option would be to contribute $10 every week to a candidate of my choice until the election.

Obviously, his focus is a partisan one. However, the idea of choosing one or more candidates for regular donations throughout the course of an election year is not a bad one. In fact, it’s a great one! It doesn’t matter if the donations are small, they make a difference!

So with that idea in mind, we’re going to profile a different pro-gun campaign around Pennsylvania that could use your financial support each week. Giving just $10 is about the price of two lunches a week. Surely our rights are worth brown-bagging it for two days?

If $10/week is still too steep, considering giving a couple of hours each week, or a full day each month. Your time is worth gold to any candidate, and they could use it just as much as any financial contributions.

Week 1
Charlie Dent
Rep. Dent is facing a serious challenge from a local mayor who has been working with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg to bring his vision of gun control to Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, Dent’s opponent, as a White House recruit & friend of Bloomberg, is very well funded. This means that donations to Rep. Dent make a tangible difference in the race. These donations will pay for airtime, yard signs, and campaign literature that must cover every inch of the district if we want to send a pro-gun vote to Washington in 2010. This seat is at serious risk of flipping from A rated incumbent to an F rated freshman if we gun owners don’t step up and help our friend in Congress out during this tough time.
Contribute ** Volunteer

Right now, eyes are focused on PA-12. Deceased Congressman John Murtha was a dedicated advocate for the Second Amendment, and many of his possible replacements are unknowns. Last weekend, local Democratic activists selected longtime aide Mark Critz to run for the special election to complete the term, and they will likely back him during the primary election to be held the same day. However, the Democratic state committee is expected to meet today to issue the formal endorsement for the special election seat, and that may not be Critz. Though he has local support, the state officials may opt for someone else to appear on the ballot with local support.

On the Republican side, local party leaders will meet on Thursday to select a candidate for the special election, and presumably give party support for the primary election. Unlike the Democratic Party, the state leaders in the GOP cannot override the local decision.

Beyond the the southwest corner, there are other races heating up. PoliticsPA has started a new feature to examine the competitiveness of various Congressional races each month. The race for PA-12 is considered only the fourth most competitive race. Their predicted hotbed of activity? PA-7, the seat vacated by Congressman Joe Sestak.

For known incumbents, gun owners in PA-11 will have their hands full with the race featuring pro-gun Congressman Paul Kanjorski. Early polling indicates he is very weak and may be defeated. Up in the northwest corner, Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper will face a big challenge. In a record year for Democrats in 2008, she just squeezed out a 7,000 vote victory over the incumbent representative. This year may be the best chance to oust this F-rated freshman in PA-3.

At little closer to the Southeast, we have the 7th, 8th, and 9th most competitive races with PA-15 (pro-gun Congressman Charlie Dent), PA-8 (with leaning anti-gun Congressman Patrick Murphy), and PA-6 (with pro-gun Congressman Jim Gerlach). These are vital races for Pennsylvania gun owners, and we need to turn out long before election day to make sure the right men and women take office.

While most campaigns are wrapping up their signature collection efforts, there are still plenty of activities for those looking to give a little of their time in support of the Second Amendment. If you want to help out, just contact us and we’ll let you know what is going on in your area.

UPDATE: The Democratic Party has formally selected Mark Critz to run in the special election on May 18 to fulfill the rest of his boss’s term. It is expected that he will have challengers for the other election that day – the primary election for the regular November election.

Federal Offices

PA-15
Representative Charlie Dent has been an ally of gun owners for years, but he’s got a top-tier challenger backed by the Washington, DC Democrats and President Barack Obama. His challenger, John Callahan, is currently funded by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a coordinated effort to undermine preemption of gun laws in Pennsylvania and undo the key Supreme Court decision that ensures our laws are consistent throughout the state. He works closely with a lobbyist for the Brady Campaign to promote more gun control at the local level.

If we don’t re-elect Rep. Dent, we’ll see an A rated seat flip to F overnight.

PA-12
An initial look at early names dropped for the seat appeared very bright for gun owners, but question marks linger. Since that early peek, more names have been mentioned as likely competitors and some have already removed themselves from the race. Unfortunately, a good number of the names floated have no record on our Second Amendment rights. Until candidates are finalized by party leaders, we may not know whether gun owners have a friend in the race.

This previously A rated seat may be headed into unknown territory unless gun owners call their respective political party leaders and let them know that any nominee for the special election to replace Rep. John Murtha should share his dedication to our rights.

State Offices

Senate District 14
With the retirement of Senator Ray Musto, a previously A rated seat is now up for grabs. There are two known Democratic candidates who are running for the seat, one who has a record in support of our rights and another who is working with anti-gun forces. State Rep. John Yudichak is an A rated and previously endorsed lawmaker with an eye on the seat. His primary challenger is Tom Leighton who, like one previously mentioned candidate, is also working with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg to undermine preemption of gun laws and undo a major Supreme Court decision on the matter. Leighton also works closely with the Brady Campaign lobbyist in this effort.

Senate District 22
The retirement of Senator Bob Mellow is particularly noteworthy for gun owners across the state. As the highest ranking Democrat in the State Senate, his support for the Second Amendment made him a powerful ally within the Senate and his party. With an A- rating, a flip of his seat to an anti-gun candidate would be tremendous loss. Among candidate names floated so far, this seat could upgrade to an A or downgrade to an extremely anti-gun candidate.

State Rep. Jim Wansacz currently holds an A rating and has declared his candidacy for the seat. However, since Chris Doherty has abandoned his gubernatorial run and in an effort to take the Senate seat, this will be a hot primary race for gun owners. Doherty has called for an end to preemption of gun laws in the state, meaning your concealed carry license may no longer be valid from town to town and various types of guns may be banned in different cities. He also wants to limit the number of firearms gun owners may purchase, and presumably, create a registry to track such sales in accordance with the policy he is pushing.

11 House Seats
Due to retirements, efforts to reach higher office, and early resignations, there are 11 seats open that have been previously rated A or higher. Those who run for these seats are usually political newcomers or in offices that have little to do with Second Amendment and hunting issues. As usual, NRA-ILA will send out questionnaires to the candidates to get them on the record. However, the final list of candidates won’t be available until after petitions have been returned to appropriate election officials.

How to Help

There are three key ways to support pro-gun candidates right now.

1. The easiest way is to donate money, especially if they have a primary battle for their party’s nomination. Those elections are now three months out, so there is not much time to spare in order to raise money and get word out quickly.
2. The cheapest way to help a candidate is to volunteer your time.  Beginning today, candidates need to collect signatures in order to get on the ballot, and those deadlines are approaching.  Lending a few hours of your time is highly valuable to a campaign, and it costs you nothing.
3. The minimum effort gun owners need to put out right now is letting their friends and family members know who to support.  Make sure everyone is registered to vote, and make sure they know who you are voting for in the next election.  If you won’t open your wallet or donate your time, gun owners must absolutely open their mouths to promote candidates to everyone they know in the district.

These races show that we’re at risk here in Pennsylvania.  If we end up filling pro-gun seats with anti-gun candidates, the next big attack on gun rights will happen right here in the Keystone State.  It’s up to us to make sure that these candidates who loathe our Second Amendment rights are sent to the curb, and these seats remain in pro-Second Amendment hands.  Don’t put your hunting and gun rights on the line this year.

So far, Republicans plan to target the following districts and members: PA-3 Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, PA-4 Rep. Jason Altmire, PA-7 Rep. Joe Sestak*, PA-10 Rep. Chris Carney, PA-11 Rep. Paul Kanjorski, and PA-12 Rep. Jack Murtha.

To the best of our knowledge, such an extensive and detailed list has not been released by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. However, the party does expect to spend money to take Rep. Jim Gerlach‘s district (PA-6) when he vacates it to run for Governor and will try to unseat Rep. Charlie Dent (PA-15).

The combined lists represent five seats currently rated A up for grabs (PA-4, 6, 11, 12, & 15), as well as one B rated seat (PA-10) and two F rated seats (PA-3 & 7). At this time, we do not have information about any likely competitors and their grades.

It would appear based on this information that the focus in districts 8, 13, and 19 will be on statewide and local offices with NRA endorsed candidates in 2010. As we get closer to the elections, we’ll have a better idea of competitive races and will keep you informed of relevant issues.

* Rep. Sestak is expected to vacate his Congressional seat to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter for his Senate seat. Therefore, this will likely be an open race with room for improvement from either side of the aisle since Rep. Sestak has consistently served as a voice of anti-gun organizations and last held an F rating with NRA.