Pennsylvania Gun Rights » Mike Fitzpatrick

PA Lawmakers on National Concealed Carry

EVC PA-13 — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:17:25 +0000

We’re counting down to the House vote on the issue of national concealed carry license reciprocity this afternoon, and some folks may wonder how Pennsylvania’s lawmakers have been on the issue.

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)

Getting Out the Vote

EVC PA-13 — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 23:10:12 +0000

Getting out the Pennsylvania vote is a big business – at least in areas like New York and Washington, DC. Did you know that outside groups are planning to pay strangers who don’t know anything our home districts to come and recruit voters to turn up at the polls? One group plans to spend in a quarter of their $2 million budget targeting the Philadelphia suburbs with these outsiders attacking pro-rights candidates like Mike Fitzpatrick and Pat Meehan.

Some of our local supporters have seen firsthand what these groups will do when they come through our neighborhoods. In 2008, after a busload of supporters from groups like MoveOn were brought in from New York, every John McCain sign on their street was ripped apart and the frames bent out of shape so they could not easily be reused for pro-Second Amendment candidates.

One local anti-gun politician in California cited her desire for higher campaign donation limits after New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the maximum donation to her re-election campaign. In an interview, she reported that he was funneling money into the campaign accounts to members of his anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Did you know that he has hundreds of allies here in Pennsylvania? And they have their sights set on taking their fight to the top – one of his earliest anti-gun allies is running for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 15th district.

In the 8th district, anti-gun incumbent Patrick Murphy has accepted raised more than 40% of his direct campaign funds from people outside of Pennsylvania. The total, edging up near 3/4 of a million dollars from outside of our borders, is 70% more than the next closest incumbent seeking re-election, according to a recent study of Pennsylvania Congressional race donations.

These are just a few of the examples of why we need NRA members to lend a hand to pro-gun candidates. Just an hour or so at a phone bank will allow you to reach 40 potential voters to remind them to turn out for our rights on Election Day. An hour delivering yard signs will help raise name recognition to candidates among hundreds or potentially thousands of voters who drive past those key locations every day. Do you have a special skill that could benefit a candidate? Maybe helping create a new website or building larger wooden signs could extend your impact on a race.

These are just a few of the ways that NRA members can help take back our elections and put the right people in office who will vote to protect the rights we cherish. We don’t need the values of paid staffers from New York City or Washington making our decisions for us. But, in order to overcome their influence, we all need to give a little something.

Bucks County Legislative Grade Updates

EVC PA-8 — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:25:22 +0000

Due to the delayed votes over Castle Doctrine in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives & Senate, the NRA magazines that landed in today’s mailboxes are incorrect. One very important race deserves attention from voters, and we’ve got updates on other races around the Bucks County area vital for gun owners.

Rob Ciervo HAS been endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund, and his opponent decided to vote against gun owners & self-defense advocates on every single vote of his (hopefully) short legislative career. He is running to represent Newtown, Yardley, Lower Makefield & parts of Upper Makefield in State House District 31. Incumbent Rep. Santarsiero’s grade is now a D, and he has run to anti-gun groups seeking their support for his campaign. Gun owners in and around this area can support Rob Ciervo’s campaign by visiting his website.

Tommy Tomlinson running for re-election to Senate District 6 is now rated B+ and is NOT endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund. His recent vote to restrict the reciprocity agreements of concealed carry license holders was an unexpected vote against gun owners in Southeast Pennsylvania. If you’d like to contact Sen. Tomlinson and ask him why he voted against sportsmen in his district, his office number is (717) 787-5072 and his email address is rtomlinson@pasen.gov.

Here are all of the endorsed candidates on ballots in Bucks County & the rest of Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional district:

Federal
US Senate – Pat Toomey
Congress – Mike Fitzpatrick

State
Governor – Tom Corbett

State House

Marguerite Quinn
Frank Farry
Rob Ciervo
Paul Clymer
Gene DiGirolamo

State Senate

Chuck McIlhinney

Candidates Engaging in Social Media, Part III

EVC PA-13 — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:00:11 +0000

If you want to keep up with what the candidates who seek your vote are doing on the campaign trail, you can keep up with many on social media. Here are a few of the federal candidates on your favorite social networking sites:

District 7
Bryan Lentz, Democrat

Gail Conner, Democrat

Twitter – @Conner4Congress
Facebook

Patrick Meehan, Republican

District 8
Ira Hoffman, Republican

Gloria Carlineo, Republican

Twitter – @carlineoPA08
Facebook

Mike Fitzpatrick, Republican

James Jones, Republican

Twitter – @jones4congress
Facebook

Patrick Murphy, Democrat

We’ll feature more candidates in the future.