PA FREEDOM CAUCUS: PROPOSED REPEAL OF “STAND YOUR GROUND” LAW WILL MEET FIERCE RESISTANCE

Harrisburg, PA- In response to an ever-increasing amount of gun control legislation introduced by the single-vote Democratic majority, the Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus spoke out today, opposing the unconstitutional disarming of law-abiding citizens in the midst of recent waves of violence.

During their short amount of time in session, Democrats in the PA legislature have introduced legislation attempting to make it harder for citizens to legally buy, register, own, and carry lawful firearms as is their 2^nd Amendment right. This despite recent increases in criminal violence plaguing our cities. Rather than addressing skyrocketing crime rates, our democratic colleagues are instead choosing to disarm the law-abiding citizens who need firearms to defend themselves against blue city violence.

Most troubling, however, is the effort to repeal Pennsylvania’s current stand your ground law though Senate Bill 424 and a co-sponsorship memo circulated by Democratic Representative Tim Briggs (Montgomery).

Representative Robert Leadbeter (Columbia) believes a repeal of the law is discriminatory. “Reestablishing the “duty to retreat” law puts the most vulnerable and least accessible members of our commonwealth in grave danger. This only expands a criminal’s ability to overpower single moms, young people, folks with medical conditions, legal immigrants, low-income individuals, and anyone else who could be seen as a target by violent criminals.”

This also places millions of residents in our commonwealth who live in rural and agrarian areas at major risk of burglary, assault and murder. As more municipal police departments are replaced with state police for off hours or graveyard coverage, the response time to 911 emergency calls has also increased. The response time to a rural township emergency may be contingent on the location of the trooper or municipal police officer when the call comes in. Unlike the more urban areas of our state, in these rural areas there can be 30-45min of wait time from when a call comes in to when a first responder arrives. This is no fault of the honorable and best efforts of our law enforcement officers, but is simply the result of coverage for a more expansive geography.

“Residents in the rural areas of the commonwealth could be targeted easily if castle laws are overturned. This is yet another example of further neglect by the democrats in Harrisburg of the farmers, seniors, veterans, and hard-working families who call rural areas like my district home all across our state.” Leadbeter concluded.

Representative Barbara Gleim (Cumberland) believes Briggs’ proposal could incite further violence. “Even suggesting that we ignore the Constitution and our basic right to protect ourselves is dangerous.” Gleim said. “Women like myself will never be able to retreat faster than an adult male.”