Mayors Against Illegal Guns Thank Pat Toomey

A new TV commercial thanks U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey for trying to expand gun background checks.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns on Thursday announced a new television commercial thanking Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) for co-sponsoring an amendment to expand background checks, according to Huffington Post. The ad urges Toomey, of Zionsville, Lehigh County, to keep fighting for background checks although Toomey has said he's turning his attention back to economic issues since his amendment failed in the senate. Toomey achieved his highest approval rating ever since brokering the unsuccessful compromise on background checks. The issue put Toomey in the national spotlight and he was even spoofed on "Saturday Night Live." Mayors Against Illegal Guns is backed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

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Toomey: 'I Did What I Thought Was Right' on Background Checks

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey says he'll focus on economic issues now that his battle to expand background checks for gun buyers has failed.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Zionsville, Lehigh County sent the following E-newsletter message about the defeat of his compromise deal to expand background checks: I worked with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on legislation that would have made it harder for criminals and the dangerously mentally ill to obtain guns while preserving the rights of law-abiding people to do so. The bill did not move forward in the Senate. This amendment would have helped enhance public safety while still protecting the Second Amendment. I understand the passions on both sides of this issue.  I did what I thought was the right thing for our country. I sought out a compromise position that I thought could move the ball forward on an important matter of public safety. My …

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Has Toomey’s Gun Control Bill Changed Your View of Him?

Conservatives may like him less. Moderates may find him more appealing. Tell us what you think.

The Senate rejected U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey's attempt to expand background checks via a controversial gun control amendment voted on Wednesday afternoon. The Toomey-Manchin amendment was narrowly defeated in a vote that was 54 yes to 46 no. Sixty votes rather than a simple majority would have been needed to pass the amendment. Toomey’s willingness to compromise on the gun control issue has surely thrust the Zionsville native into the national limelight, perhaps culminating with a weekend Saturday Night Live sketch focused on the compromise bill. During that sketch, the SNL cast member portraying President Barack Obama thanked actors portraying both Republican Toomey and the bill’s Democratic co-sponsor, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia …

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Toomey Gun Control Amendment Fails in Senate

The Senate rejected Pat Toomey's attempt to expand background checks via a controversial gun control amendment voted on Wednesday afternoon.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey sounded unconcerned in a conference call Wednesday when a reporter asked about the possibility that his NRA rating would be downgraded because of his recent compromise move on gun control. "This is not about the NRA or politics for me," Toomey said. The Toomey-Manchin amendment to expand background checks was narrowly defeated in the Senate on Wednesday afternoon. The vote was 54 yes to 46 no. Sixty votes rather than a simple majority were needed to pass the amendment. Toomey issued this statement just after the vote: “I did what I thought was the right thing for our country. I sought out a compromise position that I thought could move the ball forward on an important matter of public safety. My only regret is that our…

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'Saturday Night Live' Spoofs Toomey Gun Control Bill

Lehigh Valley's U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is in the national spotlight as debate over gun control continues.

An article in the National Journal calls U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Zionsville, Lehigh County an "unlikely savior" for gun control advocates and says that his agreement to expand background checks is the "last best hope for meaningful action" on gun control. Read the complete article here. Toomey was a key player in a deal reached last week deal to require that all criminal records and mental health records are added to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and it would expand existing background checks to sales at gun shows or made online. The Toomey-Manchin bill was spoofed on "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend in a skit which Toomey acknowledged on Facebook and Twitter, according to a PoliticsPa report. His comment …

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Toomey Gun Control Compromise Earns Mixed Reaction

Sen. Pat Toomey, of Zionsville, Lehigh County, was a lead GOP negotiator in gun control legislation talks.

By Melissa Daniels | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Federal efforts to impose more extensive background checks on firearms purchases is having a ripple effect back at the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Not only did a large group of Republicans urge U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., to reject a compromise on gun laws, but House Democrats are calling for state legislation to close loopholes, regardless of federal decisions. Toomey, who has a local office in Salisbury Township, was a lead GOP negotiator in the U.S. Senate with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va.,regarding the The Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act, which expands background checks on gun purchases. Tuesday, 76 of Toomey’s GOP counterparts in the Pennsylvania House penned a …

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Tea Party to Host Pro-Gun Lawmaker Friday

The Lehigh Valley Tea Party will host state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who will talk about his bill to outlaw federal gun control in Pennsylvania on Friday in Palmer Township.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) will speak Friday at a Lehigh Valley Tea Party meeting about his legislation that would make any new federal gun control laws unenforceable within the Commonwealth. Metcalfe will speak at 7 p.m. at the Chrin Community Center in Palmer Township. The program is free and open to the public. “Passage of my legislation will send the message that there will never be additional gun control, anywhere in Pennsylvania,” said Metcalfe. “Whether by White House executive orders, congressional fiat, or judicial activism, we will never allow the left to benefit from the wicked acts of murderers in order advance their senseless gun-grabbing agenda which would only succeed in replacing one of our most sacred personal …

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Diner Owner Tells NPR Why He Openly Carries a Gun

The owner of a Lehigh Valley diner was recently interviewed on NPR as part of the ongoing debate over gun control and the right to bear arms.

Does Gun Control Mean Loss of Freedom for All Americans?

An Emmaus High School student says that gun control is unconstitutional. What do you think?

An Emmaus High School sophomore researched the issue of gun control in the United States for an English class essay and wrote an opinion paper stating that gun control is unconstitutional.  Max Krug says, in his composition, that the right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment, and that if we start to chip away at the Bill of Rights by enacting stricter gun control laws, ultimately other freedoms will be lost too. Now, we want to know what you think. Read Krug's essay, take our poll and share your comments below.

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A Word From Our East Penn Students

Gun Control is Unconstitutional, Emmaus High Student Says

Emmaus High School sophomore Max Krug says that the idea of gun control is fundamentally flawed and could change the way the U.S. government looks at the Constitution.

Special to Emmaus Patch by Max Krug Americans seem to have trouble agreeing with one another. It feels as though there is always a controversial issue that demands the attention and immediate action of the public. At present, our nation finds itself in the thralls of an argument that holds national importance, and may very well change the way the American government looks at the Constitution. Gun control has held national attention lately as a rash of devastating attacks on innocent civilians have shocked and enraged citizens all across the country. Though both sides of this fevered debate hold intelligent and important opinions, it cannot be ignored that gun control as a whole is fundamentally flawed and even unconstitutional.  Gun …

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Tom

5:17 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Its funny how the count (and yes I have read Heller along with most of the others) always decides that right for the people are limited, but rights for the Fed are absolute. Even rights for the states are limited until the states stands up for themselves and then they magically change to absolute. Just remember the count not matter how fair you think it is, is still part of the government and …   more ›