Ready, aim, vote...
You know it's election time in Pennsylvania when lawmakers take up gun measures and raise money with shooting events.
ONE WAY TO TELL it's election time? Gun bills loaded into the legislative hopper. Another way? The sounds and smells of automatic weapons.
Yessir, here in Pennsylvania, as in other states, it's time to pander to voters.
And in Pennsylvania, as in many states, gun voters are prime targets.
That's because of our hunting heritage.
The Game Commission issued nearly 1 million hunting licenses last year, up almost 10,000 from the previous year. Only Texas has more.
It's because of our gun numbers.
The website USACarry.com some years back said 34 percent of our 12 million-plus residents own a firearm. Do the math.
It's because Guns & Ammo magazine rates us more gun-friendly than any of our mid-Atlantic neighbors - New York, New Jersey, Maryland or Delaware.
Oh, and the Harrisburg Patriot-News last year reported that we have more National Rifle Association members than any other state.
(The NRA did not respond to a Daily News request for confirmation.)
So it's no surprise with Election Day just weeks away that gun stuff's going on.
But first, if you're wondering about that reference to the sounds and smells of automatic weapons, allow me to explain.
There's a fundraiser next week for state Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong County, that's a "field shoot." It's at the North Buffalo Sportsman's Club in Kittanning, about 45 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
The invitation says, "Warning . . . this is not a golf outing."
It promises that for $375, or $1,400 for a "foursome," you can "handle and operate firearms you've only read about and seen in the movies."
Pyle, a 10-year House member, tells me, "It's a fully automatic machine-gun shoot."
Pyle has no opponent in November.
Most of the money, says the invite, "goes toward the copious amounts of ammunition that you will shoot until you don't want to anymore."
Meanwhile, the House is pushing a bill that would allow citizens, the NRA or other gun groups to sue municipalities with local gun ordinances (such as Philly's requiring reporting of lost or stolen guns) and collect legal fees and damages if they win.
The bill has 38 co-sponsors, including four western Pennsylvania Democrats. It's positioned to be voted on as soon as today.
The prime sponsor, Rep. Mark Keller, R-Perry County, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
The state already has a statute preempting local governments on gun regulation, so one might wonder why Keller's bill is needed.
Pyle says it's simply "making something that's legal legaler."
Others, including Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Pittsburgh, say it's to punish communities that seek to enact "commonsense gun laws."
When asked if its timing might have something to do with the election calendar, Pyle says, "Maybe. You can't discount that."
It's expected the House bill pastises easily. And you thought they couldn't get things done.
Over in the Senate, there's legislation that would allow teachers to carry guns.
What could go wrong? Other states have such a law.
Like Idaho, where an Idaho State professor earlier this month accidentally shot himself in the foot in the middle of class; or Utah, where an elementary-school teacher last week accidentally shot herself in the leg in a restroom before class.
CeaseFirePA, a statewide group working to reduce gun violence, held a Capitol rally yesterday. It opposes these measures and supports expansion of background checks for private sales of long guns.
Rep. Steve Santarsiero, D-Bucks County, sponsor of the expansion bill, summed up its chances: "The [GOP] leadership of the House will not let that happen."
Of course guns aren't used only in Pennsylvania elections. Candidates in Kentucky, Alaska, Alabama, Montana and other states are using guns in campaign TV ads.
I haven't seen that here yet. But, hey, there's still time.
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