This page is inteded to give a brief summary of my experiences during my improper PA LTCF revocation and the successful appeal of that revocation. Oldest news is at the bottom, most recent at the top. A lengthy forum thread regarding this situation can be found here.
Documents related to my case
Letter of revocation from Sheriff Wollyung
Petition of Appeal
Sheriff's Response
Transcript of Court Hearing
Court Ruling
Financial disclosures
Below are full details of all monies I received and paid out during my appeal process. Donor names have been removed to protect privacy, but all other data is included. In the way of further clarification, here is how the 'Expense' amounts were determined:
I have very detailed billing statements from my attorney showing which member of his staff performed each task, how long it took them, and the resulting charges. If anyone who donated would like to review these statements, feel free to contact me via e-mail and I will make arrangements for you to see them.
Thank You!
WOW, where do I start. I obviously have many people to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude. The amazing thing is, I know they all did it because they believed it was the right thing to do, not for personal recognition. Regardless, they deserve to be noticed, so here goes:
Kim Stolfer Kim was the first person I called when I received my notice of revocation. He was very prompt in getting back to me and offered advice that made an excellent foundation for what was ahead. I did not talk to him frequently throughout the ordeal, as I know he is working on our behalf on much 'bigger issues', but each time I have contacted him, he has been prompt and generous in providing insight on my inquiries.
Mike Stollenwerk I don't remember if I called Mike, or he contacted me after I posted that I had been revoked, but he too was in regular contact offering advice and personal support. He also has issued press releases through the on my behalf, which has helped bring more attention to my situation.
danp & doug The PAFOA site (and it's members) has been by far the biggest supporter of my cause. Most of the donations received have come directly from members or those who read of the situation here. I thank them for pinning my topics and running appropriate banners highlighting them as circumstances warranted. Thanks also to doug for 'live updates' to the board the day of the hearing.
PAFOA members I know that many of you modified your sig lines and/or cross-posted on other boards to bring increased awareness to the situation. In addition, you've posted hundreds of well wishes which helped keep my going as emotions ran high.
Pa. Patriot Rich has been a great support to me on a personal level in many ways. He initiated the 'Rummage Sale' thread on my behalf and personally vouched for my 'validity' when the question of the whole thing being a clever scam was raised. In addition, he has exchanged dozens of e-mails with me, and much to the chagrin of both of our wifes, has spent hours on the phone with me. I've only actually met him on the day of the hearing, and like most of you, had only a brief time to converse on a personal level. Even so, I consider him a very good friend.
Frenchy Frenchy took his hobby to the next level by offering his wares on behalf of my cause. I know he as many happy customers and hopefully they will patronize him again so he can enjoy the future returns of his work himself. As things continue to die down, I hope to join the list of customers proud to display his handiwork, but wary to leave it out of their sight!
Frenchy's customers obviously, Frenchy's beautiful pens would have been of little assistance if no one had stepped forward to purchase them. Many of you who did so had already made an individual donation, but came back to support me yet again.
Financial donors Literally dozens of you showed amazing spirit in donating to my defense. The thing that humbled me the most was the constant theme of I'm sorry I couldn't send more. Over 60 different individuals made contributions of various amounts. Without a doubt this was key to my victory. After finally finding an attorney, I was able to immediately provide him the funds requested to begin the fight. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to fight, but promised my wife I would not put our family in long-term financial hardship to do so. I believe that doing so would have only allowed the Sheriff's decision to affect myself and my family even further. Thank you for removing this hurdle. I know that many of you were unable to be there in person, but I carried the list of names of all those who donated in my shirt pocket. Your spirit was with me.
RWhiteman Richard jumped into the forum end of this ordeal towards the end, but did so with gusto. He took charge of organizing the events on the day of the hearing, contacted media, and made personal contact with restaurant owners to make them aware we were coming.
Character witnesses These folks are unknown to the PAFOA community, but served an important purpose. Even though they were never called to testify, they made themselves available to speak on behalf of my character. There are many people who truly know my character, but would not be bold enough to come forward in the midst of such a 'sensational' issue to speak of it. I have personally contacted them to thank them, but do so publicly as well.
Tom Gresham - Tom (guntalk.com) contacted me back at the very beginning offering any assistance he could provide, as well as the opportunity to discuss my situation on the air. I put him off until a ruling was issued, but appreciate that he was willing to get the story out even after it was resolved.
Back when the question of the validity of this story was raised, I sent an e-mail to Pa. Patriot. I made several pledges to you as a community that I could not make public at the time. I asked him to be a keeper of this info, so I could be held accountable. Some of this info has since been made public, but for the record, here are the commitments I made:
Thank you again for all that you have done as a community. Many of you have assisted in more than one area. This support will never be forgotten. I pledge that when the next person is in need, I will be there, shoulder to shoulder with all of you, making a difference. I am honored to be part of such an amazing group of people.
Jan. 8, 2008
LTCF restored after favorable ruling by President Judge John Walker.
Dec. 6, 2007
Received notice of hearing date
Hearing will be on January 8, 2008 at 2 p.m. in the Franklin County Courthouse, Courtroom 1.
Nov. 21, 2007
Formal appeal filed
Nov. 18, 2007
First face-to-face with retained counsel.
Nov. 11-16, 2007
Contacted personal acquaintance who is an attorney, had consultation with him, unsuccessfully attempted to have Sheriff informally reverse the revocation, sought counsel willing to take my case and able to meet filing deadline for appeal.
Nov. 9, 2007
First donation for defense fund received.
Nov. 9, 2007
Received letter from Sheriff's office
"This is to advise you that your License to Carry Firearms has been REVOKED. The reason for the REVOCATION is you involvement in which a gun was used by you in an apparent illegal manner. This REVOCATION of your License is being taken under Pennsylvania Crimes Code, Title 18, Section 6109, paragraph (e)(1)(i)"
The cited paragraph states:
(e) Issuance of license.--
(1) A license to carry a firearm shall be for the
purpose of carrying a firearm concealed on or about one's
person or in a vehicle and shall be issued if, after an
investigation not to exceed 45 days, it appears that the
applicant is an individual concerning whom no good cause
exists to deny the license. A license shall not be issued to
any of the following:
(i) An individual whose character and reputation is
such that the individual would be likely to act in a
manner dangerous to public safety.
Nov. 6, 2007
Original post detailing my encounter with a Constable while voting
Well, after 5 months I had my first 'run in' with authority because of OCing.
When I went to my polling place tonight I was asked by the Constable there if "that was a weapon". I replied that it was. He said I would have to leave because weapons were not allowed in the polling place. I asked him what law this was based on. He said it was in the Voting Regulations, to which I replied "That applies to police officers". He said that was correct. He got the regulation book and asked if I would step outside to discuss the matter. I agreed. He turned to the page that had the regulation regarding the police and read it off to me. I told him that I agreed completely, BUT, I was not a police officer, just a private citizen. This seemed to surprise him a bit.
He then made a call to someone who would "Know for sure". The result of that call was that whoever he called was also unable to come up with anything specific preventing me from voting while carrying. When the call was done, the Constable asked me to please secure my weapon in my vehicle before voting, because it would make him "more comfortable". I asked him if I would be refused entry to vote if I did not, he said no, that I would be permitted to vote either way. As we went back up the steps and prepared to enter, he stated that he "Just couldn't understand why someone would need to bring a gun here, especially in this day and age." I told him that this wasn't something that I did just because I was coming to vote. I carry my firearm every day, wherever I go around town. I also told him that I was not attempting to convince him of my viewpoint, but since I was withing my legal right to do so, I was going to proceed on my own terms. I entered the polls and cast my vote.
When I was done voting, he was on the phone again, so I waited to speak with him some more. He was speaking with the County Commissioners office, who I could also hear "had never dealt with this situation before". The Constable suggested to them that this be researched further and if there wasn't already a resolution regarding this, that one be passed immediately so this didn't occur in the future. He mentioned to them that "The judges did the same thing so you can't bring guns into the courthouses". When he hung up, I told him that the courthouse ban was covered in the Uniform Firearms Act, which was state law, not something the judges had done on their own. I then asked again for his name so I could write it down. He refused to give it to me, because he said he already did at the beginning of our conversation. I then specifically asked him, "So you are refusing to give me your name again?". He said, "Yes". What he couldn't have known, is that I didn't really need it as I had heard him identify himself to the County Commissioner's office while speaking with them. I offered to be in touch with him so that if I was indeed incorrect on the law, I could educate myself. He told me, "Don't worry, I've got your name."
He seemed upset enough about the whole thing that I expect him to personally follow up on getting something passed to prohibit this in the future. I didn't think it was worth my time to go into the whole preemption thing with him, since my vote was cast, and I clearly wasn't going to convert him. Hopefully if and when the County Commissioners look into this "incident", they will discover that preemption prevents them from doing so.
This page last updated on 3/15/08.