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.

•  18 Comments
• Photos (1)

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 …

•  25 Comments
• Photos (1)

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 …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Ronnie DelBacco

7:42 am on Monday, April 22, 2013

My view of Toomey did not change, but was once again confirmed. Pat Toomey is a big government progressive republican with conservative tendencies. When he ran for the Senate I questioned him on three conservative issues. His Campaign manager responded as follows. 1. "Why aren't you running on term limits this time"? A: "It isn't important since the senate doesn't really need term limits" (Huh…   more ›

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…

•  302 Comments
• Photos (1)

'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 …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

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 …

•  20 Comments
• Photos (1)

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 …

•  73 Comments
• Photos (1)

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.

Mayors Rally for Tougher Gun Laws

Easton Mayor Sal Panto and other members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns rally on 'National Day to Demand Action.'

Congress may be on its Easter/Passover recess, but the group Mayors Against Illegal guns doesn't want it to catch a break. On Thursday, MAIG and Organizing For Action led a series of 100 rallies around the country asking people to contact their legislators to get them to support stronger gun laws. One of those rallies happened in Easton's Centre Square, where Mayor Sal Panto told supporters current background check laws are "milquetoast" regulations that overlook things like gun shows. "You get a job today, you get a background check," Panto said. "You rent an apartment, you get a background check." Yet more than six million guns were sold with no background checks last year, the mayor said. MAIG also wants Congress to make gun trafficking…

•  15 Comments
• Photos (7)

Obama Seeks Sweeping New Gun Laws

President Obama said the laws, including universal background checks and a renewed ban on assault rifles, would lead to "fewer atrocities like the one that happened in Newtown."

Alongside Vice President Joe Biden and a group of children who had written in support, President Barack Obama signed a proposal to Congress Wednesday to strengthen United States gun laws, including universal background checks, limiting the number of bullets in a clip, and renewing a ban on military-grade assault rifles. "If America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown," Obama said. Check out these related stories He listed some specific measures, including a 10-round limit on magazines for firearms, and asked congress to confirm Todd Jones to fill the long-dormant role of chief for the Bureau of Alchol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) — and briefly…

•  267 Comments
• Photos (1)