This page was last updated on October 1, 2014.
Why did Marshall vote against bill?; Dan Sainovich; Beaver County Times; October 1, 2014.
Confusion I had dealing with “Dan/Danny Sainovich” letters from Industry/Ohioville is over. After he read an April 2011 critique of one of his letters, Mr. Sainovich was kind enough to clear things up. In an e-mail note, Mr. Sainovich wrote, “I thought I would shed some light on Dan vs Danny Sainovich. Danny is my father and we both live in Ohioville. His name is Danny and mine is Dan - you are correct that we do have opposite views on politics. Actually there is no jr or sr but we have come to an agreement to use jr and sr so that folks don’t get us mixed up.”
Previous critiques of Mr. Sainovich’s letters are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Mr. Sainovich is/was an administrative organizer for SEIU District 1199P. According to its 2012 LM-2 report, SEIU National Headquarters spent $113.8 million for “Political Activities and Lobbying.” In 2010, 2008, and 2006, that figure was $55 million, $67 million, and $27 million, respectively.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Last week, the state House of Representatives voted on an amendment presented by Rep. Steven Santarsiero that would require background checks for all firearm sales, including private sales and transfers of shotguns and rifles.”
[RWC] If you didn’t know better, from this sentence you’d think there are no background checks for firearm sales. That’s likely Mr. Sainovich’s intent.
Federal law requires federally-licensed dealers to perform background checks using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). When purchasing via mail, phone, or the Internet, firearms must be sent to a licensed dealer who performs the background check. Further, Pennsylvania requires state-licensed sellers to perform background checks using the Pennsylvania Instant Check System operated by the Pennsylvania State Police. Depending on the firearm, private sellers must use a licensed dealer to make a sale and the dealer must perform a background check as he would if he were the seller. PA gun laws apply whether you buy a firearm at a local dealer, at a gun show, or from your neighbor.
“Sounds like a good idea to me and the vast majority of Pennsylvania residents as evidenced by polls take [sic] in the state as well as nationally. It was voted down 132-64.
“Why would a legislator vote against this common sense bill? I am asking specifically Rep. Jim Marshall, my representative, who were you representing: your constituency or the NRA and other special interest groups?”
[RWC] In case you don’t know, Mr. Sainovich is a Democrat, as is Rep. Santarsiero (Bucks county), and Mr. Marshall is a Republican.
The intent of PA House Bill 1243 is to make mental health records more readily available for firearm background checks, “a good idea to … the vast majority of Pennsylvania residents as evidenced by polls take [sic] in the state as well as nationally.” It appears the Santarsiero amendment (A06142) to which Mr. Sainovich refers was an attempt to use this bill as a backdoor to increase the types of firearm sales covered by background checks.
You’ll note Mr. Sainovich mentioned the amendment, but not the core bill. That’s because Rep. Marshall will likely vote for HB 1243. Since Mr. Sainovich mentioned the NRA, it supports HB 1243. I’ll guess Mr. Sainovich also supports HB 1243.
“Background checks do not infringe on the Second Amendment or my rights to own firearms, which I do.”
[RWC] Again, the vast majority of firearm sales in PA require a background check, and PA gun laws apply whether you buy a firearm at a local dealer, at a gun show, or from your neighbor. Should we require background checks for the remaining firearm sales that don’t require a check? I don’t know. Regardless, people should not attempt to deceive us as Mr. Sainovich did.
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