Firearms

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/crime.aspx?id=184
 Firearm Reciprocity Agreements
 In 1995, the Pennsylvania General Assembly gave the Attorney General the
 authority to enter into reciprocity agreements with other states.
 The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania currently has formal written reciprocity
 agreements with fourteen states that recognize a valid license to carry
 firearms issued by Pennsylvania. Conversely, Pennsylvania recognizes
 valid firearm carry licenses/permits from those states. In addition to the 14
 formal agreements, other forms of reciprocity are applicable.
 Carrying Firearms in Pennsylvania - Frequently asked questions (by
 the Pennsylvania State Police)
 Note: It has come to the attention of the Office of Attorney General that
 there has been confusion over the applicability of Pennsylvania's reciprocal
 privileges with regard to the residency status of an individual who has been
 issued a valid license/permit. It is the position of the Office of Attorney
 General that recognition within Pennsylvania is based on the issuance to an
 individual of a valid license/permit by the reciprocal contracting state, and
 not on the license/permit holder's place of residence.
 Categories of Firearms Reciprocity
 Under Pennsylvania law, there are six categories of firearms reciprocity
 status.
 Category 1: States that have entered into written reciprocity
 agreements with Pennsylvania.(Title 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6109(k))
 The following states have entered into formal written reciprocity agreements
 with Pennsylvania under section 6109(k) of the Uniform Firearms Act.
 These agreements provide for reciprocal recognition of valid
 licenses/permits issued by both states.Recognition in Pennsylvania is based
 on the individual's issuance of a valid license/permit by the reciprocal
 contracting state, and not on the license/permit holder's place of residence.
 A list of these states and links to their firearms laws is provided below, along
 with the text of the agreements:
 * Alaska
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Alaska
 Read Alaska's official information on gun laws
 * Arizona
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Arizona
 Read Arizona's official information on gun laws
 * Arkansas
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Arkansas
 Read Arkansas' official information on gun laws
 Florida
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Florida
 Review Florida's official information on gun laws
 * Georgia
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Georgia
 Contact the Georgia Office of Attorney General
 * Kentucky
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Kentucky
 Review Kentucky's official information on gun laws
 * Michigan
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Michigan
 Review Michigan's official information on gun laws
 * Missouri
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Missouri
 Review Missouri's official information on gun laws
 * New Hampshire
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with New
 Hampshire
 Review New Hampshire's official information on gun laws
 * North Carolina
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with North
 Carolina
 Read North Carolina's official information on gun laws
 * Oklahoma
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with
 Oklahoma
 Read Oklahoma's official information on gun laws
 * South Dakota
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with South
 Dakota
 Read South Dakota's official information on gun laws
 * Tennessee
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Tennessee
 Read Tennessee's official information on gun laws
 * Texas
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Texas
 Review Texas's official information on gun laws
 * Virginia
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Virginia
 Review Virginia's official information on gun laws
 * West Virginia
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with West
 Virginia
 Review West Virginia's official information on gun laws
 * Wyoming
 Read Pennsylvania's Firearm Reciprocity Agreement with Wyoming
 Review Wyoming's official information on gun laws
 Category 2: States that have statutory reciprocity under 6106(b)(15) of
 the Uniform Firearms Act.
 The following states have been granted statutory reciprocity without a formal
 written agreement under 6106(b)(15), based on the determination of the
 Attorney General that the other state has granted reciprocity to Pennsylvania
 license holders, and that the other state's laws governing firearms are
 similar.
 * Colorado
 * Idaho
 * Indiana
 * Louisiana
 * Montana
 * North Dakota
 * Utah
 Category 3: Unilateral reciprocity granted by another state for
 Pennsylvania license holders.
 This category encompasses states which allow an individual issued a valid
 concealed firearm license from Pennsylvania to carry a firearm while in
 those respective states.
 Category 4: Pennsylvanians may apply for a license/permit from
 another state ("Application states").
 * Maine
 * Maryland
 * Massachusetts
 * Washington
 Category 5: State does not recognize or grant licenses/permits to
 individuals from another state, currently does not extend reciprocal
 privileges to Pennsylvania license holders, or has not indicated
 current status.
 * Alabama
 * California
 * Connecticut
 * Delaware
 * Hawaii
 * Illinois
 * Iowa
 * Kansas
 * Minnesota
 * Mississippi
 * Nebraska
 * Nevada
 * New Jersey
 * New Mexico
 * New York
 * Ohio
 * Oregon
 * Rhode Island
 * South Carolina
 * Wisconsin
 Category 6: Carry permitted without license/permit.
 * Vermont
 **Vermont allows possession or carrying of a concealed firearm without a
 license/permit.
 Please be aware that the information on this page is subject to change
 based on the most recent developments in the various states and
 territories. If you are aware of changes in any of the information above,
 please contact the Office of Attorney General so that our information may be
 revised appropriately. If you plan to travel to another state it is
 recommended that you contact the proper authority within that state in order
 to verify what, if any, additional requirements or restrictions apply under
 state or federal law.
 CONTACT INFO FOR ALL STATES
 The following information may assist you in contacting the appropriate
 agencies if you plan to travel to another state:
 Alabama
 Keith Miller
 Chief Deputy Attorney General
 Office of the Attorney General of
 Alabama
 11 S. Union Street
 Montgomery, AL 36130
 Missouri
 Peter Lyskowski
 Assistant Attorney General
 Missouri Office of Attorney General
 P.O. Box 899
 Jefferson City, MO 65102
 Alaska
 Sandra Fuller
 Department of Public Safety
 Records & Identification Bureau
 5700 East Tudor Rd.
 Anchorage, AK 99507
 Montana
 Ilka Becker
 Assistant Attorney General
 Montana Department of Justice
 Justice Building
 P.O. Box 201401
 Helena, MT 59620-1401
 Arizona
 Michael J. Kline, Sr.
 Concealed Weapon Coordinator
 Arizona Department of Public Safety
 P.O. Box 6488
 Phoenix, AZ 85005
 Nebraska
 J. Kirk Brown
 Solicitor General
 Nebraska Office of Attorney General
 2115 State Capitol Building
 Lincoln, NE 68509-8920
 Arkansas
 Major Kathy Sparks
 Commander, Administrative Services
 Division
 Arkansas State Police
 1 State Police Plaza Drive
 Little Rock, AR 72209-4822
 Nevada
 Gerald J. Gardner
 Chief Deputy Attorney General
 Nevada Office of Attorney General
 555 E. Washington Avenue
 Room 3900
 Las Vegas, NV 89101
 California
 Edmund G. Brown, Jr.
 Attorney General
 California Office of Attorney General
 1300 I Street, Suite 1740
 Sacramento, CA 95814
 New Hampshire
 Earl M. Sweeney
 Assistant Commissioner
 Department of Safety
 James H. Hayes Building
 33 Hazen Drive
 Concord, NH 03305
 Colorado
 Susan Kitchen
 Agent in Charge
 Colorado Department of Public Safety
 690 Kipling St., Ste. 3000
 Denver, CO 80215-5825
 New Jersey
 Department of Law and Public
 Safety
 Office of Attorney General
 P.O. Box 080
 25 Market Street
 Trenton, NJ 08625-0080
 Connecticut
 Leonard C. Boyle
 Commissioner
 Department of Public Safety
 State of Connecticut
 1111 Country Club Rd.
 Middletown, CT 06457-9294
 New Mexico
 Stuart M. Bluestone
 Chief Deputy Attorney General
 Office of the Attorney General of
 New Mexico
 P.O. Drawer 1508
 Santa Fe, NM 87504-1508
 Delaware
 Carl Danberg
 Chief Deputy Attorney General
 Office of the Attorney General of
 Delaware
 Carvel State Office Building
 820 N French Street
 Wilmington, DE 19801
 New York
 Debra L. W. Cohn
 Deputy Attorney General for Policy
 Office of the Attorney General of
 New York
 120 Broadway
 New York, NY 10271
 District of Columbia
 Terrance Ryan
 General Counsel
 Metropolitan Police Department
 300 Indiana Avenue, N.W.
 Room 4115
 Washington, DC 20001
 North Carolina
 John J. Aldridge, III
 Special Deputy Attorney General
 Law Enforcement Liaison Section
 North Carolina Department of
 Justice
 9001 Mail Service Center
 Raleigh, NC 27699-9001
 Florida
 Ken Wilkinson
 Management Analyst
 Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer
 Services
 Division of Licensing
 P.O. Box 6687
 Tallahassee, FL 32314-6687
 North Dakota
 Sandi Tabor, Chief Deputy
 Office of the Attorney General of
 North Dakota
 State Capitol
 600 E Boulevard Avenue
 Bismarck, ND 58505 0040
 Georgia
 Thurbert E. Baker
 Attorney General
 State of Georgia
 40 Capitol Square, SW
 Atlanta, GA 30334-1300
 Ohio
 Jonathan R. Fulkerson
 Deputy Attorney General
 Health & Human Services Section
 Ohio Office of Attorney General
 30 E. Broad Street, 26th Floor
 Columbus, OH 43215-3400
 Hawaii
 Neil N. Murakami
 Deputy Attorney General
 Criminal Justice Division
 Hawaii Department of the Attorney
 General
 425 Queen Street
 Honolulu, HI 96813
 Oklahoma
 Jimmy Bunn, Jr., Esq.
 Legal Counsel
 Oklahoma State Bureau of
 Investigation
 6600 N. Harvey
 Oklahoma City, OK 73116-7912
 Idaho
 William A. von Tagen
 Deputy Attorney General
 Chief, Intergovernmental & Fiscal Law
 Division
 Idaho Office of Attorney General
 P.O. Box 83720
 Boise, ID 83720-0010
 Oregon
 Timothy R. Thompson
 Assistant Attorney General
 Criminal Justice Division
 Oregon Department of Justice
 610 Hawthorne Ave., SE, Suite 210
 Salem, OR 97301
 Illinois
 Barry Gross, Chief Deputy
 Illinois Office of Attorney General
 James R. Thompson Center
 100 W. Randolph Street
 Chicago, IL 60601
 Rhode Island
 James R. Lee
 Chief, Civil Division
 Rhode Island Dept. of Attorney
 General
 150 South Main Street
 Providence, RI 02903
 Indiana
 Jennifer Thuma
 Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs
 Indiana Office of Attorney General
 Indiana Government Center South, 5th
 Floor
 402 West Washington Street
 Indianapolis, IN 46204-2770
 South Carolina
 Clifton E. Weir
 Captain, SLED Regulatory Services
 South Carolina Law Enforcement
 Division
 P.O. Box 21398
 Columbia, SC 29221-1398
 Iowa
 Tam Ormiston
 Chief Policy Deputy
 Iowa Office of Attorney General
 Hoover State Office Building
 Des Moines, IA 50319
 South Dakota
 Monae Johnson
 Pistol Permit Administrator
 South Dakota Secretary of State
 State Capitol, Suite 204
 500 East Capital Avenue
 Pierre, SD 57501-5070
 Kansas
 Charles W. Klebe
 Assistant Attorney General
 Concealed Carry Handgun Unit
 Kansas Office of Attorney General
 120 SW 10th Avenue, 2nd Floor
 Topeka, KS 66612-1597
 Tennessee
 Patricia S. Wall
 Staff Attorney
 Department of Safety
 State of Tennessee
 1155 Foster Avenue
 Nashville, TN 37249-1000
 Kentucky
 Elizabeth D. Baker
 Legal Counsel
 Kentucky State Police
 919 Versailles Rd.
 Frankfort, KY 40601
 Texas
 Becky Pestana
 Assistant Attorney General
 General Counsel Division
 Texas Office of Attorney General
 P.O. Box 12548
 Austin, TX 78711-2548
 Louisiana
 Colonel Henry Whitehorn
 Deputy Secretary, Public Safety
 Services
 Department of Public Safety &
 Corrections
 Louisiana State Police
 P.O. Box 66614
 Baton Rouge, LA 70896-6614
 Utah
 Rick Penrod
 Investigator
 Utah Department of Public Safety
 Bureau of Criminal Identification
 3888 West 5400 South
 Salt Lake City, UT 84118
 Maine
 Laura Yustak Smith
 Assistant Attorney General
 Maine Office of Attorney General
 6 State House Station
 Augusta, ME 04333
 Vermont
 John Treadwell
 Assistant Attorney General
 Office of the Attorney General of
 Vermont
 109 State Street
 Montpelier, VT 05609-1001
 Maryland
 Mark H. Bowen
 Assistant Attorney General
 Maryland Office of Attorney General
 1201 Reisterstown Rd.
 Pikesville, MD 21208
 Virginia
 Thomas J. Lambert
 Legal Specialist
 Bureau of Criminal Investigation
 Virginia Department of State Police
 P.O. Box 27472
 Richmond, VA 23261-7472
 Massachusetts
 Stephanie S. Lovell
 First Assistant Attorney General
 Office of the Attorney General of
 Massachusetts
 One Ashburton Place Room 2019
 Boston, MA 02108 1698
 Washington
 Toni M. Hood
 Assistant Attorney General
 Licensing and Administrative Law
 Division
 Attorney General of Washington
 P.O. Box 40110
 Olympia, WA 98504-0110
 Michigan
 Robert Ianni
 Bureau Chief
 Consumer Protection Bureau
 525 W. Ottawa St.
 Lansing, MI 48909
 West Virginia
 Thomas W. Smith
 Managing Deputy Attorney General
 Office of the Attorney General of
 West Virginia
 State Capitol, Room 26 E
 Charleston, WV 25305
 Minnesota
 E. Joseph Newton
 Department Program Administrator
 Minnesota Department of Public
 Safety
 Office of the Commissioner
 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 1000
 Saint Paul, MN 55101-5100
 Wisconsin
 Roy R. Korte, Assistant Attorney
 General
 Wisconsin Department of Justice
 Attorney General's Office
 17 W. Main St.
 Madison, WI 53707
 Mississippi
 Mississippi Department for Public
 Safety
 P.O. Box 958
 Jackson, MS 39205-0958
 Wyoming
 Bryan A. Skoric
 Senior Assistant Attorney General
 Division of Criminal Investigation
 316 West 22nd St.
 Cheyenne, WY 82002
 For more information on Pennsylvania's reciprocity agreements contact:
 Senior Deputy Attorney General George Zaiser
 Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
 16th Floor, Strawberry Square
 Harrisburg, PA 17120
 (717) 787-3391
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 Fwd: The Pittsburgh Tea Party
 Posted by: "Henry Haller" hehaller@mac.com hehaller3
 Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:22 pm (PDT)
 Interesting review -- -- Henry
 Begin forwarded message:
 > From: Whiskey & Gunpowder <whiskey@agorafinancial.com>
 > Date: April 22, 2009 2:01:22 PM EST
 > To: hehaller@mac.com
 > Subject: The Pittsburgh Tea Party
 >
 ----------
 > Gary’s Note: Whiskey & Gunpowder has discussed the national Tea
 > Parties. Our own Byron King, editor of Outstanding Investments
 > attended the Pittsburgh Tea Party on April 15. His report follows. If
 > you care to report on your own local Tea Party, please send your
 > comments to Gary@WhiskeyandGunpowder.com
 >
 > Whiskey & Gunpowder
 > By Byron King
 > April 22, 2009
 > Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
 >
 >
 > The Pittsburgh Tea Party
 >
 > Yeah, we drink tea in Pittsburgh. But really, Pittsburgh is more of a
 > shot-and-a-beer kind of town. What else would you expect from the
 > place that — back in 1794 — challenged the authority of the newly
 > established national government in the Whiskey Rebellion? I wrote
 > about it five years ago, in one of my first articles for Whiskey
 > (hence the name) and Gunpowder. You can reread it here.
 >
 >
 > Old Whiskey Rebellion and Modern Tea Party
 >
 > During the Whiskey Rebellion of old, irate Western Pennsylvanians
 > burned down the house of George Washington’s appointed tax collector,
 > General John Neville. This wasn’t without provocation, of course. The
 > bonfire started after one of Neville’s federal marshals shot and
 > killed an unarmed tax protester. Lesson to the feds: Be careful who
 > you shoot, especially when they can shoot back. 
 >
 > The recent Pittsburgh Tea Party was far less inflammatory, although
 > some of the issues and basic sentiments are much the same as those of
 > the 1790s. The original Whiskey rebels opposed a distant and aloof
 > government that reflected the interests of an East Coast cultural
 > aristocracy. Despite the personal popularity of George Washington, his
 > federal government was imperial and out of touch. To answer a summons
 > in federal court, for example, a Western Pennsylvania farmer had to
 > trek near 300 miles across the mountains to Philadelphia. And the lack
 > of a useful national currency — one of the key functions of any
 > government — handicapped economic growth. In fact, for lack of real
 > money on the western frontier, people used whiskey as a form of
 > currency.
 >
 > The final straw came in 1792 when Treasury Secretary Alexander
 > Hamilton proposed raising revenue by taxing the capacity of stills.
 > And in those days, stills were no mere means of making recreational
 > moonshine. By 1794, the draconian collection of Mr. Hamilton’s new tax
 > placed at risk the ability of farmers to transform their surplus grain
 > into more transportable and saleable whiskey. 
 >
 > In other words, the whiskey tax damaged the farm economy, which was
 > about all there was west of the Alleghenies. Inept government economic
 > and monetary policy placed the future at risk. Thus did many citizens
 > rebel. And rightfully so, some say.
 >
 > Rooted in Citizen Anger and Frustration
 >
 > What’s behind the modern “Tea Party” sentiment? I believe that it’s
 > rooted in citizen anger and frustration that the federal government
 > just spends and spends and spends, with no evident heed for tomorrow. 
 >
 > The justification for heedless increases in government spending — even
 > worse, increased spending with borrowed money — is along the lines of
 > Pres. Franklin Roosevelt’s famous comment that “If we borrow funds,
 > then we owe it to ourselves.” The modern justification, as a Federal
 > Reserve official once explained to me, is that “As long as we can
 > afford to pay the interest on the debt, it’ll be OK.”
 >
 > But the people are not blind, let alone stupid. It is clear that the
 > federal debt just grows and grows. How much longer can this last? 
 > Today many informed citizens understand that the national debt is way
 > too big. The rate of growth is out of control. We don’t “owe it to
 > ourselves.” We owe it to the Chinese, the Japanese, the Middle
 > Easterners. And we cannot afford to pay the interest anymore. Well,
 > not if we want to be able to do anything else as a nation except work
 > like tax-slaves to pay interest on past debt.
 >
 > By any technical measure, the federal government is insolvent — except
 > for that quaint custom of inflating the currency with fiat dollars. So
 > really, the nation is long overdue for a national discussion on the
 > fundamental nature of its money. Hence the Tea Parties.
 >
 > The Pittsburgh Tea Party Crowd
 >
 > In Pittsburgh a crowd of several thousand (estimates range from 2,500
 > to 5,000) formed last week in the city’s old, historic Market Square.
 > Market Square dates to the 1700s, and perhaps the bedrock still
 > recalls the events from the days of George Washington. The mid-April
 > weather was characteristically lousy, with drizzle and rain falling in
 > 50-degree temperatures. If you were there, it was because you wanted
 > to be there. 
 >
 > The Tea Party attendees struck me as a cross section of Western
 > Pennsylvanians. There were many Steelers jackets, and ball-caps with
 > military logos and veteran patches. I asked around, and met business
 > owners and office workers, factory workers, lawyers, health care
 > providers, restaurant workers, and a few people who are, as they put
 > it, “between jobs.” There were off-duty cops and firefighters,
 > courthouse employees, bus drivers and even a few bikers resplendent in
 > their leather and tattoos. 
 >
 > The Tea Party brought out the creative side of attendees as well, with
 > people dressed in Colonial period costumes. To my observation, it was
 > an orderly and respectful crowd, filled with sincere people who
 > appeared to know their American history. My gut feeling was that the
 > Tea Party attendees understood why they were out standing in the cold
 > rain. (One 30-something woman told me, “I’ve never been to a political
 > rally in my life. But I’m just scared for the country’s future. We’re
 > going to be broke.”)
 >
 > The makeup of the crowd was young and old, men and women. There were
 > retirees (as indicated by their hats and T-shirts), middle-aged
 > people, and young people complete with pink hair and metal in their
 > ears. There were parents with children. (One participant told me, “I
 > brought my son with me because I want him to remember this day. I
 > think we’re at the beginning of something that’s going to change the
 > country.”) There were white and black, Asian and Indians.
 >
 > Many Tea Party attendees carried signs, all apparently homemade. The
 > verbiage ranged across a conservative to libertarian political
 > spectrum. Some signs were historical, with deep roots in the 1913 coup
 > d’etat of American Progressivism under Pres. Woodrow Wilson. (“The Fed
 > is Illegitimate.” and “Abolish the 17th Amendment.”) You don’t see
 > many signs like that these days, that’s for sure.
 >
 > Other signs were rock-ribbed statements of protest about taxes and
 > spending. (“Give me Liberty, Don’t Give Me Debt.” and “Born Free,
 > Taxed Beyond the Grave.” and “Abolish the IRS, Support the Fair Tax”
 > and “Wall Street Banks Got Billions, and All I Got Was This Lousy
 > Sign.”) 
 >
 > Other signs — not many — knocked Pres. Obama; but I would not
 > characterize the Tea Party as just an anti-Obama rally. There were
 > indications of deeper dissatisfaction with the federal government, at
 > a systemic level. One sign knocked the “Bush-Obama Ripoff.” Other
 > signs were along the lines of “Abolish Congress,” which is not exactly
 > realistic, considering the wording of the U.S. Constitution. (Vote the
 > bums out, maybe?) 
 >
 > One sign hit on the corruption of the process of governance, stating,
 > “Big Fraud from Little ACORN Grows.” These were not the usual
 > mass-produced, “union-label” signs that you see at those “other” kinds
 > of political rallies. I’m sure you get the idea.
 >
 > 15:35, 25 April 2009 (UTC)15:35, 25 April 2009 (UTC)15:35, 25 April 2009 (UTC)15:35, 25 April 2009 (UTC)15:35, 25 April 2009 (UTC)15:35, 25 April 2009 (UTC)~
 >
 > The Tea Party Organization
 >
 > The 2009 Pittsburgh Tea Party was organized by a suburban housewife,
 > albeit one with an MBA from the Harvard Business School. From what I
 > heard, a few politicians volunteered to speak. The terse reply from
 > the organizers was along the lines of, “No, this is where the people
 > will speak. You politicians need to shut up and listen.”
 >
 > There was no indication that the Tea Party was an “Astroturf” event.
 > The Tea Party received almost ZERO media coverage in the days leading
 > up to it. It had all the markings of a “flash rally,” organized on the
 > Internet. The local talk radio guys scarcely mentioned it, to my
 > knowledge. (If they did, I missed it.) The local newspapers gave no
 > advance publicity. The local TV stations were too busy covering the
 > usual pabulum about car crashes and house fires. If it doesn’t bleed,
 > it doesn’t lead.
 >
 > It seemed to me that the attendees of the Pittsburgh Tea Party were
 > there of their own volition. I sensed no mind-control from the evil
 > Fox-News Network, and I wasn’t even wearing my radio-blocking aluminum
 > skull-cap. Contrary to the defamatory stereotype pushed by the
 > incompetent mainstream media (the LA Times characterized Tea Party
 > attendees as “insane”), the Tea Party people seemed to be decent folk,
 > able to think for themselves and form independent opinions. And many
 > Tea Partiers have apparently formed the opinion that the federal
 > government is spending the country into ruin. To those of us who
 > follow the issue, it’s a valid point.
 >
 > The Tea Party Festivities
 >
 > The Tea Party stage was decked out with flags. Festivities began with
 > a musical mixture of patriotic tunes and Country-Western music. The
 > Tea Party kicked off with a brief welcome from the organizers,
 > followed by a moment of silence in memory of three Pittsburgh police
 > officers who were killed in the line of duty a couple weeks ago. Then
 > a prayer. Then the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the national anthem. In
 > other words, it was as patriotic as the 4th of July. Nothing radical.
 >
 > The first speaker discussed the ever-expanding federal budget. If
 > you’ve seen the movie I.O.U.S.A., produced by Addison Wiggin of Agora
 > Financial, then it was nothing new except that this was a Tea Party
 > protest in downtown Pittsburgh. And criticizing federal spending in
 > downtown Pittsburgh is not something that happens very often.
 >
 > Another speaker gave a spirited history lesson about the origins of
 > the Federal Reserve. It was Creature from Jeckyll Island-kind of
 > stuff. It was surprising (to me) how much of the discussion the crowd
 > appeared to understand. It was astonishing, really. I think that most
 > of the Federal Reserve scholars in town must have been in the
 > audience, because people seemed to know exactly what the guy was
 > talking about. 
 >
 > A third speaker gave a solid speech about the evils of ever-expanding
 > government. This guy is a multi-millionaire who built his own
 > nationally-ranked high-tech business and made a fortune. He’s met a
 > few payrolls in his career. He discussed the exploding levels of
 > federal expenditures. He hit on the ballooning national debt, and
 > asked rhetorically how the nation ever intends to pay just the
 > interest, let alone the principal. 
 >
 > And so it went, with more speakers giving talks along the same lines.
 >
 > The Hecklers in the Crowd
 >
 > Of course, a few hecklers showed up to make noise. While one of the
 > early speakers was discussing how federal borrowing is crowding out
 > private investment, a group of five (I counted them) people started to
 > chant, “O-Bam-A! O-Bam-A! O-Bam-A!” 
 >
 > At first, the crowd ignored the hecklers. Then the hecklers realized
 > that they were having no effect, so they yelled louder. Eventually, it
 > was kind of hard to hear the speaker. A few members of the Tea Party
 > crowd turned to the hecklers and told them to shut up, have some
 > respect, etc. That was like throwing kerosene on a fire. Now the
 > hecklers were hollering at the top of their lungs.
 >
 > There were a few TV cameramen from local stations covering the event.
 > Needless to say, the camera-guys rushed over to film the hecklers in
 > action. By now the five hecklers were having a great time, yelling and
 > making enough noise to disrupt the proceedings. Then some Pittsburgh
 > cops and event organizers walked over to tell the hecklers to keep it
 > down.
 >
 > The cops must have said something, because the hecklers broke up and
 > started walking around the edge of the Tea Party crowd, yelling
 > epithets like, “You’re all racists. You can’t deal with a black man in
 > the White House.” To which a black guy standing next to me said, “I’ll
 > bet these punks are ACORN activists.” He turned and talked right at
 > one of the hecklers, saying, “Why are you causing a disturbance? Get
 > out of here. Go home to your mama.” So the heckler called the black
 > guy an “Oreo,” as well as a few other words that I thought were banned
 > from modern vocabulary. Then a Pittsburgh cop walked up to the heckler
 > and politely asked him to “move along, unless you have some other
 > reason to be here.” Pittsburgh’s finest. 
 >
 > Media Coverage
 >
 > The local media gave almost no coverage to the Pittsburgh Tea Party.
 > The TV stations focused on the hockey playoffs between the Pittsburgh
 > Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers. One station ran a short,
 > insubstantial fluff piece, with plenty of attention to the five
 > hecklers.
 >
 > The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, located three blocks from Market Square,
 > buried its next-day coverage within a critical, anti-Tea Party story
 > distributed by the Washington Post. The photo on the inside pages of
 > the Post-Gazette was from a Tea Party in Cincinnati. On its editorial
 > page, the Post-Gazette ran an insulting cartoon by the predictable and
 > pedestrian Rob Rogers. The cartoon showed three raw-looking, hirsute
 > men sitting around a table, sipping tea and bellyaching (get it? Tea
 > Party?) Meanwhile, the circulation of the Post-Gazette is falling and
 > the newspaper is laying off staff. Gee, I wonder why people don’t
 > bother to read the Post-Gazette?
 >
 >
 > What Were the Tea Parties About?
 >
 > But it’s not just the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that’s missing the boat.
 > The talking-head androids of Big Media also missed the point of the
 > Tea Parties. To the extent that there is any remotely accurate
 > reportage going on, the focus seems to be that the Tea Parties are
 > well-off people bitching about high taxes. Even the Gallup Poll
 > organization took the bait, publishing a recent report stating: 
 >
 > “A new Gallup Poll finds 48% of Americans saying the amount of federal
 > income taxes they pay is ‘about right,’ with 46% saying ‘too high’ —
 > one of the most positive assessments Gallup has measured since 1956.
 > Typically, a majority of Americans say their taxes are too high, and
 > relatively few say their taxes are too low.”
 >
 > But focusing on the level of taxation is the wrong issue for Gallup to
 > track. It struck me that the Tea Party attendees in Pittsburgh were
 > worried more about the use of their tax dollars, and the explosion in
 > federal deficit spending. The Tea Party movement strikes me as more
 > about the dangerously growing size of the federal government. From
 > what I could gather, the Tea Party attendees opposed the unalterable
 > trend of endless federal growth. And coupled with this there is, of
 > course, a deep fear about the eventual decline in value of the dollar.
 >
 > Like I said earlier in the article, it’s about time for the U.S. to
 > have a national discussion about the nature of its money. What is a
 > U.S. dollar any more? Where does national wealth come from? We ought
 > have that national chat while we still have some money, and while we
 > can still create wealth. Because a lot of people appear to sense that
 > something important is coming to an end. 
 >
 > And when things fall apart, we’ll be in for a generation or two of
 > very tough times. So the political class, and its Big Media androids,
 > are ignoring the Tea Party movement at their peril.
 >
 > Until we meet again,
 > Byron King
 >
 ----------
 >
 > As always it’s a pleasure to have Byron tend the bar.
 >
 > If you’d like to hear from Byron more regularly — and get the benefit
 > of his extensive knowledge of the resource investment world — just
 > click here.
 >
 > Here’s one last report from Wisconsin…
 >
 > My wife and I attended the Tea Party held in Appleton, Wisconsin. A
 > delightful event with much the same feelings expressed by Don Stott.
 >
 > There were several thousand people there, which of course were
 > reported as several hundred by the local leftist paper. One of the
 > speakers was the head of the local chamber of commerce who at one
 > point asked those in the crowd who were or had been in small business
 > to raise their hands. From where I stood over half of those present
 > raised their hands. These folks all realize what is in store for them
 > and it bodes bad for our economy. Gold and silver is the answer, lead
 > is the last resort.
 >
 > I am shocked — shocked! — to find that the leftist media have been
 > painting all the protesters as patsies of the right wing media. I’m
 > also a little hurt that they’ve been downplaying the turnout.
 >
 > And that about wraps up our coverage of the Tea Parties. But these
 > demonstrations are a sign o’ the times…and maybe just the tiniest
 > taste of things to come…
 >
 > Regards,
 > Gary Gibson
 > Managing Editor, Whiskey & Gunpowder
 > Whiskey & Gunpowder Special Reports
 >
 >
 > One Famous Expert Warns, "There Will Be Panic"
 >
 > The 10 Shocking Reasons for China's Pollution Problem
 >
 > Geothermal Energy: Investment in the Future
 >
 > Here's One Coal Stock That's Set to Skyrocket
 >
 > Investing in Exchange Traded Funds
 >
 > The Real Story Behind the True Gold Bull Market
 >
 ----------
 > Whiskey & Gunpowder, a free e-letter, is the independent investor's
 > daily guide to gold, commodities, profits and freedom. We sent this
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 > Are you having trouble receiving your Whiskey & Gunpowder? You can
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 > We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in
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 > © 2009 Agora Financial, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Protected by
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