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DEAR FRIENDS,
Many of you have told us that when you called the Commandant of the Coast Guard regarding the shoots held by the Philadelphia Gun Club (PGC) they tried to push you back to the Philadelphia office (officially known as Sector Delaware Bay). Also, we are aware of a short email sent out from the Commandant's office stating:
"The Coast Guard's authority and responsibility is to ensure the safety of mariners on the Delaware River. The Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay based in Philadelphia, PA, reviewed the matter and determined the activity by the Philadelphia Gun Club does not currently affect safe navigation on the river. As a result, the Coast Guard has not established a temporary safety zone under 33 CFR 165.20."
This is, of course, a joke, but not a very funny one; not only has the PGC admitted that their shoots pose a danger, but their men have fired at us.
We have written back to the Commandant, and included the previous letters that we sent to Coast Guard officials explaining the situation. We are including excerpts from the letters in this update.
You can view all three letters in their entirety online HERE. You can view the Coast Guard letter requiring the PGC to have a safety zone HERE. Please reference these in your communication with the Coast Guard as these documents are the evidence that proves our case.
This is a serious and deeply troubling turn of events with the Coast Guard. In early 2010 they determined that the PGC can't hold shoots, yet two years later they fold on the issue and pretend that their previous decision never existed.
We've faced government agencies that have fronted for the pigeon shooters before, such as local District Attorneys and police, but this is the first time that a federal agency is doing the shooters dirty work. Something must have happened in the past two years to have so dramatically changed the situation - but whatever the reason, we cannot give up this fight.
Please continue to keep the pressure on the Coast Guard. Remember to be polite.
Commandant of the Coast Guard
Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr.
202-372-4411
Rear Admiral William "Dean" Lee,
Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District.
Meredith L. Austin, Captain of the Port
Sector Delaware Bay
Please also post a copy of your email to the Coast Guard's online web email HERE
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SHARK Responds to the Coast Guard Commandant
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Commandant of the Coast Guard
Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr.
Dear Commandant Papp,
We received your response to the situation in Sector Delaware Bay involving the Philadelphia Gun Club (PGC). As there appears to be a misunderstanding on your part as to what is actually going on, we are now sending you two letters that SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) sent to the Coast Guard detailing the issues at hand. These are: The PGC has been holding trap shoots over the Delaware River in violation of an edict sent down by the Coast Guard that they are required to have a safety zone in order to hold such shoots, and armed men from the PGC have been firing their weapons directly at public boat traffic on the river.
These letters will clear up the confusion surrounding this issue and make crystal clear why the Coast Guard needs to act. The evidence is clear and overwhelming. If Sector Delaware Bay refuses to take action, then your office must.
Sincerely,
Steve Hindi
President, SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness.
Excerpts from our letters
In December 2011, we filed a second FOIA request with the Coast Guard. It was that request which produced the Antonellis letter stating:
"After a review of your intended activities, specifically land-based target shooting with potential falling shot/debris offshore into the Delaware River, our office has determined that your planned events require a safety zone. The proposed events require the establishment of a safety zone because they have the potential to affect the safety of life and the environment on the navigable waters of the United States."
The revelation of this letter changed everything. This situation went from one where the PGC willingly withdrew their applications to avoid a NEPA assessment, to one where they were required to have a NEPA assessment and the only thing they willingly did was to violate the Coast Guard directive by continuing to hold shoots without a safety zone.
We do not understand why we were first given inaccurate information from the Coast Guard regarding the PGC applications. Be that as it may, we cannot change the past. We can, however, set this right by way of the Coast Guard not allowing the PGC to hold so much as one more trap shoot over the river without a safety zone.
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Nowhere else would people exercising their First Amendment rights would be subject to gunfire and the authorities refuse to take action. For some reason, the PGC feels confident and arrogant enough to know that they can point their weapons at us and fire and that they will be spared prosecution. Tragically, because the Coast Guard has failed to take action, it appears as if they are right.
Based on the Coast Guard's own previous investigation and determination that the PGC is required to have a Safety Zone in order to hold trapshoots, and that the PGC is clearly acting in a way that endangers boat traffic on the navigable waters under your protection, we request that the Coast Guard shut down all future shoots held by the PGC, and launch an investigation into why the PGC has been allowed to so flagrantly violate the law.
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Kindest Regards,
Steve Hindi and Your SHARK Team
"Kindness and compassion towards all living beings is a mark of a civilized society. Racism, economic deprival, dog fighting and cock fighting, bullfighting and rodeos are all cut from the same fabric: violence. Only when we have become nonviolent towards all life will we have learned to live well ourselves." - Cesar Chavez, civil rights and labor leader, founder of the United Farm Workers
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