John Petrolino

by

– “The Pen Patriot”
– Journalist and Bearing Arms contributor
– Author of Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on Basic Gun Safety & Use
– United States Merchant Marine Officer and firearms instructor
– Board member, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
– JohnPetrolino.com

About John Petrolino

John Petrolino, known as The Pen Patriot, is an award-winning Second Amendment journalist, firearms instructor and United States Merchant Marine Officer. He earned a BS in Marine Engineering at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. His writing and reporting center on the freedoms enumerated in the Bill of Rights, with a strong focus on the Second Amendment and on the realities facing gun owners in New Jersey.

Petrolino came to journalism through literature. Through the 2000s he was a poet rooted in the Beat Generation tradition, reading as a guest of jazz great David Amram at the Cornelia Street Cafe and at Lowell Celebrates Kerouac festivals, and publishing two poetry collections, Galleria and Congo Lights. Over time his work turned toward the rights that protect that kind of free expression, and today he works primarily as a reporter rather than a pundit.

His Second Amendment reporting has appeared in Bearing Arms, AmmoLand News, Concealed Carry Magazine, America’s 1st Freedom, Second Press, The Truth About Guns, NRA Women, USA Carry, The Shore News Network and other outlets. His 2025 series on New Jersey’s carry permit system after the Bruen decision documented long permit wait times and uneven denial rates across counties, and it earned first place for Best Coverage of State Government from the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists.

In 2020 he released his third book, Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on Basic Gun Safety & Use, written for new gun owners and anyone curious about firearms. At the 2024 Gun Rights Policy Conference he was elected to the board of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. His work is collected at JohnPetrolino.com.

Key Facts

  • 2020: Published Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on Basic Gun Safety & Use
  • 2022: Named “Media Figure of the Year” by the San Diego County Gun Owners PAC and “Blogger of the Year” by the Second Amendment Foundation
  • 2024: Named “Journalist of the Year” by the Second Amendment Foundation and received a Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners “Patriot Pin”
  • 2024: Elected to the board of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
  • 2025: Received an “Outstanding Achievement in Broadcasting” award from the Professional Outdoor Media Association for his interview with John Kabourakis
  • 2025: Earned two first-place and two second-place awards from the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists

Find John Petrolino

Sources

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