http://www.examiner.com/a-1285001~Pa..._handguns.html
Pa. House considers making owners report lost, stolen handguns
Filed under: HARRISBURG, Pa. , MARK SCOLFORO , XGR Gun Control
March 17,2008 11:48 PM (5 hrs ago) By MARK SCOLFORO
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Map, News) - The state House of Representatives on Monday began consideration of a proposal that would impose criminal penalties on gun owners who do not quickly inform police when a handgun is lost or stolen.
The legislation, designed to combat straw purchasers of illegal handguns, would require reporting within 72 hours of when a weapon is found to be missing.
"This is an amendment about life and death, life and death," said the sponsor,
Rep. David Levdansky, D-Allegheny. "It's about making an effort in the Legislature to help stop the human carnage and taking a stand against the violence that's perpetrated by those who traffic in lost and stolen handguns."
Debate ended for the night after about two hours when the chamber adjourned upon hitting its 11 p.m. curfew. The session was due to resume at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Under the amendment, when police come across a handgun in a criminal investigation, any first-time nonreporting owner could be charged with a summary offense. A second offense would be a misdemeanor and a third offense a felony.
"The reality is, if this is going on multiple times, it's likely pretty obvious what's going on here, it's a person involved in straw purchases," Levdansky said.
People whose criminal backgrounds prevent them from buying guns legally sometimes enlist those with clean records to buy guns for them. Investigators say those straw purchasers often lie and say the guns that were traced back to them had been stolen or lost.
Rep. Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery, a former police officer, said the amendment failed to define what would constitute a "criminal investigation" in which a gun was recovered, triggering criminal penalties for a nonreporting owner.
"I would just rather leave that up to the law enforcement community and the prosecutors to make that judgment based on past practice and based on what's already in state statute," Levdansky replied.
Rep. Cherelle Parker, D-Philadelphia, said Graterford state prison inmates told her last week that reporting of lost and stolen guns would reduce violent crime.
"They said ... you're going to make it rough and tough to get hot heat on the street," Parker said.
Rep. Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, said the amendment's language was unclear and penalized gun dealers too harshly for failing to provide customers with information about the rules for lending or transferring a gun.
"You are making the job of a prosecutor much more difficult," Turzai said. "I tried hundreds of cases as a prosecutor, and I can assure you that this is not a statute that either a prosecutor's office or the police would be able to readily use."
Levdansky proposed the measure as an amendment to a bill that would increase the penalty for altering serial numbers on guns, making what is currently a misdemeanor into a felony.
Gun legislation is always fiercely debated in the Pennsylvania Legislature, usually pitting lawmakers from the state's urban areas who favor more restrictions against a substantial contingent not inclined to impose new limits.
Last year, Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell appeared before a legislative committee to push for lost-and-stolen reporting and other gun control measures. Members of the Legislative Black Caucus walked off the House floor in December to draw attention to the problem of gun violence.
Philadelphia has endured more than a murder a day in recent years - most of them shootings - and two members of the City Council have sued to seek authority to enact the city's own gun restrictions.
Monday's session ended before the House could vote on a claim by Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, that the Levdansky amendment is unconstitutional.
After the House finishes considering all amendments to the bill, it would have to pass the chamber on another day and get through the Senate before it would go to the governor.
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Second Article
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Bill seeks to thwart backdoor gun buys
Owners would have 3 days to report theft Tuesday, March 18, 2008BY CHARLES THOMPSONOf The Patriot-News
A handgun owner who discovered a gun had been lost or stolen would have three days to report the loss to police, or could face criminal charges if the weapon was later traced to a crime, under legislation that hit the state House floor Monday.
Debate was suspended at 11 p.m. without a vote but is expected to resume today on the proposal, which arrived with a determined, but long-shot, push from gun-control advocates.
Supporters tout the requirement to report loss or theft as a way to go after so-called straw purchasers, who buy guns for resale on the black market and then claim the weapons were lost or stolen if they are used in crimes and traced back to them.
"It is extremely difficult to refute that claim," state police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller said.
Under the proposal, the gun's original buyer could be charged criminally if no report had been filed and the gun was used in a crime. First offenses would bring a fine, with harsher penalties for repeat offenses.
Supporters, including numerous police groups and mayors of cities plagued by violent crime, have said the measure could have a chilling effect on the willingness of people to help illegal gun traffickers.
Sponsor
David Levdansky, D-Allegheny, said hunters are protected because the bill applies only to handguns and the reporting clock would begin only after the loss is discovered. If an owner didn't know his guns had been stolen from a hunting cabin, he would not be liable.
But sportsmen and advocates for gun owners launched a fierce attack against the legislation, offered as an amendment to a bill that would increase penalties for altering gun serial numbers. They called it a feel-good measure that wouldn't be as effective as stricter enforcement of existing laws and stiffer prison sentences.
"We should not be going after law-abiding citizens unless we've proven the point [that it would reduce crime], and we haven't," said Kim Stolfer, a legislative liaison for the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League.
Most supporters conceded the proposal appeared headed for defeat.
The Legislature, in the state with the nation's second-largest number of licensed hunters, hasn't passed a bill dealing directly with gun control since 1999, when lawmakers mandated the purchase of trigger locks with new handguns.
But lawmakers who support gun control said simply getting a vote after years of stalemate is a significant step, "because even when we lose ... now we have a record that people can judge," said Rep. Cherelle Parker, D-Philadelphia.
Joe Grace, the executive director of CeaseFire PA, said his group will use the vote to draw distinctions between lawmakers "who want to make Pennsylvania a safer place ... and those who don't."
CHARLES THOMPSON: 705-5724 or
cthompson@patriot-news.com
WTF THE ONLY PEOPLE THIS PENALIZES IS THE CITIZENS OF PENNSYLVANIA