Pursue reasonable gun laws

[WhiteFeather]

Note who the author of this article is, watch how soon a bill is introduced to follow this stupid concept.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/pa/18167409.html

Pursue reasonable gun laws
Requiring licenses and better background checks could mute opposition.

By Walter M. Phillips Jr.
Recent efforts to pass gun-control legislation in Pennsylvania have fallen flat - to no one's surprise, probably. Laws that have passed either will have little effect on reducing gun violence (setting up a registry for lost or stolen handguns) or will likely be declared unconstitutional by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (the bills passed by Philadelphia City Council).

What can a legislator from the Philadelphia suburbs, one who has come around to embrace reasonable restrictions on handgun ownership and possession, do to push a bill that would both be meaningful and get through the legislature, while recognizing the stranglehold the National Rifle Association (NRA) has on lawmakers outside the region?

My suggestion would be to introduce a bill requiring both a license and a detailed background investigation before allowing someone to possess or own a handgun.

Currently, there is no requirement in Pennsylvania to obtain a license in order to own a handgun. A member of the Pennsylvania State Police last year described a background investigation as consisting of a four-to-eight-minute computer check to determine whether the prospective purchaser is a convicted felon, whether he has ever been committed to a mental institution, and whether he has been the subject of a protection-from-abuse order. If nothing comes up positive on these three inquiries, the gun-shop owner is free to sell as many handguns to the purchaser as he or she desires.

In March, a case was argued before the United States Supreme Court as to whether a Washington law that prohibits entirely the possession or ownership of a handgun violates the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. The court is to render a decision in late June. Regardless whether the court holds the District of Columbia law to be constitutional, it will likely, and correctly in my view, find that the Second Amendment applies to individual ownership of guns, not just state militia ownership as it previously held. It will do so with the caveat that sensible and reasonable restrictions to gun ownership are constitutional.

The current meaningless background check in Pennsylvania, along with the state's no-license requirement, allows unsavory characters to buy handguns and later sell them on the streets - not just in Philadelphia, but in Reading, York, Scranton, and neighboring states that have more restrictive laws. Ultimately, individuals use them to commit crimes and kill innocent people.

Someone who has been arrested for multiple robberies, but convicted of none (witnesses might have not shown up, changed their testimony, or been murdered), is not someone who should be allowed to buy one handgun, let alone the 10 he may seek to buy (since there is no one-gun-a-month law in Pennsylvania); neither should the individual who is under investigation by the attorney general for major drug deals (but who never has been convicted of a felony).

Currently, 14 states require a license before a handgun can be purchased; and eight other states require a more thorough background investigation than Pennsylvania. Some of these states are our neighbors - New Jersey, New York and Maryland. That explains why many guns find their way from Pennsylvania into those states to be used in violent crimes.

To my knowledge, the NRA has not had its members march on state capitols protesting the passage of license- or detailed-background requirement laws, nor has the NRA brought a court action to declare such laws as violating the Second Amendment. In other words, the NRA seems to have slowly come to the realization that these laws are reasonable.

It can hardly be argued that requiring a license to own a handgun is unreasonable or burdensome. After all, a license is required to drive an automobile. Is not a handgun a far more dangerous instrument than an automobile?

So if I were a Philadelphia suburban legislator, I would introduce a bill requiring both a detailed background check and a license before a handgun could be purchased in Pennsylvania, using model legislation from other states to draft such a bill. At about the time the bill is referred to the Judiciary Committee, we can expect to hear from the Supreme Court that such laws are reasonable restrictions designed to stem gun violence and do not violate the Second Amendment. Then, the NRA might not be so vocal in its opposition and the court's decision would help provide the impetus needed to pass such legislation, particularly now that statewide polls have shown that a majority of Pennsylvanians are strongly in favor of reasonable gun-control laws.



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Walter M. Phillips Jr. is chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

[PocketProtector]

"Walter M. Phillips Jr. is chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency."

Wow, this clown is as close to he is to the real problem (lenient justice system and Gang mentality) and he fails to see it ????!!!!! Yup, Let's impose restrictions on those who already obey the law and leave the root cause alone. Typical just plain typical.

He needs a new job IMHO.

[ccphilly1984]

yeah that sounds like a stupid concept... blaming us for other state's problems... we don't have the crime that they do... philadelphia crime is half of what camden is per capita... tell them to allow their residents to carry so criminals will chicken out of commiting crime.

[pex]

Someone who has been arrested for multiple robberies, but convicted of none [...] is not someone who should be allowed to buy one handgun, let alone the 10 he may seek to buy [...]; neither should the individual who is under investigation by the attorney general for major drug deals

So he uses automobile licensing as precedent, and then wants to set the precedent of 'no due process' to later fight opponents of 'no due process' by saying there's no due process in the licensing of firearms.

Great.

[sluggie24]

Driving a car is not a protected right.

Owning a firearm is.

You cannot be expected to ASK for a license to excercise a right!

What would be next? A license for my free speech? A license THEY would be able to deny for whatever reason they think of?

I think liberals should need a license to procreate! I'm not seeing alot of aprovals comming down the pipe either!

[Philadelphia]

Originally Posted by WhiteFeather

Note who the author of this article is, watch how soon a bill is introduced to follow this stupid concept.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/pa/18167409.html

Pursue reasonable gun laws
Requiring licenses and better background checks could mute opposition.

By Walter M. Phillips Jr.

. . .
Someone who has been arrested for multiple robberies, but convicted of none (witnesses might have not shown up, changed their testimony, or been murdered), is not someone who should be allowed to buy one handgun, let alone the 10 he may seek to buy (since there is no one-gun-a-month law in Pennsylvania); neither should the individual who is under investigation by the attorney general for major drug deals (but who never has been convicted of a felony).
. . .

Well Mr. Phillips, may we welcome you to America where its citizens enjoy the right to remain presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This may be a difficult concept for you to grasp, but hang around long enough and even you might come to recognize that we Americans don't much appreciate trading away our liberties, that our ancestors died to secure for us and our sons now die to protect, so people like you can feel all warm and cozy in your fantasy world of pacifism.

[JoeWilliams]

I think we ought to pursue reasonable laws to prevent stupid people from writing editorials.

Perhaps a background check to ensure no unsavory habits, characteristics, or opinions, a license to write the editorial, and government approval to actually print the editorial.

After all, if we can require government permission to exercise the Second Amendment it seems entirely reasonable, given the power of the written word, to require the same for the First.

[Kenshin]

Yea cars are less dangerous than guns. Thats why they kill more people each year than all the firearm deaths combined....

Your looking at a 1-2 lb peice of metal and plastic vs a one to 3 ton peice of metal and plastic... Both of which will not harm anyone just sitting there they both need a human operator to function... NO INANIMATE OBJECT IS DEADLIER IS THEN THE NEXT... I hate idiots like these...

If you don't like having a license to drive a car well then go and buy a horse you don't need to own a car to get places...

[TaePo]

Wow, there are so many holes in this story/essay, I thought someone was giving out free samples of Swiss Cheese at the end of the aisle.

[GunLawyer001]

Should we treat guns like cars?

OK.
- I got my driver's license after a 15-minute proficiency test, when I was 16 years old.

- There was no background check. Felons and misdemeanants and people subject to PFA's and fugitives from justice can all buy cars and drive them.

- My High School taught driving education classes.

- I can lend my car to anybody, legally.

- I can own as many cars as I can afford.

- I can cross State lines with my car without doing anything special, and my driver's license is good in all 50 States.

Sounds like a plan, let's go for it.