I don't even know where to begin...

[Pro2A]

blood just shot out of my eyes watching this...

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/p...ia_news&wpid=0

To the liberal media there seems to be a blur between criminals and the law-abiding.

[Brick]

SO let me see where to start?

1. Philadelphia Police Department has licensing authority for the issue of Pa LTCF. But, routinely avoids, circumvents or ignores Pa. statute.

2. Pa Attorney General has developed a reciprocal agreement with Florida honoring FL issued licenses.

3. Phil PA residents who would normally be issued a PA LTCF are often denied without just cause so the resident legally obtains a FL license.

4. The story speaks of a gun used to wound an officer being "registered" to a Philly resident with a FL license.
a. What registry? There is no legal registration of firearms in PA. It is also illegal for anyone to develop and use one.
b. The report did not say that the shooting was done by the FL license holder. SO who was the shooter and how did he get the gun?

Suggestions:

1. Philadephia police can start by refraining from violating Pennsylvania law and follow Chapter 61 to the letter. See, here's how this works, PA residents get treated fairly and honestly by the local PD and there is no need to use reciprocal licensing.

[IronSight]

All I can say is congrats to Florida for standing strong so far and not giving Philadelphia that list of permit holders.

[topsykretts]

I thought ALL of PA was shall-issue? If they deny me when I'm otherwise legally entitled to have a license to carry, I will get one from Florida and then sue whoever I need to sue.

[cigarmanpa]

all of pa is shall issue, however shitsadelphia thinks they are special and can do what they want.

[topsykretts]

all of pa is shall issue, however shitsadelphia thinks they are special and can do what they want.

Think and legally can do are two different things.

[cigarmanpa]

Think and legally can do are two different things.

you're getting no argument from me here

[kadar]

I love this response to the Philadelphia Daily News Feb 5 news article that was quite similar to this news story posted above.

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/84207712.html

RE YOUR Feb. 5 article involving concerns expressed by some in the Philadelphia Police Department about Florida's concealed-weapons licensing program.

The article says that a police lieutenant complained that our program is run by civilians - not law-enforcement authorities. As head of the Florida Department of Agriculture Consumer Services, I am a statewide elected official and certified law-enforcement officer, and we employ more than 250 sworn officers in our office of agricultural law enforcement.

Every application we receive for a concealed-weapon license is sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FBI for a criminal-background check to determine if the applicant is qualified to receive such a license.

Since the program's inception in 1987, we have issued 1,704,624 licenses and only 5,308 license holders have committed offenses warranting revocation - a rate of just under a third of 1 percent. What, of course, is impossible to know is how many of the law-abiding citizens who possess such licenses were able to protect themselves, their families and property during the 23 years of the program's existence because they had the right to carry a weapon.

Pennsylvania is one of 33 states with which Florida has a reciprocal agreement, meaning those possessing licenses from those states can legally carry a weapon in Florida, and Florida license holders can carry a gun in those states.

States that enter into the reciprocal program must be satisfied that the states with which they are involved have standards and laws at least as rigorous as their own.

For whatever reason, the city of Philadelphia appears to have adopted standards and screening processes that go beyond Pennsylvania state law, according to your article, including arbitrary assessment by local police of an applicant's "character and reputation."

We have followed the law - and always will - in issuing concealed-weapon licenses to law-abiding citizens and in suspending or revoking licenses of license holders who commit offenses under the law disqualify them from continuing to have that right.

Charles H. Bronson

Commissioner

Florida Department of Agriculture

and Consumer Services

[lexnaturalis]

I love this response to the Philadelphia Daily News Feb 5 news article that was quite similar to this news story posted above.

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/84207712.html

The anti-gun media has never let facts get in the way of a good story before. Why start now?

I love how they say you can just get one over the internet. That's news to my dad who had to sit through a class and actually fire the gun at the range before he could get his Florida permit. I wonder if that's one of those pesky "facts" that the news just neglected to mention.

[WhiteFeather]

Maybe IF the Philly police dept would just follow the state law about issuing LTCF permits, instead of making up the extra requirements with NO statutory authority to do so, the Citizen's wouldn't be going to all the extra trouble and cost to get Florida permits to protect themselves.

If the Philly police “alleged” concern is people that are prohibited from possessing firearms illegally getting out of state permits putting people in harm, maybe they should be directing their same concerns to the Philly justice system that routinely plea bargaining the firearm charges away from the real criminals to have easy access to the Citizens because they aren’t locking up the repeat violent criminal.