League of Women Anti-gunners, Pennsylvania?

[MDJschool]

What the hell is this, Lucretia Mott and the Pennsylvania Peace Society all over again? I thought the LWV was a voter/electoral-process advocacy organization. I guess not.

"The League of Women Voters believes in representative government and in the individual liberties established in the Constitution of the United States." http://palwv.org/issues/lwvprincipals.html Starts ok.

"The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy." http://palwv.org/lwv/about.html Hmm...

WHERE WE STAND:
GUN CONTROL
Protect the health and safety of citizens through limiting the accessibility and regulating the ownership of handguns and semi-automatic weapons. Support regulation of firearms for consumer safety.
Now how exactly does that reconcile with their other positions?
Individual Liberties.
Oppose major threats to basic constitutional rights.
VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Support violence prevention programs in communities.
URBAN POLICY
Promote the economic health of cities and improve the quality of urban life.
DEATH PENALTY
The LWVUS supports the abolition of the death penalty.
Citizen's Right to Vote.
Protect the right of all citizens to vote; encourage all citizens to vote.
DC Self-Government and Full Voting Representation.
Secure for the citizens of the District of Columbia the rights of self-government and full voting representation in both houses of Congress.
Uhh... I'm feeling cognitive dissonance just looking at this stuff. http://palwv.org/lwv/pubs/WhereWeStand.pdf
And a little bit of gloating --
Under these LWVUS positions LWVPA has supported:
Gun control legislation***
***GUN CONTROL. In 2007, LWVPA joined Pennsylvanians Against Trafficking Handguns (PATH), a coalition devoted to strengthening PA’s gun laws to 1) Require gun owners to report lost or stolen gun to police; and 2) limit handgun purchases by individuals to one a month.
Great.

That's just a summary above. They have a review of their platform also:
http://palwv.org/lwv/pubs/Impact%20o...%202006-08.pdf
"In the 1990s, a concern for violence prevention
spurred a new League position on the subject and
brought strong support for common-sense measures
to control gun violence. The League supported the
Brady bill, and sought to close the loopholes that undermine
consumer safety."
Gun Control
The League’s History
The 1990 League Convention took the rare step of
adopting the gun control position by concurrence at
Convention. Proponents had sent two informational
mailings to all Leagues before Convention, and
spirited debate on the Convention floor persuaded the
Convention to concur with the statement proposed by
the LWV of Illinois.
Following the Convention action, the LWVUS wrote
to all members of Congress, announcing the League’s
new position on gun control and urging passage of
federal legislation to control the proliferation of
handguns and semi-automatic assault weapons in the
United States. In 1991, the League joined with other
organizations to support legislation banning semiautomatic
assault weapons. In 1992 and 1993, the
League supported congressional passage of the Brady
bill, to institute a five-day waiting period and
background check for the purchase of handguns.
Following enactment of the Brady bill in November
1993, the League stepped up its lobbying efforts in a
successful 1994 House campaign to force inclusion
of the assault weapons ban in the final conference
report on omnibus crime legislation.
Addressing constitutional arguments affecting gun
control at the League’s 1994 national Convention,
delegates voted to amend the LWVUS position on
gun control by adding a fourth paragraph
summarizing and highlighting federal court decisions
limiting the meaning of the Second Amendment’s
“right to keep and bear arms.”
76
Throughout 1995-1996, opponents of the assault
weapons ban and the Brady bill pushed for repeal.
But lobbying by the League and other supporters
convinced Congress to defeat the repeal efforts.
The 1998 LWVUS Convention again amended the
position, by adding, “The League supports regulating
firearms for consumer safety.”
In the 106th Congress, the LWVUS worked for gun
control measures to close major loopholes in current
law. Although the Senate passed legislation
mandating background checks for all gun show
purchases, the House derailed this and other attempts
to control gun violence, including child safety locks
on guns.
The LWVUS endorsed the Mother’s Day 2000
Million Mom March that demonstrated citizens’ call
for common-sense gun control measures. League
members across the country participated in the event,
both in Washington, DC and closer to home.
In February 2004, the League voiced strong concern
over the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms
Act, which would grant special protection for the gun
industry by barring city, county or individual law
suits against gun manufacturers, and which included
the immediate dismissal of pending cases
The League supported legislation to extend the
Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in September
2004. The LWVUS also supported language to close
the Gun Show Loophole in order to require all
dealers to run criminal background checks at gun
shows.
In both 2004 and 2006, the League opposed
congressional actions to repeal the local gun safety
laws in the District of Columbia because such action
interfered with the right of self-government for DC
citizens.
The League’s Position
Statement of Position on Gun Control, as
Adopted by 1990 Convention and
amended by the 1994 and 1998
Conventions:
The League of Women Voters of the United
States believes that the proliferation of handguns
and semi-automatic assault weapons in
the United States is a major health and safety
threat to its citizens. The League supports
strong federal measures to limit the accessibility
and regulate the ownership of these
weapons by private citizens. The League
supports regulating firearms for consumer
safety.
The League supports licensing procedures for
gun ownership by private citizens to include a
waiting period for background check, personal
identity verification, gun safety education
and annual license renewal. The license
fee should be adequate to bear the cost of
education and verification.
The League supports a ban on “Saturday
night specials,” enforcement of strict penalties
for the improper possession of and crimes
committed with handguns and assault
weapons, and allocation of resources to better
regulate and monitor gun dealers.
The League acknowledges that the U.S.
Supreme Court and the lower federal courts
have ruled consistently that the Second
Amendment confers a right to keep and bear
arms only in connection with service in a well
regulated militia—known today as the National
Guard.

Well they can fuck right off. Are they, and not Brady, the real problem?

[scruff]

I wonder what their position is on home invasion, rape, kidnapping and murder? "Don't worry, be happy"?