Morning Call - Despite popularity, gun controls stall

[sjohn26]

The battle is not over yet........................

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-...,4379345.story

"Polls have shown that a majority of Pennsylvania residents favor more gun regulation. Since 2000, Franklin & Marshall College's Center for Opinion Research has conducted at least 20 separate polls where they asked residents if they favored increased gun regulation. Each time, more than 50 percent of the respondents said yes."

[ByAnyMeans]

These idiots just don't get it. They want more gun control without looking at the failure of previous laws. They want to do away with preemption and highlight the success of other areas that "have gun laws different form the state yet still constitutional".
Now it's a matter of waiting for all the lawsuits based of Heller to see if there laws are constiutional but it is unrefutable that these cities remain high crime areas. Chicago with a total gun ban is currently the murder capital of the US. I'm not sure about LA but NYC has improved without a single new gun law to do it. They (gasp) actually passed laws to target criminals being criminals and have been reducing the b.s. easy sentencing and probation recommendations.

[5711-Marine]

funny when searching for the poll the article refers to I get this:

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http://www.picosearch.com/cgi-bin/ts...LL&sortsel=rel

[w1cked]

What, polling your own office doesn't count as broad support for a law?

funny when searching for the poll the article refers to I get this:



http://www.picosearch.com/cgi-bin/ts...LL&sortsel=rel

[shooter357]

I have to ask where it is these "polls" are taken. There are different cultures throughout this state. If the poll was taken in a city, then yes the poll will lean towards people favoring "gun control". Take that same poll in a rural area and the poll will swing the other way.

[nijwnfi]

Also, "Do you favor more gun regulation" is a pretty open-ended question. It's all in how the question is asked. For most here, the answer is easy, but most times we're not asked.

[WhiteFeather]

Here is the important part of this article.

(non-election time) Law maker are always told that gun owners don't vote and gun control is a winner back home with voters. It’s a big lie……and total BS

Real Truth --- Watch and listen now that its election time both president hopefuls are courting gun owners votes (same in past elections) along with lots of other politicians, with their so called pro-hunters position statements and promises. Read all of the newspaper stories making firearms a campaign issue courting your votes.

So do gun owners have political power or not when it comes to voting time?

I say this again If WE can ever get gun owners up to speed on the issues, educated on the issues in detail what workers, what didn't in other states and WHY, actually GO VOTE. Get all firearm owners willing to donate some time to personally fight gun control in PA. We could have the most gun friendly state in this country, right now PA has to way to many restrictions on firearms rights and very little criminal enforcement of existing firearm laws. Lack of enfocrement of existing gun law, puts gun owners, average Citizens and police at greater risk, yet the lack of criminal control is used to lobby for more of the same lame feel good gun control laws.

Also highlight a couple outrageous statements for everyone to learn a political lesson from.

Read the article they wanted to enact a law that know won’t work just so that they can say they did something for political capitol at gun owner’s expense. I have personal had long talks with some of these Philly anti-gun politicians, and when you back them in the corner with all their gun control schemes that have failed in other states where enacted to address the problem of criminal control. They will always say that they “we have to do something” and when it’s clearly pointed that existing firearm laws are routinely plea bargained away.
They will say it’s the separation of powers and they can't do anything about the judges or the DA not doing their jobs.
My reply is always the same you were elected for leadership to hopefully make the people you represent live a little better and safer especially from repeat violent career criminals. At best when you propose more gun control you know in your heart it not going to do anything, why don’t you use your public position to point out the real problem with the failure to prosecution criminal under existing laws? It stumps them every time or they say we don’t have enough jail space to put them all or some other of about a dozen assorted BS replies they give including my dog ate my research to prove you are wrong about gun control = criminal control.

Even fast Eddie knows that the mayors are breaking the law (actually committing criminal acts) by trying to enact their own gun laws.

Please read Rep. Craig Dally remarks, A VERY strong supporter of our firearm rights and always works closely with US to protect your rights, along with lots of Pro-gun Reps.

Also read the BS so called paid researcher that does the ( push - pull ) polls crafted to get the results of the people that hire them to create a demand for more legislation to take away our firearm rights by a thousand “reasonable” or “common sense” slices.
Any researcher ever ask you about your opinion on gun control for one of these studies?

themorningcall.com
Despite popularity, gun controls stall
The duel: State failed to require reporting of lost firearms.
By Jarrett Renshaw

Of The Morning Call

October 20, 2008

Roughly four years ago, state lawmakers from the Philadelphia region grew tired of the gun violence that plagued the city's neighborhoods and looked to Harrisburg for relief.

They analyzed and gauged the political winds on numerous pieces of gun control legislation aimed at slowing the bloodshed, such as limiting gun purchases to one a month and banning assault rifles in the city.

But a proposal to require residents across the state to report their lost or stolen guns stood out among the rest. Not because it was the most effective remedy, but because polls and political instinct told them it would face the least opposition from the state's powerful gun lobby.

''It had the support of everyone that mattered, including the public, and it does not stop anybody from buying a gun, so we thought it was a no-brainer,'' said Johnna Pro, a spokeswoman for state Rep. Dwight Evans, a Philadelphia lawmaker who has helped lead the charge for gun control legislation in Harrisburg.

They were wrong.

While the governor on Friday signed a law stiffening penalties for certain firearms crimes, a bill that would have required the reporting of lost or stolen guns never made it out of House and Senate judiciary committees during the past two years.

Some say the stalemate is the result of the gun lobby successfully wedging a gap between rural and urban lawmakers over most gun control proposals.

With no committee support, it took some parliamentary tactics earlier this year to force a vote on the House floor, where the reporting bill and its supporters were soundly defeated 128 to 75.

The lack of success in Harrisburg has provoked mayors from the state's largest cities -- including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton -- to consider or propose identical legislation.

But the state's most powerful politician -- and biggest proponent of tougher gun laws -- said last week that the cities' efforts probably would suffer the same fate as the bills in Harrisburg.

''I am sorry to say that it's probably going to fail. I empathize with [the] mayors, but current legislation clearly preempts them from doing something on their own,'' Gov. Ed Rendell said in an interview Thursday.

The deadlock illustrates the strength and influence of the gun lobby and pro-gun voters, while exposing the divide between the state's rural and urban communities as urban lawmakers search for solutions to gun violence that rural lawmakers can sell to their constituents.

''The reason we have not been successful is because lawmakers are afraid of the NRA, but it's a false fear,'' Rendell said. ''I won two statewide elections without the support of the NRA.''

In the past year, records show that the NRA has spent more than $40,000 lobbying in the state. Since 2002, the organization's political action committee also has made at least 87 contributions to campaigns on both sides of the aisle, totalling $40,825, according to state campaign finance reports.

One local state lawmaker who voted against the reporting requirement earlier this year said the notion that opponents of the legislation are influenced by the NRA is ''laughable.''

''You can check my campaign expense reports. I have not received a penny from the NRA,'' said state Rep. Craig Dally, R-Northampton. ''But that's their rallying cry, because they don't have the facts to support these legislative initiatives.''

In general, proposed legislation at the state and local level would require reporting lost or stolen guns within 78 hours. Failure to report would lead to fines up to $1,000 and, in some cases, up to 90 days in jail.

Supporters argue that it's necessary to target straw purchasers -- people who buy guns for felons who are prohibited by law from buying guns themselves. When those guns are used in crimes, the purchasers bear no responsibility if they claim the guns were lost or stolen. The proposal attempts to close that loophole. It also allows law enforcement officials to better track stolen guns.

''I just can't see how anybody can be against it,'' said Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, who pushed the reporting legislation through City Council earlier this month, despite objections from Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin, who called it unenforceable and unconstitutional because only the state can enact gun control legislation.

Opponents of the proposal say it does little to combat the problem of illegal gun sales and can unfairly victimize legal gun owners who may be unaware that their gun was lost or stolen. They also note that the state already has laws on the books against straw purchases that carry stiff penalties.

''We need to find better ways to enforce these laws, not come up with ones that may penalize legal gun owners,'' Dally said.

The law Rendell signed Friday stiffens the penalties for firing at a police officer, increases the statute of limitations for prosecuting straw purchases that are linked to gun crimes, prevents mentally ill people from buying guns and raises the penalties for falsely telling police a gun was lost or stolen.

Asked Thursday whether the lost or stolen portion went far enough, Rendell said, ''We're light years away. We still haven't done the requirement to report a lost or stolen firearm -- to the amazement of many people. We're a little abnormal around here.''

Like most of his colleagues, Rep. Douglas G. Reichley, R-Lehigh, had no trouble supporting the bill signed Friday, while voting against a House amendment earlier this year that would have required the reporting of lost or stolen guns.

There are better ways to address the problem, he said.

''We wanted to pay for 10,000 more cops statewide and stiffen penalties for gun-related crimes, but the Democrats said no,'' said Reichley, a former Lehigh County prosecutor.

Polls have shown that a majority of Pennsylvania residents favor more gun regulation. Since 2000, Franklin & Marshall College's Center for Opinion Research has conducted at least 20 separate polls where they asked residents if they favored increased gun regulation. Each time, more than 50 percent of the respondents said yes.

Michael Young, a retired Penn State political science professor and current political consultant, said it's not uncommon for the public and lawmakers to be on different pages, especially when a portion of the public is more vocal and united.

''People who support increased gun control are not typically single-issue voters, and they are more passive in the their support,'' said Young. ''Meanwhile, gun advocates and the gun lobby are more active and drive voting behavior, showing the power of interest groups.''

Young said the most viable solution is to allow bigger cities to enact their own rules, within constitutional limits, when it comes to gun control.

The idea is not without precedent.

Eight states in the country allow some measure of local gun control. That has allowed New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago to pass local reporting requirements.

Philadelphia, Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton have joined or hope to join that list, but that task may be hard. The NRA has challenged the legality of Philadelphia's legislation, and legal experts expect the case to be heard by the state Supreme Court.

''States derive their power from the constitution and are constitutional creatures. Meanwhile, cities are considered creatures of the state, and their only powers are the ones the state gives them, and they can be taken away,'' Young said.

When it comes down to a fight between state and local governments, Young said, the state typically wins.

PLEASE do your part and get family and freinds to vote PRO-GUN people into office or expect more gun control proposals next year.

[GunLawyer001]

Polling the ignorant tells us nothing.

Most people believe the media propaganda, that guns are free for the asking on every street corner, that there's a "gun show loophole" in PA (or anywhere else), that we are virtually unregulated.

So you ask 100 random dimwits if there should be "more" regulation, when few of them know what regulations we have now. What possible value can their opinions have?

I'll ask all of you, should I give more to charity? Am I eating too much red meat? Is there enough Internet access in Moose Creek, Canada?

"More" and "less" are meaningless unless you know what the status quo is.