Rendell again asking for the Legislature’s approval of gun control measures. Gov. Ed Rendell held a press conference Wednesday in the state Capitol to again ask lawmakers to enact a series of gun control measures. Referring to the recent shooting deaths of three Pittsburgh police officers and calling his proposals “common sense measures” that protect the safety of Pennsylvania's communities and police officers, the governor on Tuesday said in Pittsburgh, “Our police officers in the state are simply outgunned.” According to a media advisory from the governor’s office, law enforcement officers and elected officials from across the state will join Rendell at the news conference. The event was held at 1:30 p.m. in the Governor's Reception Room (Room 225) in the Main Capitol Building.

According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Governor Ed Rendell plans to urge state and federal legislators today to take action on gun control in response to the fatal shootings earlier this month of three Pittsburgh police officers, he said during a visit Downtown. He declined to give specifics until today. “Our police all over the state, not just in Philadelphia anymore, are simply outgunned,” Rendell said while announcing state grants at the Allegheny County Courthouse. “The amount of firepower that the deranged person in Pittsburgh had was stunning. If the AK-47 hadn’t jammed, we might have had a lot more dead than just the three officers.” Rendell said he would like state legislators to enable local governments to set their own gun laws, something prohibited since 1996. National Rifle Association officials did not return a request for comment. They said last week it was not appropriate to debate gun control immediately after the shootings of three police officers.

Pittsburgh Tribune Review article: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_620684.html

PENNSYLVANIA MAYORS, POLICE CHIEFS JOIN GOVERNOR TO PUSH FOR ASSAULT WEAPON RESTRICTIONS

4-15-09

By Mike Howells, PLS

A week after three Pittsburgh police officers were shot and killed by assault rifle fire while responding to a domestic dispute, Governor Rendell today joined with mayors and police chiefs from across Pennsylvania to push state and federal legislators to enact “common sense” measures to restrict the use of assault weapons and illegal handguns.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Reading Mayor Tom McMahon, Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, Easton Mayor Salvatore Panto, Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, and York Mayor John Brenner, along with Pittsburgh Police Chief Harper Nathan Harper, York Police Commissioner Mark Whitman and Lancaster Police Chief Keith Sadler joined the governor to press for greater gun control measures.

Referring to the AK-47 rifle that was used in the Pittsburgh shooting and those like it, the governor said, “These weapons have absolutely no purpose but to kill. They can’t be used for sport. They certainly aren’t for hunting.” Paraphrasing a report issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Governor Rendell added, “You will not find these guns in a duck blind, or at the Olympics. They are mass-produced mayhem.”

Having already sent a letter last year to Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation pleading for action to renew a federal assault weapons ban following the shooting death of Philadelphia police officer Steven Liczbinski, Governor Rendell again asserted the importance of such a measure, noting that in 1999, the first full year of the assault weapons ban, the National Institute of Justice found that trace requests for assault weapons dropped by 20%. A year after the ban expired, the ATF recorded an 11% increase in gun tracings for assault weapons. Since that time, 40 police officers across the US have been killed or wounded by assault weapons. Based on such statistics, the governor rejected the argument that the restrictions don’t stop criminals from obtaining and using illegal weapons, and declared, “People who say these laws don’t matter; they’re dead wrong.”

Governor Rendell acknowledged that President Obama has chosen to focus on the economy and moved gun control aside for the time being, but pointed out Senator Dianne Feinstein has announced she intends to move forward with legislation and expressed confidence in her choosing an appropriate time to do so.

The governor also announced that on May 4th, there will be a memorial service held in Harrisburg in honor of every police officer in Pennsylvania killed in the line of duty. A similar nationwide service will be held in Washington DC on May 15th. He predicted “legislators, elected officials, people like me, will flock to those memorial services, anxious to make sure we get on record saying how much we support police, love them, and appreciate the sacrifices they make and have made on our behalf,” adding, “And yet if we care so much about our police, why don’t we listen to them?” He stated “virtually every law enforcement agency in the country has endorsed the reinstitution of the assault weapons ban.” Speaking directly to state legislators, the governor remarked, “If you truly support our police, then withstand the political pressure and cast your votes to protect them.”

State Police Commissioner Frank Pawlowski appealed for reforms to the so-called Tiahrt Amendment, which he asserted weakens gun control in three ways – preventing state and local authorities from being able to access trade data, requiring the Department of Justice to destroy background check records within 24 hours, and prohibiting ATF from requiring gun dealers to conduct annual inventories. He noted that in 2007, inspections of less than 10 percent of gun dealers by ATF found that 30,000 guns were missing.

Moving forward, Governor Rendell reported he has now taken the step of writing the state legislature to request passage of a bill that would require the reporting of lost or stolen firearms. In addition the governor has requested the General Assembly consider, once again, legislation that would lift the ban preventing municipalities from enacting their own gun control laws. “What’s good for Pittsburgh and Harrisburg and York and Lancaster and Philadelphia may not be applicable at all to Warren County, McKean County, Susquehanna County or Crawford County. But there’s no reason why these great Pennsylvania cities can’t pass laws to attempt to control the distribution and use of firearms within their boundaries,” he said. Asked if the political climate has changed sufficiently to allow passage of gun control laws, the governor questioned “how many more [officers] have to fall?” He spoke to the possibility of infringing upon the constitutional rights of US citizens by restricting access to certain weapons, pointing out that even the right to free speech has limitations, and to the allegation that the legislature is “under the thumb” of gun rights groups like the NRA, Governor Rendell said simply, “We will see.”

More articles:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09106/963283-454.stm

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_620779.html

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local...rifle_ban.html

http://www.pennlive.com/statehouse/p...010.xml&coll=1