Mike
Site Co-Founder
imported post
Several months federal Judge Sanchez ordered an end to demands for SSNs in PA gun purchasing and carry licensing in Stollenwerk v. Miller unless the citizen is warned that SSN disclosure is not required.
Several weeks ago the DC Federal Circuit Ciourt of Appeals struck down DC's handgun ban in the Parker case.
Severaldays ago, Philadelphia Police Chief of Detectives Joseph Foxwarned that gun control does not affect crime.
And today, retired Lancaster County Judge Wilson Bucher blasts the gun banners as a danger to society.
Are we on a roll?
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"Bill taxing firearms endangers us," Letter to the Editor, The Intelligencer Journal, by Judge Wilson Bucher, 16 April 2007, available at http://eedition.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/edition/IJAM/20070416/A/9/194321with E-edition subscription to LancasterOnline.com:
"TO THE EDITOR: The report that the Legislature is considering a bill taxing the possession of firearms, requiring registration and imposing other onerous conditions, raises ominous implications ("Bill hits owners with $10 gun fee," Intell, April 6).
The bill assumes that the right to keep and bear arms has been granted by the government and, thus, can be taken away or otherwise effectively destroyed by the government. But this right, like First Amendment rights, is not granted; it is taken for granted. It is presupposed "... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" (Second Amendment). This right is not circumscribed by reference to a militia. The people are the militia. Our state constitution flatly states that "The right of the citizen to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be questioned." The Second Amendment is binding on the states notwithstanding the stubbornness of some courts to say so.
The proposed bill not only questions our right to keep and bear arms, it insults and endangers us by requiring names, addresses, photographs, gun locks, etc., all of which will be disclosed to nonregistering criminals 30 seconds after this information is recorded.
We are on own in this increasingly violent world. With all respect due our law enforcement agencies ,they are not, and cannot be, present during the commission of rapes, robberies, murder, home invasions, car jackings and other assorted felonies. To restrict rather than enhance our right of self-defense and the defense of others is lunacy pure and simple.
Wilson Bucher, Columbia
Editor's note: The writer is a retired Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas judge."
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"Put the blame where it lies: The killers," Letter to the Editor, The Philadelphia Inquierer, by Philadelphia Chief of Detectives Joeseph Fox, 10 April 2007, available at http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070410_Letters___One_Readers_View.html:
"Dear Editor:
We have to stop pointing the finger everywhere but at the very people who prey on us each day. Over time we have allowed our value system to erode. We refuse to hold people accountable for their actions and constantly make excuses for their inexcusable behavior. The incessant cry for tougher gun laws is a good example. Until we're ready to strictly enforce the current laws there is no reason for tougher ones.
Yes, there is a need to work on the social ills at the core of much of the unrest, but that does not mean we should accept those ills as a reason to excuse the behavior. Those engaged in this violent lifestyle know exactly what they're doing. They also know it is wrong. And they also know there are no serious consequences for their actions. It's not a matter of not knowing right from wrong, it's a matter of weighing the risk. And today they face very little risk.
Time after time these budding killers are arrested with guns, only to be returned to the streets with a slap on the wrist. Is it any wonder we have trouble getting witnesses to speak up? Instead of holding vigils at murder scenes, groups like Men United for a Better Philadelphia and Mothers in Charge should throw a ring around the Criminal In-Justice Center and demand that our judges hold the criminals accountable.
More than 80 percent of Philadelphia's cold-blooded killers have criminal records. Most of those records are lengthy, many for violent crimes. Every one of those arrests represents an opportunity to send a clear message, before they take another life.
Joseph Fox
Chief of Detectives
Philadelphia Police Department
Philadelphia"
Several months federal Judge Sanchez ordered an end to demands for SSNs in PA gun purchasing and carry licensing in Stollenwerk v. Miller unless the citizen is warned that SSN disclosure is not required.
Several weeks ago the DC Federal Circuit Ciourt of Appeals struck down DC's handgun ban in the Parker case.
Severaldays ago, Philadelphia Police Chief of Detectives Joseph Foxwarned that gun control does not affect crime.
And today, retired Lancaster County Judge Wilson Bucher blasts the gun banners as a danger to society.
Are we on a roll?
----------------------------------------
"Bill taxing firearms endangers us," Letter to the Editor, The Intelligencer Journal, by Judge Wilson Bucher, 16 April 2007, available at http://eedition.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/edition/IJAM/20070416/A/9/194321with E-edition subscription to LancasterOnline.com:
"TO THE EDITOR: The report that the Legislature is considering a bill taxing the possession of firearms, requiring registration and imposing other onerous conditions, raises ominous implications ("Bill hits owners with $10 gun fee," Intell, April 6).
The bill assumes that the right to keep and bear arms has been granted by the government and, thus, can be taken away or otherwise effectively destroyed by the government. But this right, like First Amendment rights, is not granted; it is taken for granted. It is presupposed "... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" (Second Amendment). This right is not circumscribed by reference to a militia. The people are the militia. Our state constitution flatly states that "The right of the citizen to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be questioned." The Second Amendment is binding on the states notwithstanding the stubbornness of some courts to say so.
The proposed bill not only questions our right to keep and bear arms, it insults and endangers us by requiring names, addresses, photographs, gun locks, etc., all of which will be disclosed to nonregistering criminals 30 seconds after this information is recorded.
We are on own in this increasingly violent world. With all respect due our law enforcement agencies ,they are not, and cannot be, present during the commission of rapes, robberies, murder, home invasions, car jackings and other assorted felonies. To restrict rather than enhance our right of self-defense and the defense of others is lunacy pure and simple.
Wilson Bucher, Columbia
Editor's note: The writer is a retired Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas judge."
---------------------------------------
"Put the blame where it lies: The killers," Letter to the Editor, The Philadelphia Inquierer, by Philadelphia Chief of Detectives Joeseph Fox, 10 April 2007, available at http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20070410_Letters___One_Readers_View.html:
"Dear Editor:
We have to stop pointing the finger everywhere but at the very people who prey on us each day. Over time we have allowed our value system to erode. We refuse to hold people accountable for their actions and constantly make excuses for their inexcusable behavior. The incessant cry for tougher gun laws is a good example. Until we're ready to strictly enforce the current laws there is no reason for tougher ones.
Yes, there is a need to work on the social ills at the core of much of the unrest, but that does not mean we should accept those ills as a reason to excuse the behavior. Those engaged in this violent lifestyle know exactly what they're doing. They also know it is wrong. And they also know there are no serious consequences for their actions. It's not a matter of not knowing right from wrong, it's a matter of weighing the risk. And today they face very little risk.
Time after time these budding killers are arrested with guns, only to be returned to the streets with a slap on the wrist. Is it any wonder we have trouble getting witnesses to speak up? Instead of holding vigils at murder scenes, groups like Men United for a Better Philadelphia and Mothers in Charge should throw a ring around the Criminal In-Justice Center and demand that our judges hold the criminals accountable.
More than 80 percent of Philadelphia's cold-blooded killers have criminal records. Most of those records are lengthy, many for violent crimes. Every one of those arrests represents an opportunity to send a clear message, before they take another life.
Joseph Fox
Chief of Detectives
Philadelphia Police Department
Philadelphia"
