imported post
nakedshoplifter wrote:
Oops, sorry. Regional newspaper. I responded mainly to the paragraph I bolded.
http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/state/all-a7_gunlaws.5939237jul11,0,4003615.story
Philly council members plan suit to get authority to pass gun laws Like many states, Pennsylvania Legislature doesn't permit city rules. By Patrick Walters
Of The Associated Press
July 11, 2007
Two City Council members plan to sue the state Legislature for keeping Philadelphia from passing its own, more restrictive, gun laws, claiming that the city's surging murder rate is partly a ''state-created danger.''
Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller said the Legislature has tied the city's hands by refusing to give it authority to pass laws that would limit gun purchases to one a month and institute reporting requirements for lost or stolen guns.
Miller and Councilman Darrell Clarke plan to file the city-funded lawsuit in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas today, naming the House and Senate as defendants.
''It's a state-created danger because our hands are tied,'' Miller said. ''And it's the state that can help to diffuse this danger.''
The city recorded 406 homicides last year, the most in nearly a decade, and is on pace to surpass that total in 2007. An overwhelming majority of the homicides involve handguns, many of them stolen and unregistered, according to police.
Mayor John F. Street has urged residents to lobby state lawmakers to pass bills that would allow the city to require lost or stolen guns to be reported; limit gun purchases to one a month; require trigger locks, and increase penalties for illegal possession of weapons.
While still holding out hope for tougher state gun laws, Clarke decided to pursue the lawsuit after he saw many proposals going nowhere.
''I hope that our lawsuit ends up being pointless because the Legislature says 'You know what, we have to figure out a way to stem the tide of violence,'`'' he said.
Opponents in the Legislature argue that allowing the city to pass its own gun laws would not actually reduce violent crime. They also say that only the state should be allowed to pass such laws.
Like many other states, Pennsylvania does not let municipalities set their own gun laws. The state has no waiting period before buying a gun, other than a background check, and does not allow police to restrict who can get a license to carry a concealed weapon.
Erik Arneson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit. But Arneson said he thought it would be more productive to work with the General Assembly on legislation than to spend time and money on a lawsuit.
A spokesman for House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, declined comment.
Chuck Ardo, a spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell, said the governor declined to comment on pending litigation but is ''a strong proponent of allowing municipalities to enact their own gun laws.''
The city has been patient with the Legislature, Miller said, and the lawsuit is a last resort.
Copyright © 2007,
The Morning Call