Ch1pster23
Regular Member
imported post
http://www.wicu12.com/news/index.vnss?newsid=7414&type=News
Erie City Ordinance to Help Keep Illegal Guns of Streets
April 10, 2009, 3:20 pm
One city council member is taking a step to keep illegal guns off the streets.
The ordinance would require gun owners to report their weapon stolen within 24 hours.
City Councilman Jim Thompson, says there's too many illegal guns on the streets. And he says this ordinance could help.
It would require gun owners to report their weapon stolen within 24 hours of them noticing it missing.
So when a crime is committed with a registered gun, the gun will be traced back to the owner.
If the owner did not report it stolen, they're also facing charges, which could be a fine or jail time.
The ordinance has been passed in bigger cities like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Reading.
And Thompson says it's not meant to punish the responsible gun owners, rather the ones who could be responsible for the guns landing in criminals' hands.
"Almost all guns used in the commission of a crime are stolen guns. If we can trace it back to someone who has not reported their gun stolen, we're finding, and other cities are finding that you have people who suddenly say, 'oh I've had 10 guns stolen', they're really dealing in guns." Said Thompson.
Erie's Police Chief says this ordinance has the potential to do a good job in keep illegal guns off of city streets. But whether or not it really works, he says depends on the wording.
"We want to make sure that the language is very precise about how people are required to report their handguns missing, and hold them accountable for that." Said Chief Steve Franklin.
Chief Franklin says he's all for any effort to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but proving the owner didn't know their weapon was missing is the hard part.
"That's going to be the tough part of it. It can be done, but i think that's going to be the real challenge. Is being able to show when the gun owner actually gave up possession of these guns." Said Franklin.
But Thompson says the ordinance is simply one step, towards getting illegal guns out of criminals' hands.
"We all want to see guns off the street. There's nothing wrong with gun ownership. It's being responsible and we're simply asking if your gun was stolen, report it missing." Said Thompson.
The ordinance will be introduced to city council at their next meeting on Wednesday.
http://www.wicu12.com/news/index.vnss?newsid=7414&type=News
Erie City Ordinance to Help Keep Illegal Guns of Streets
April 10, 2009, 3:20 pm
One city council member is taking a step to keep illegal guns off the streets.
The ordinance would require gun owners to report their weapon stolen within 24 hours.
City Councilman Jim Thompson, says there's too many illegal guns on the streets. And he says this ordinance could help.
It would require gun owners to report their weapon stolen within 24 hours of them noticing it missing.
So when a crime is committed with a registered gun, the gun will be traced back to the owner.
If the owner did not report it stolen, they're also facing charges, which could be a fine or jail time.
The ordinance has been passed in bigger cities like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Reading.
And Thompson says it's not meant to punish the responsible gun owners, rather the ones who could be responsible for the guns landing in criminals' hands.
"Almost all guns used in the commission of a crime are stolen guns. If we can trace it back to someone who has not reported their gun stolen, we're finding, and other cities are finding that you have people who suddenly say, 'oh I've had 10 guns stolen', they're really dealing in guns." Said Thompson.
Erie's Police Chief says this ordinance has the potential to do a good job in keep illegal guns off of city streets. But whether or not it really works, he says depends on the wording.
"We want to make sure that the language is very precise about how people are required to report their handguns missing, and hold them accountable for that." Said Chief Steve Franklin.
Chief Franklin says he's all for any effort to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but proving the owner didn't know their weapon was missing is the hard part.
"That's going to be the tough part of it. It can be done, but i think that's going to be the real challenge. Is being able to show when the gun owner actually gave up possession of these guns." Said Franklin.
But Thompson says the ordinance is simply one step, towards getting illegal guns out of criminals' hands.
"We all want to see guns off the street. There's nothing wrong with gun ownership. It's being responsible and we're simply asking if your gun was stolen, report it missing." Said Thompson.
The ordinance will be introduced to city council at their next meeting on Wednesday.