Making Philly tough on gun owners

[Jffal]

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=9021

Plenty of fun stuff here. As I understand it, the city would have a difficult time imposing tougher laws.

One question and one comment.

Just how much of a problem are "straw purchasers"?

And, please note the quotes below, which directly address the patchwork jurisdiction issues confronting knife carriers as well as law abiding citizens who carry concealed from one county to the other. The Temple Law prof doesn't seem to grasp that an unintended weapons offense by a citizen could place that individual in hotter water than "insurance premiums to tax rates".

Jeff



"Without preemption, you've got patchwork firearms laws," says John Hohenwarter, Pennsylvania liaison for the NRA. "Someone could be committing a felony simply by driving from one county to the next. The majority of legislators in this commonwealth realize it's common sense to have a single law."

Temple Law School professor David Kairys questions this logic, noting that "patchwork" regulations exist for everything from insurance premiums to tax rates. "Why should guns be any different?" he asks.

 

[USP45usp]

Geez, the blind leading the stupid. So, let's be like DC or Chicago and crime will go down.... oops, crime didn't go down in those cities but we'll try it anyway.

Well, if you're having problems with criminals using guns to commit crimes then why don't you pass laws against the criminals and not the tools they use?

With the "revolving door" that most major cities have with their judicial systems, they allow these criminals to get out early and continue to get tools they aren't supposed to have and to continue where they left off. Most criminals view the judicial system and punishment as a vacation seminar with free room and board so they can learn from their mistakes, the mistake of getting caught and how to apply their trade better from the older set in the prisons/jail.

With all these "new and improved" laws they wish to pass on guns, all it does it create a greater demand for the product. Right now criminals are the biggest buyers but if gun owners or those that wish to protect themselves, otherwise law abiding citizens, will begain to view the black markets as an alternative to buying in stores legally because they have a need (as in self defense) now and not 30 days later. Which in turn will fuel the black market, increasing the demand, and making it worth more then the drug trade (which we ALL know how well that war is going ).

I wished that I could become governor of a state (don't have the money to buy the election as is typically done now). I would remove all gun control laws, federal also, and then start again. I would also remove all federal drug laws and then start again. Then I would actually take a look at what does and doesn't work and then go from there.

Except for the most violent and vile criminals, I would release the lot of them (most of our prisons are filled with low level drug offenses and I don't view them as a threat to me or society) and reinstate the death penalty with a shorter time period in which to make appeals and reinstate the speedy trial process.

Then, we would see if living under the Constitution, by the Constitution and not under the "living document" interputation would result in the state that our forefathers saw for all of America.

Wayne