Nutter on Supreme Court gun ruling
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Nutter on Supreme Court gun ruling
Catherine Lucey
Mayor Nutter today tried to spin the Supreme Court ruling striking down the Washington DC gun ban as good news for Philadelphia's attempts at local gun legislation.Nutter quoted from the ruling several times. He said that while the Supreme Court upheld the right to have a weapon in the home, it made clear that the government could make restrictions on gun ownership.
"What the Supreme Court decision speaks to is a right to keep a weapon in their home," Nutter said. "What we are dealing with is not lawful ownership, but illegal activity."
Nutter later said "it is clear the court is sending a message. Governments have a right and responsibility to legislate in these areas and create reasonable restrictions."
Earlier this year, Nutter signed five local gun control bills into law, prompting a lawsuit from the National Rifle Association, who argue that only the state has the right to dictate gun restrictions. A Common Pleas judge ruled several weeks ago that the city can enforce three of the laws. The laws upheld make it a crime to not report a lost or stolen gun within 48 hours; allow police to confiscate guns with a judge's approval from people considered a danger to themselves or others; and prohibit gun possession by people subject to protection-from-abuse orders. A one-gun-a month provision and a ban on assault weapons were blocked. The legal fight over the laws is expected to go to the state Supreme Court. Nutter said that the city has not yet started enforcing the laws, but is working on guidelines to do so. He wouldn't say if he has a start date for enforcement.
Comments (36)
Wizard of Mars-Thanks for sharing,redux.— Yankee Air Pirate 12
Comment removed.- Of course it does— mijou6
- The Nutters and Ramseys throughout the country just DO NOT get it. Till prosecution AND meteted out punishment is swift AND severe, criminals will just laugh at the systems feeble efforts. Nutcase wants a crackdown on gun crime? For starters he can think about tackling the 6000 or so un- prosecuted gun crimes on Philly's backlog. Fact: Officer Libsinski's murderer had SIX previous weapons arrests and was not prosecuted for any of them.— Zeke/pa
- I see a lot of folks saying that this ruling would allow them to carry a gun. That is not true, it only affirms that a citizen has the right, uninfrindged upon, to own a gun This does not give you the right to carry a cencealed weapon. You still have to have a permit to carry. The issue should really be if someone commits a crime that they serve the full sentence. We have to get rid of this revolving door policy of letting Felons out early.— griphen022
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- With law abiding citizens of Philly wanting to pack a gun, i am glad i dont live there. But my son does and it worries me to death.Like Mike says how does anyone know who's a good guy from a bad one? There many people in jails who were good guys till they were provoked into shooting someone. Why will you have a gun if not to use it? How does having guns at home make the streets safe for your wives and children? Why have a state and a police force if every citizen wants to play vigilante? I know the second amendment gives every US citizen the righ to carry guns. But that does not necessarily make it the right thing to do. At the time when it was drafted it probably was appropriate. Its not as if its the word of god and its immutable.I know the gun rights people will quote statistics to 'prove' banning guns does not work. So can the anti gun lobby.Statistics can and have been manipulated to prove a point!Just because criminals carry guns and thats why they are criminals, does not justify law abiding citizens wanting to do the same— murlee50
- It's amazing to see the number of people who are so adamant about fighting sensable gun laws that limit the number of handgun purchases PER MONTH, require documentation, ban assualt weapons, etc. They're some of the same people who complain about the economy and over-paid executives and gas prices. Yet all their moaning about guns doesn't benefit them (I don't know anyone who buys 15 hangguns a month even though I do know many pro-gun activists), it benefits my vacation-home neighbor in Avalon, New Jersey who is an executive for Smith & Wesson and was happy last weekend to burn through 250 gallons of gasoline on his 42 foot fountain boat which he parks next to his larger fishing boat behind his 6000 square foot, $5 million dollar monster house. The way he has these people convinced these gun laws are the end of self-defense and personal freedom, I can't classify him as anything less than a business genius.— mktstrfinancial
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- Finally some sense from the Supremes no less. I have always hated the way government takes away law abiding citizens rights to try to stop criminals. Like that ever worked. Now you even have to show ID to buy cold medicine. This is a day to remember. God bless the Framers of our constitution and the Supremes for reading it right.— ease
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- If they come for your gun,give it to them-bullets first.— bigeastbeast
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- no banning of hand guns, no solicitation of semi auto weapons, not necesary for anyone, aaaand police enforce who obtains guns so people who shouldnt have them dont or get locked up ebfore we lose another 100 people in a month— Will.i.Am
- There are already plenty of laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. We just need to enforce those laws. But lazy Philadelphia politicians and government workers don't want to go through that. So they shout the mantra "gun control!" because it sounds good and it doesn't require them to do much. Actually enforce the laws on the books. That's the way to reduce criminal activity.— chrissmith
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- i completely agree. and it's good to see that there is at least one supreme court in this country that is capable of making a correct decision.— chadsexington
- The one gun per month law would be a minor incovenience to legal gun owners. It's not illegal for someone to buy a bunch of guns. That sets the stage for the subsequent illegal sale to criminals. Everyone knows it but the NRA would rather enable criminals to get guns and kill police than endure a minor incovenience. By the way, I recall hearing that McCain has an out of wedlock black child. Carl Rove leaked that one. Don't any of you Republicans care about that?— MikeP
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- If we applied the same tactics to the police department that are used by the PPA, then we wouldn’t have a crime problem. I wholeheartedly support a cop lurking behind every corner and in the shadows!— brophysr
- its funny...i didnt realize only ILLEGAL guns killed all these people in Philadelphia...so if ILLEGAL guns are killing people do LEGAL guns SAVE people? guns are guns...it doesn't matter if you get shot by an illegal gun or a legal gun...ur dead.... and as to why THESE people are all killing themselves (just a little racist there buddy - are the white kids who shoot up schools included in this PEOPLE category? or is just for black people?), you want to know what the problem is? Education. Not about guns, just in general. This entire country is full of idiots who ahvent been educated. And its not just poor people in the urban envirmonent who are dying from gun wounds ( the kid who wanted to be a teacher from Minessota who was shot in South Philadelphia) If you think "black thugs" with "illegal guns" are the only perpertrators and victims of these crimes your lying to yourslef...but hey, ignorance is bliss right?— imtiredofignorantppl
- "If you want to ENSLAVE a country, first take away the guns." - Adolph Hitler 1936 Does Mayor Nutter want to ENSLAVE the city? Sounds like he is acting just like a petty dictator trying to concentrate his power in the police controlled (society) city. 06/26/2008 - WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history. The court's 5-4 ruling strikes down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. What is Mayor Nutter is going to try next? Common Plea Court said two of his new gun laws were illegal and this Supreme Court decision backs that court!— ewbray1
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- Ladies and Gentleman can i have a big round of applause for the Supremes.— swiftlyons
- Yes!— JC_in_WC
- If we simply accept that proposition that criminals will ignore laws and as such laws are ineffective, why do you outlaw anything at all? Murderers still murder - hey so why don't strike the law of the books its just costing us all money? Didn't think so. Criminality is defined by the law itself, the purpose of new gun laws is to increase the sphere of criminality around gun ownership and bring with it associated penalties. In doing so and if enforced agressively and effectively this will deter gun crime, in its new broader definition, and reduce gun crime. Big ifs admittedly, but better than the hollow and weak idea that the law is impotent.— ajhollingworth
- 100% agree.— kingnutter
- Win one for the good guys.— JimMcBrook
You know, this little story makes it sound like Nutter actually has a little bit of respect for the 2nd amendment, which I found totally shocking. Most politicians campaign on "getting rid of guns" knowing full well that they can't legislate guns out of the bad guys hands. A criminal, by nature, doesn't care whether it's illegal to own a gun. Gun legislation only restricts what law abiding citizens are allowed to own. Criminals will get whatever they want off the black market. So, having said all that, lets stop focusing on the symptom and start looking for the cause of all this violence. Has anyone ever asked, or sought to answer, why these people are killing each other in the first place?— Hamlin- I think Homer Simpson once noted that if he had to go through a waiting period to purchase a gun then he might not be angry anymore. I note that because the three posters to date are equally as cartoonish.— Mark from Mount Airy
- Yes I agree— mijou6
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- It's about time!!!!!!! now let's see how Barack Hussein Obama spins his anti-gun rhetoric. I just want to know when left-leaners are going to realize, "CRIMINALS DON'T OBEY LAWS!!!!" So, every anti-gun law is only adhered to by law-abiding gun owners... At least 5 of the 9 current sitting justices are smart enough to realize that self-defense is an "INDIVIDUAL RIGHT" the same as the other nine in the "BILL OF RIGHTS". And, can't wait tilL PA Supreme Court hears the case on Nutcase's 3 ILLEGAL laws!!!! Take that Nutcase....— Mike S.
- What does the Police Chief say about the Philadelphia's Police Departments ability to aggresively enfource these laws with current staffing levels? Who determines whether or not a person is considered a danger to themsleves or others? The judge? Is the cirteria for making such a ruling clearly defined?— MikeP
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Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns. E-mail tips to brennac@phillynews.com
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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Follow Chris on Twitter
David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
Follow Dave on Twitter.
Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
Follow Jan on Twitter
Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
Follow Sean on Twitter
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