Onorato Slams Corbett On Loophole For Concealed Weapons
Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, flanked by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and state Rep. Bryan Lentz of Delaware County, lashed out at state Attorney General Tom Corbett this morning for failing to close the "Florida loophole" that allows that state's Department of Agriculture to issue by mail permits to carry concealed weapons for Pennsylvanians who have been denied that privilege locally.
Onorato Slams Corbett On Loophole For Concealed Weapons
Chris Brennan
Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, flanked by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams and state Rep. Bryan Lentz of Delaware County, lashed out at state Attorney General Tom Corbett this morning for failing to close the "Florida loophole" that allows that state's Department of Agriculture to issue by mail permits to carry concealed weapons for Pennsylvanians who have been denied that privilege locally.
The three Democrats said Corbett, the Republican nominee in the Nov. 2 general election for governor, could as Attorney General close that loophole by citing difference between the regulations for permits in the two states. For Florida, applicants must pass a background check. To gain a permit in Pennsylvania, applicants must be approved by their county Sheriff's Office -- In Philadelphia, it's the Police Department -- which can also take into consideration "character and reputation."
"Tom is actually in the position to deal with this issue right now," said Onorato, the Democratic nominee for governor, who noted that 175 mayors from across the state have asked Corbett to act. "They have not heard from the Attorney General. The reason is he doesn't want to deal with this issue."
Williams called the loophole a "disgusting affront" to Pennsylvania's sovereignty, declaring that this state's residents should have to follow their home state's laws on concealed weapons. Lentz introduced legislation last month to close the loophole. He hopes the state House Judiciary Committee will consider it for a vote next week, though he conceded that he doesn't have the votes now to move the bill forward.
Lentz dished out some statistics to knock down complaints that people in Pennsylvania have a difficult time obtaining permits to carry concealed weapons. He said 5,000 such permits were issued in 2009 based on 5,500 applications. In 2008, 5,900 permits were issued based on 6,200 applications.
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Tom Corbett = typical gop hack- OK- so Onorato has established himself as a simple straightforward LIAR. Anyone who takes the trouble to look will find that there IS no Florida loophole. Under the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act 18 PA C.s. section 6100 and beyond, County Sherriff ADMINISTERS the application process which is dictated by the state. Guess what the application process mandates? A BACKGROUND CHECK!. Just like Florida, PA applicants have the same NICS (National Instant Check System) background check conducted on the spot. In PA its Called PICS (PA Instant Check System) and it queries the NICS database. In other words, PAs background check is every bit as stringent as Florida. ANd if you are ineligible in PA, you are ALSO ineligible in Florida. The law clearly defines prohibiting factors, and assuming you still believe in innnocent until proven guilty, is exactly the same. If Onorato knows this, then he is a simple liar. If he doesn't know this, then he's just plain foolish.— Traveller
- If the "journalist"that wrote this article actually did his job and researched the issue, he would discover that all of the extra hoops that Philadelphia makes an applicant jump through, are in violation of state law. Pennsylvania is a "Shall Issue" state, meaning as long as the applicant passes a State Police background check, he or she is approved for a LTCF. In Florida, not only does the applicant have to pass a background check, they also have to complete training on how to safely operate a firearm and provide proof that they have done so. The gun problem in Philadelphia is not being caused by people with gun permits, it is being caused by criminals. Maybe if the police, DA and judges would enforce the existing laws and actually fight crime, there wouldn't be a gun problem.— PHLJJS
- Typical gun control bull. The only difference between Florida and Pa is that in Pa the County Sheriff can refuse the permit even if you pass the background check. For no reason other than he wants to. He can say you have small children in your house, you shouldn't have a gun. Also pointing out that NO CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED BY SOMEONE CARING A FLORIDA GUN PERMIT. NONE. Because once again gun laws like this only work against legal gun owners.— puddydawg
- Traveller - Click through to the article. Philadelphia county does background checks that Florida does not do. One instructor admits that 25% of his business is people who were denied permits in Philadelphia county.— Politburo
- puddydawg - You click through, too. There is an example in the article of a drug dealer who had a gun, legally, thanks to Florida.— Politburo
Onorato = typical "tax and spend" Democrat. Allegheny County is one of the worst run counties in the Commonwealth.- Comment removed.
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- CleanupPhilly - What makes you think the GOP wants to fix the problem? They haven't seem to cared about the impact of guns in urban areas in the past.— Politburo
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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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