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Monday, March 30, 2009

DA to announce straw purchase gun arrests

Inquirer staff writer Joseph A. Slobodzian reoprts:

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham is announcing this morning the arrests of 17 people charged with buying handguns for juveniles.

Abraham also will announce the creation of a new program that targets adults who make so-called straw purchases of guns for those under age 18. Each juvenile arrest in which a gun is recovered will be referred to the Gun Violence Task Force to investigate who provided the weaspon to the juvenile.

State law bars anyone under 18 from buying or possessing a handgun and Abraham said an adult who buys and provides a handgun is guilty of a third-degree felony that carries a prison term of up to seven years.

Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.
Posted by Inquirer Online Desk @ 10:53 AM  Permalink | 6 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:13 AM, 03/30/2009
    I'd like to see their faces posted on the city's website. These gun's are bought for one reason only. What kind of lowlife would buy a gun and contribute to someone else's death, the blood is on the purchaser's hands too, not just the shooter's.
    — gho_matt
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:18 AM, 03/30/2009
    Exactly. This isn't Darfur people. Stop arming the kids.
    — KeepsItReal
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:59 AM, 03/30/2009
    It's about time. *This* is one way to attack Philly's "gun violence" problem, rather than pointlessly trying to evade or undermine state firearms laws. The focus should be not just those who are underage, but also those ineligible because of felony convictions.
    — MaggieL
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:05 PM, 03/30/2009
    We really do have to at least enforce the laws we already have. Instead of Nutter wanting more gun laws, he needs to rescind the part of the budget that cuts the DA's office by $4 million, and the First Judicial District by $4.1 million. It's two-faced to claim to want to address gun violence with new legislation when the mayor is defunding the courts in the city to the point where they can't enforce even the gun legislation in existence.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:08 PM, 03/30/2009
    The city can afford to fight gun crime -- there's $522 million in overdue property taxes that the city has not collected. This didn't happen overnight, but the city needs this half a billion to enforce the gun laws we do have with the mechanisms in place. Nutter has to figure out what the basics of city government are if he wants to get reelected -- the basics of a safer city that result in measurable stats such as a 15% decrease in homicide is a great start. If he gets a DA in place who can maintain straw purchase prosecution, we'll see the same kinds of decreases in gun crime and gun crime involving juveniles.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:45 AM, 04/02/2009
    Straw buys are a federal crime w/ 5 yr. and $250,000 fine. Where are the Feds? "Don't Lie For the Other Guy" is a national program except for Philly. Feel Good New gun laws when present laws are not enforced and pleaded down and out.
    — centercitysam


6 comments
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