Posted on Thu, Apr. 10, 2008
With several hundred pro-gun activists converging on the Harrisburg Capitol Monday - many wearing Second Amendment T-shirts - it was not the day for Pennsylvania lawmakers to tackle any tough gun measures.
Instead, state House members approved several initiatives that bore no resemblance to an actual crackdown on handgun trafficking.
In turn, the gun-rights supporters celebrated the defeat last week of a tough anti-trafficking measure.
Charlton Heston would be proud.
Meanwhile, back on the mean streets of Philadelphia and other cities, the shootings continue. The city averages 2,000 shootings a year. Many of the bullets come from illegal guns, which can be about as easy to purchase as cigarettes.
That's why there's no time to waste for gun-safety advocates to resume lobbying lawmakers to pass real gun-safety measures that will protect taxpayers and help police put real heat on traffickers.
One such measure that went down to defeat April 1 proposed a mandatory-reporting requirement for lost and stolen handguns. The failed measure targeted gun buyers who feed the illegal trade by purchasing weapons for felons. Lawmakers now have a lock on the criminals' vote.
Even in defeat, gun-control advocates were able to win over a sizable number of Republican lawmakers from the Philadelphia region. That helped to energize CeaseFirePA.
The gun-safety group notes that a large majority of state residents support a law requiring the reporting of lost or stolen guns. There's also strong backing for a monthly limit on handgun sales.
In a sense, even House members on Monday acknowledged with their modest legislation that the state's defenses against gun trafficking aren't up to snuff.
By a vote of 200-0, they took a positive step with a measure to set up a registry of lost or stolen handguns - weapons that often go to criminals. House members also took aim at so-called straw buyers who purchase guns for felons, by increasing the time to prosecute them and rogue gun dealers who sell to them. Finally, lawmakers boosted the penalties for falsely reporting a handgun lost or stolen.
The measures now go to the state Senate, where they face a tougher fight. It's not easy when representatives fail to represent the majority will.
Just ask House Speaker Dennis O'Brien (R., Phila.), who twisted himself into a pretzel trying to explain why he was the only city lawmaker to vote against the tougher gun measure on April 1. Maybe the answer is to elect representatives who will do what constituents want.
Now, there's a fight worth waging.
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