Fast-forward to 2011. Rafiq Williams operates a North Philadelphia security firm and has a permit to carry a concealed handgun - issued by the State of Florida.
He obtained it even though Philadelphia police rejected his application on "good character" grounds. He was also rejected on appeal by a city licensing panel after members heard about another case in which Williams fled police and was captured in a fortified "drug compound." A further appeal is still pending in the Philadelphia courts.
Like 900 other Philadelphians - a number that has skyrocketed in recent years - Williams easily circumvented the local licensing process by obtaining a mail-order gun permit from Florida, where the rules are less stringent.
And because Pennsylvania and Florida have a reciprocal agreement to respect each other's gun licenses, local police are compelled to honor his permit, despite their opposition. Legislation pending in Congress - and endorsed by a majority of House members - would extend the reciprocity nationwide.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said such broad reciprocity "undermines the traditional authority of state and local governments to protect their citizens."
The city argues that it needs latitude in determining who is a threat, because of long-standing problems in the court system. An Inquirer report last year noted that while prosecutors in other big cities win felony convictions in half of violent-crime cases, in Philadelphia, prosecutors had been winning only 20 percent.
One oft-cited reason is witnesses' changing their stories or failing to appear in court, leading to acquittals for lack of evidence or reasonable doubt.
Increasingly, Philadelphia police are discovering suspects arrested here have Florida concealed-weapons permits.
