Gun Laws

HARRISBURG - A bill fast-tracking through the General Assembly aims to send a tough message to local governments in Pennsylvania: Pass gun-control measures at your own financial peril. The legislation would penalize municipalities - including Philadelphia and 29 others - that have enacted laws to curb illegal gun sales by requiring them to pay damages and penalties to plaintiffs who challenge those laws in the courts. The bill is being applauded by the National Rifle Association and condemned by such local officials as Lancaster's mayor and Philadelphia's district attorney.

PERHAPS NOW, after the murder of police officer Gary Skerski, the state legislature will make a move to allow Philadelphia to draft its own gun laws. Where are their priorities? Doesn't human life mean anything to them? They were quick to pull the trigger on their pay raises. Last year, 380 Philadelphians were murdered. At the current pace, we will surpass that appalling amount by year's end. Come on, Gov. Rendell, a Philadelphian, get their butts moving. The elections are coming in November.

AS MOURNERS gathered yesterday to pay their last respects to Officer Chuck Cassidy, and to offer thanks to him and his family for making the ultimate sacrifice for the city, we can't help wondering if there will be another opportunity to thank Cassidy . . . when much-needed gun laws are passed. Cassidy's death has galvanized the city in ways that hundreds of other homicides haven't been able to. Let's hope it galvanizes lawmakers in Harrisburg to stop their cowardly lack of action on sane and common-sense gun laws.

Alan S. Krug in an Op-ed Page article Dec. 23 states: "The anti-gun forces have no valid scientific data to support their contention that proposed restrictions on rifles, shotguns and handguns would reduce crime rates. " If Mr. Krug would take the trouble to consult statistics he would find that whereas each year in the United States more than 10,000 people are killed by handguns, in other civilized countries such as Britain, West Germany and Japan fewer than 100 are killed each year by handguns.

ACCORDING to the Daily News, mall killer Robert Hawkins' step-parent/guardian Debora Maruca-Kovac told Omaha papers that the night before the slaughter, Hawkins and her sons showed her the semi-automatic used in the attack. You'd think a woman who knows this kid spent time in a mental institution for threatening to kill people, would have reported this to police. Common sense, not gun laws, would've stopped this disaster. Instead, she's being paid to be on talk shows, instead of going to jail for not reporting a crime.

Today the U.S. House of Representatives should heed the public, not the gun lobby, as it votes on the most significant gun-control measures to come before it in years. Since April, Congress has been scrambling to respond to the public outrage over the massacre in a Colorado high school. Last month, the Senate, under intense pressure from voters, did an about-face and approved a modest package of controls, including mandatory background checks at gun shows. Under the Senate bill, every sale at any gun show would require a criminal background check of the buyer by the FBI. That's common sense.

RE SIGNE'S recent cartoon on guns: Does she realize that every single gun crime in Philadelphia is a serious federal offense? Federal firearm law is found in the U.S. Code, Title 18, Chapter 44. These laws cover every aspect of straw-man sales, illegal purchases, illegal transfers, illegal possession, etc. Why isn't existing law being enforced? Examples: 1. Sec. 922 (a)(6): False answers on Treasury Form 4473 when buying a handgun from a federally licensed dealer, or making false oral statements, is a 10-year felony offense.

THE ARTICLE "They're taking aim at gun laws" (Jan. 8) sadly repeated the same misinformation gun-control advocates trot out every time they want to pass new laws to restrict legitimate gun ownership. Using your own clean record to purchase a gun for someone who is not allowed to own a gun is called a straw purchase. Gun-control groups would have us believe that this is legal in Pennsylvania. It is not. Under federal law, it is illegal "for any person in connection with the acquisition or attempted acquisition of any firearm knowingly to furnish misrepresented identification . . . " [18 U.S.C.

RE "IN PHILLY, killers stick to their guns": Commissioner Johnson was quoted as saying, "We have the most lenient gun laws in the entire nation" to explain Philadelphia's high murder rate. With all due respect, Commissioner Johnson's reasoning for Philadelphia's murder rate is fatally flawed. Pennsylvania has 66 other counties with the same laws. If Commissioner Johnson were correct, the other counties would have the same murder rate, but they do not. I don't mean to imply that the Philadelphia Police Department is to blame for Philadelphia's murder rate.

The six weeks since the senseless shooting of Florida teen Trayvon Martin by a town-watch volunteer have only served to intensify the scrutiny of reckless self-defense laws - like one on the books in Pennsylvania - that permit citizens to shoot first if they feel threatened. So it's good to hear that State Rep. Ronald G. Waters (D., Phila.) has issued a call for gun-safety reforms and to "not let Trayvon Martin's death go in vain. " The legal defense that, so far, has shielded George Zimmerman from being arrested for the Feb. 26 death of Martin, after an encounter in a gated central Florida community, is one that could be used in Pennsylvania and nearly two-dozen other states with what's known as "stand your ground" laws.

Wild West meets Florida If I understand the Florida "stand your ground" law correctly, if Trayvon Martin had been carrying a gun, he would have been perfectly justified in shooting George Zimmerman, just as Zimmerman claims to have been justified in shooting Martin ("Debating 'castle' doctrine," Tuesday). Martin's life obviously was in danger. So, if two armed individuals confront each other in Florida and each feels threatened, each person is justified in killing the other one?

HARRISBURG - Mayor Nutter joined leaders of four other Pennsylvania cities on the Capitol steps to deliver a singular message to the General Assembly on Tuesday: Don't strip of us of our ability to make public safety decisions in our communities. That, the mayors fear, would be the consequence of bills pending in the state House and Senate that would penalize municipalities for enacting gun-control ordinances that go further than existing state law. Nutter, along with the mayors of Chester, Lancaster, and Allentown - all cities which, like Philadelphia, now require gun owners to report lost or stolen weapons - spoke against the legislation at a news conference and met privately with legislators to urge them to reject the bills.

CAN THE HOODIE be rehabilitated? I ask that because, in the wake of the tragedy and furor surrounding the shooting death of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, in Florida, the hoodie has been used as a symbol by those rallying for the arrest of Zimmerman. There have been million-hoodie marches in New York, Miami and two in Philadelphia. In the middle of this hoodie discussion rides Geraldo Rivera, Fox News host, who has said, "I believe George Zimmerman, the overzealous watch captain, should be investigated to the fullest extent of the law, and if he is criminally liable, he should be prosecuted.

SO, MARK Fiorino is the new "Matt Dillon" in town. He and his posse will openly be carrying guns on their hips thanks to a court decision on a previously little-known law. Now I guess the police will have to stop everyone with a gun in view to check if they have a permit, potentially creating more lawsuits. Why doesn't the city just give everyone openly carrying $10,000 so we can save $15,000 for each idiot? Charles Veterano Philadelphia Come on, Stu Bykofsky, don't you have an ounce of common sense?

HARRISBURG - A bill fast-tracking through the General Assembly aims to send a tough message to local governments in Pennsylvania: Pass gun-control measures at your own financial peril. The legislation would penalize municipalities - including Philadelphia and 29 others - that have enacted laws to curb illegal gun sales by requiring them to pay damages and penalties to plaintiffs who challenge those laws in the courts. The bill is being applauded by the National Rifle Association and condemned by such local officials as Lancaster's mayor and Philadelphia's district attorney.

This is an opinion of t he Daily News People's Editorial Board, a group of 10 citizens who gather to debate hot topics in the city. Watch video of the board's debate on gun laws . RASHI Anderson should have turned 18 today. But he didn't get the chance. A few weeks ago, this promising young man was gunned down a block from his house in East Germantown. There is no known motive, and no arrests have been made. We are 46 days into the new year, and 48 people have already been killed.

In 2008, when the General Assembly voted on a modest antiviolence bill most Pennsylvanians support, the 128-75 defeat confirmed that in this state, the lobbying muscle of the NRA trumps common sense and constituent safety. Pacifists and hunters agree that requiring gun owners to alert police when a weapon is lost or stolen makes financial sense and could protect innocents from harm. Why? Because guns are valuable and many crimes are committed with weapons purchased legally, then handed off or resold to evildoers.

HARRISBURG - A bill fast-tracking through the General Assembly aims to send a tough message to local governments in Pennsylvania: Pass gun-control measures at your own financial peril. The legislation would penalize municipalities - including Philadelphia and 29 others - that have enacted laws to curb illegal gun sales by requiring them to pay damages and penalties to plaintiffs who challenge those laws in the courts. The bill is being applauded by the National Rifle Association and condemned by such local officials as Lancaster's mayor and Philadelphia's district attorney.

MARK FIORINO was legally carrying his .40-caliber Glock on his hip as he walked along Frankford Avenue on Feb. 13, 2011, when he was stopped by Philadelphia police, who pointed a gun at him, harassed him and handcuffed him. Today, he plans to file a civil suit against the department for the incident. Fiorino, who recorded his 45-minute confrontation with police and posted it on YouTube, is suing for "violation of his constitutional rights to be free from unlawful searches, excessive force and malicious prosecution," according to the complaint filed on his behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union.