I was surprised to come across this article highlighting our Governor’s views on gun control in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, and I found it refreshing that Rendell doesn’t seem to be taking a hard line approach, even making some honest admissions for someone who has strongly supported gun control efforts:
The Rendell administration is examining laws that control who may buy guns in Pennsylvania in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, but the governor is unlikely to follow his Virginia counterpart’s lead and call for barring firearms sales to anyone ordered to get mental-health treatment, a top administration aide said.
“Should everybody who’s depressed not be able to buy a gun?” asked Donna Cooper, Gov. Ed Rendell’s policy secretary, whose staff is pulling together information about how other states balance patient privacy rights and public safety.
Wow! To be fair to Tom Kaine, his executive order limited itself to outpatient treatment combined with a danger finding. It doesn’t just apply to anyone ordered to outpatient treatment.
“Laws alone cannot protect society from crazed killers”, Cooper said, recalling the October 2006 shootings at an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County.
Double wow! Read the whole thing. Apparently Pennsylvania is one of the states that deosn’t report mental health records to NICS, though they are contained in the PICS system. Mentally incompetent people wouldn’t be able to buy a gun in Pennsylvania, but would be able to buy a long gun in another state.
Of course, I doubt this changes his support for gun rationing, which I will continue to oppose.
UPDATE: The article now actually includes a link to the story.
Am i missing the link to the article?
I’m glad to see that most of PA is retaining sanity it the wake of the VT shootings. Most of the people that I’ve talked to have been of the opinion that people being able to carry is a good thing. Which I was a little surprised about. This included several police officers and a couple teachers.
Ack! Sorry. I seem to have forgotten the link. Dang… now I have to go find that article again.