Philadelphia is continuing its campaign to act as if it is not part of the Commonwealth by exempting itself from our state’s laws.
Today’s hearing will focus on challenges to the lawsuit filed by the state House and Senate.
The hearing will be followed by an 11 a.m. gun-control rally in the City Hall courtyard.
The National Rifle Association has joined the case, opposing the city. C. Scott Shields, the NRA’s attorney, said the city is “doing an end-run” around Harrisburg.
“The argument is pretty ridiculous,” said Shields, adding that the city’s crime problem is not caused by guns. “It’s just that they don’t deal with it effectively.”
Philadelphia’s gun-control legislation, which Clarke resubmitted to Council in January for a new vote, would limit purchases of handguns to one a month, require gun owners to report lost or stolen guns to police, require a police-issued annual license to bring a gun into the city, allow police to confiscate guns from people considered a risk to themselves or others, ban semiautomatic weapons with clips that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and establish a registry of ammunition sales.
It’ll be interesting to see if they actually try to enforce any of this crap. If they do, I would like to see Attorney General Corbett threaten city officials with Official Oppression charges if they do. The state has to start getting tough with the City about protecting the fundamental rights of Pennsylvanians guaranteed by our constitution.
Can the rest of the Commonwealth vote Philly out? How much of rural PA’s taxes get spent in Philly? Can we sell it to Delaware or New Jersey?
If we were to do that, they’d win. That’s essentially what they want; to no longer be subject to the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
If PA’s AG does not go after Philly (should they in fact pass these laws) then the Commenwealth should be sued for its failure to protect the rights of its citizens.