I have gotten an update on the status of the Pennsylvania Gun Registration bill from Representative Sam Rohrer. Here’s the relevant excerpt:
The provisions of House Bill 760 are, in my opinion, unconstitutional, impractical and simply outrageous. Without question, a requirement to register all firearms with the State Police, to submit to fingerprinting, to provide full home address and social security number or be guilty of a summary offense as House Bill 760 would require, is an example of the clear violation of the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms. For any member to sponsor, cosponsor or support legislation that clearly infringes upon constitutionally identified and guaranteed rights raises a serious question as to whether this action violates the oath that Members took to defend and protect the citizen’s rights as guaranteed in the Constitutions of the United States and of Pennsylvania.
House Bill 760 would not only impose a violation of our constitutional rights through invasive government requirements, it would also tax our right to own firearms through a $10.00 tax to be levied every year on each firearm.
On Wednesday, April 18, 2007, Representative Caltagirone, who is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. In reference to the House Bill 760 moving out of Judiciary Committee, Representative Caltagirone said, “It’s not going anywhere.†His decision has much to do with the responses from each and every one of you.
Good work on both the part of Representative Rohrer and Pennsylvania gun owners. But he goes on to remind us that we have to remain vigalilent. It’s been my opinion that HB 760 was never meant to get anywhere, but serves as political cover for one-gun-a-month. By giving gun rights advocates something to focus their energies on, that had no chance of passing, it would wear us out in the fight to make sure gun rationing never becomes law in the commonwealth.
I think he’s right this bill isn’t going anywhere, but beware of gun rationing. That issue won’t go away.
I found it interesting that the bill started with 8 sponsors and at this point is down to two or maybe even just one.
I own many guns and have never broken the law. The law makers pass laws against crime and release the law brakers so they can commit other crimes. If those idiot law makers solve this problem All of our problems would be solved. Tony Manero
Here’s a theory I haven’t heard yet on this issue, these two Perzel supporters have a deal with Perzel to help him regain the speaker’s position. The plan is to keep bringing up this bogus legislation in order to submarine rural Democrats in gun loving districts, helping give the PA House GOP a rallying cry in this time of relative weakness. Vulnerable legislators who had tough races last election like David Millard in Columbia County (www.repmillard.com) are already starting a petition campaign to rile up the NRA types in their district. Reliable sources suspect Youngblood and Cruz of working as double agents for Perzel spying on the Democratic Caucus, and giving rural Republicans red meat so the GOP can regain power. It’s about time we look at these types of symbolic efforts through a more Machiavellian lens, it’s nieve to think that thes D.I.N.O.’s can be trusted, anyone who votes for Perzel for Speaker is a traitor. The timing of this issue, the fact that they know it will never pass, and the immediate public relations campaign by the Republican Caucus makes it very suspicious. There is more to this than meets the eye, too bad the Democratic Caucus is too ossified with unimaginative legislators and senior staffers to see this coming.
I don’t know. That sounds pretty far fetched given what I know about Pennsylvania politics. Why would two inner city democratic politicians want to help the Republicans back into power? Politics in this state tends to divide along urban/suburban/rural rather than straight party lines. I can’t really imagine Cruz and Youngblood as double agents. I think more likely they were trying to make other legislation the Philadelphia politicians want to see passed seem more reasonable, as well as playing up gun control for the folks back home.