Lobby group says Pennsylvania's gun laws are 10th best — but not good enough

[Fatman]

'Lobby group' = Brady Bunch. Bold in article mine

Lobby group says Pennsylvania's gun laws are 10th best — but not good enough

By Michael Sadowski
Pocono Record Writer
February 20, 2010

Pennsylvania received just two stars in an annual test of gun safety by the biggest gun violence protection lobbyist group in the country.

The annual Brady State Gun Law Scorecard by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence reported that Pennsylvania scored a 25 out of 100 when it comes to enacting laws it believes prevents gun violence.
GUN CONTROL SCORECARD

States with the best scoring on the Brady Campaign's annual state gun law scorecard:

STATE SCORE (out of 100 possible points)

1. California 79

2. New Jersey 73

3. Massachusetts 54

4. Connecticut 53

5. Maryland 52

10. Pennsylvania 25

SOURCE: www.bradycampaign.org

Telling. CA only gets a 79 out of 100, and they have the most restrictive laws. I guess only seizure of firearms gets you a 100. Interesting enough, in my high school, 80 was considered a passing grade...  

While that was good enough to rank Pennsylvania 10th in the country, only Maine ranked lower in the northeast states.

State Rep. John Siptroth, D-189, said he believes Pennsylvania's gun laws are adequate, but said enforcement is the key to giving them teeth.

"I'm sure there are people who believe you should be able to have six-shooters strapped to your side and be able to walk down Main Street," Siptroth said. "You're never going to be able to satisfy everyone. But there are reasonable safeguards that exist in Pennsylvania (for gun control)."

Umm, PA law allows open carry, Mr. Siptroth, so yes you can strap six-shooters to your side and walk down Main Street. What PA law frowns on is you using those six-shooters for criminal activity - you're correct that enforcement of the criminal use aspect is essential.  

Decidedly a(n) lobbyist group anti-gun organization advocating stricter gun laws no private ownership of guns, the Brady Campaign releases the gun report each year.

Fixed

"We applaud Pennsylvania for its strong laws to ensure that all handgun buyers have a criminal background check prior to any sale, including all handgun sales at gun shows," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign.

The group was critical of Pennsylvania in some areas, however. For instance, states can earn up to 10 points in the Brady Campaign's scoring by banning military-style assault weapons, as well as banning high-capacity ammunition magazines. Pennsylvania scored zero points in this category.

Local gun-right advocates, however, aren't interested in what the Brady Campaign has to say about gun violence.

"They're anti-gun, of course they're going to say our laws aren't strict enough," said Rich Flynn, owner of American Sport Shooting on Route 209 in Brodheadsville. "No matter what they say, they're anti-gun."

Phil Frangipane, owner of Weaver's Firearms & Sporting Goods on routes 209 and 715 in Brodheadsville, said he believes gun laws in the state remain too strict. He thought about the days when he was a teen in New York City in the '60s and he was able to walk into a gun shop and buy a rifle.

"Times have changed, haven't they?" he said. "I think they're too strict. Everybody has the right to own a firearm. (The government) is trying to take our rights. This country is going down the toilet bowl."

Siptroth, who counts himself a sportsman, said enacting gun legislation isn't as cut-and-dry as it might seem to those in favor of tougher gun laws.

He said the state Supreme Court consistently has overturned any gun control laws approved at the local level and federal courts even scrutinize laws made at the state level.

"It's all a matter of interpretation," he said.

A hearty 'thank you' to my State Supreme court!

Siptroth said he agrees that people should file for gun permits and no felon should be able to buy a gun, and Flynn said he agrees with background checks for firearm purchase.

"Even though if you go by the strict interpretation of the Second Amendment, you should be able to go to the grocery store and buy a gun at the check-out counter," he said.

And I remember a Brady quote about PA being out of step with the North East.  

So I moved here. Thanks for the heads up, Paul!

[TAB]

whats funny is CA does not even have the most restrictive gun laws.  There are states like IL, that you can't even touch a gun with out  lic.  If you think thats bad, look at HI. 


yet we never hear about these states, why is that?  could it be that some people just like to bash CA? 

[Pathfinder]

yet we never hear about these states, why is that?  could it be that some people just like to bash CA? 

CA is called a target-rich environment, TAB.   

ND got a 4!!!!!! And even that is suspect because the points came from business and schools not being forced to allow guns on premisis (2 points each). Although there is law for the schools (  ), there is no law saying that businesses can prohibit weapons on site. Sadly, there is also no law prohibiting it either.

We've gone over the salient facts before, but here they are in a nutshell. The right to carry "for lawful purposes" is embodied in the ND State Constitution, paragraph 1 of Section 1 of Article 1. A strict constitutionalist would have to rule that this clause trumps all laws, ordinances and other regulations that would prohibit carrying, even on school campuses.

So far, no court challenges either way.