Lynn Abraham, District Attorney for Philadelphia, has made a pilgrimage to Harrisburg to plead for more gun laws.
When challenged by Rep. John Pallone, a Democrat from a pro-gun district in southwestern Pennsylvania, Abraham said her testimony was not an “assault” on gun dealers or law abiding gun owners.
“My constituents are different. All I see is dead bodies and people who are quadriplegic.”
Her constituents are different. It’s only a small percentage of her “constituents” that are causing a problem in Philadelphia. The vast majority of people are law abiding. If I lived in Philadelphia, where I might actually need a gun to protect myself, I’d be outraged that Lynn suggests I’m “different” and thus my rights may be curtailed at the whim of city government, while nothing is done about putting more police on patrol, or keeping criminals behind bars. The City can’t protect it’s residents, and they would prefer its residents not be able to protect itself either. If there’s a way out for Philadelphia’s political culture, I’m not seeing it.
Abraham said she took issue with two other gun violence bills under consideration today, one that would set bail at $50,000 for anyone displaying a firearm while committing an offense and another that would create a firearms bureau in the state Attorney General’s office and give that office the power the authority to investigate local firearms trafficking cases.
I might have a problem with the former too, depending on the definition of “display” and “offense”, but I find it interesting that when it comes to enforcing the laws the state already has, Abraham’s office gets territorial about having the state AG involved. We can’t have that, now, can we?
She gets territorial, but has no problem with the State Police taking over the city police’s duties. Interesting.
They must sprinkle this magic fairy dust into City Hall’s water supply.
Probably because the State Police will still be turning over the criminals to her office, presumably, whereas the State AG would get all the glory for the prosecutions that happen under its office.