But Pawlowski responded that the new state law would still leave police the difficult job of proving that a straw purchaser was lying about losing the gun. That’s no different from the current system, ”which obviously isn’t working,” he said.
The mayors have acknowledged that only the state may regulate legal guns, but ”this law is about illegal guns,” Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said. The mayors’ argument is that the guns become illegal once they’re lost or stolen.
They are arguing over HB 1845, which was passed last week, and I believe signed by Ed Rendell. It makes penalties stiff for falsely claiming to police that a gun was lost or stolen, when it was really sold on the streets. The idea that this isn’t a law regulating the possession of firearms, which is preempted by state law, is absolutely abusrd. The gun might become an illegal gun, but the possession of it by the person that was victimized was not illegal, and regulation of that possession is strictly a matter of state, and not local law.
Funny how they never seek to increase the penalties for stealing a gun. That, to me, would seem to be permissible and effective. You commit a burglary or theft in which one of the items taken is a gun, you get an extra 5 years.
Is their some reason they don’t want to increase the cost criminals of stolen weapons? Could it be all the felons on the voter rolls?
That’s already law in Pennsylvania, actually.
I certainly believe HB1845 will be signed by Rendell, but hadn’t heard anything ‘official’ clarifying that it has happened yet. Do you have more info on this?
I thought I had read it was signed somewhere. To be honest, I haven’t confirmed. I will check.