They introduce two new gun bills to City Council. One that closes a non-existent loophole in Pennsylvania Law:
Under legislation proposed by Council members Donna Reed Miller and Darrell L. Clarke, anyone reselling a gun would have have to run the sale through a licensed dealer, who would run a background check on the buyer.
A similar state law already exists, but critics say it is too narrow and has no effect on individuals selling guns to other individuals.
“We’re looking at all the avenues and cracks in the system,” Miller said.
There are no private sales of handguns in Pennsylvania. That is apparently a fact lost on City Council. I don’t know what loophole they think exists, but this is a non-starter and pretty clearly a violation of state preemption.
The other bill introduced yesterday would raise the city penalty for carrying a gun illegally from $300 to $1,900 and would allow police to confiscate a car driven by someone illegally carrying a gun – regardless of ownership of the car.
Careful you don’t leave a pistol in the glove box of your car if you lend it to someone. I oppose this law, because I think Civil Asset Forfeiture is wrong on principle. Doesn’t matter if a gun is involved or not. This is also a violation of state preemption.
Does the rule of law mean nothing to Philadelphia City Council? Sadly I think I know the answer already. How can they expect their residents to respect the law when they themselves refuse to?
