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LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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CONTACT:
Lauren Rooney |
State Rep. John Pallone |
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To: Editorial page editor
From: State Rep. John Pallone, D-Westmoreland/Armstrong
Subject: House Bill 760
Well-meaning members of the state House of Representatives may have thought they had gun violence in their sights with House Bill 760, but their effort to curtail gun violence through more regulation is just a shot in the dark.
For a number of reasons, illegal gun activity is out of hand, especially in our larger cities. But I don’t think we should throw out the baby with the bath water.
Yearly gun registration would not take illegal guns off the streets. Law-abiding gun owners, purchasers and sellers comply with current laws and would most likely continue to comply with any new ones. Law-breakers aren’t following the rules now; what makes anyone think they’d suddenly change their course if we passed a new law?
The majority of my constituency is gun advocates -- collectors, sportsmen, hunters for game or sport, clay pigeon or skeet shooters, target shooting, and/or competitive marksmen. Since this debate started last session in the House during the Committee of the Whole, I have heard from a great many of them. Most of the contacts I received, both in and out of the district, were against more gun control. A small number of contacts I received, mostly from outside of the district, were for more gun control. When gun control legislation was called up for a vote during the Committee of the Whole, it failed miserably. I believe H.B. 760 would too. The bill has lost two of its six sponsors since it was introduced, making it unlikely to reach a 102-vote majority in the House.
I am not unsympathetic to the problem of gun violence, particularly in Philadelphia. And I don't have a problem supporting reasonable gun legislation. But I'd prefer to see the current laws enforced before we make any new ones.
Very truly yours,
John Pallone
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