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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. John Pallone |
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Pallone votes to protect gun owners’ rights
HARRISBURG, Nov. 20 – The House Judiciary Committee today voted on several key gun bills. House Bill 2060, which would increase penalties for the murder of law enforcement officers and create the specific crime of criminal homicide of law enforcement officers, was voted out of committee. House Bill 18, which would allow Philadelphia to enact its own gun laws, and House Bill 22, which would restrict gun purchases to one per month, failed to be voted out of the committee. The committee voted to table House Bill 29, which would require gun owners to report lost or stolen weapons.
State Rep. John Pallone, D-Westmoreland/Armstrong, voted against House Bills18 and 22, voted in favor of tabling House Bill 29 and voted to send House Bill 2060 to the full House for consideration. He released the following statement regarding his votes today in the House Judiciary Committee:
“While I acknowledge and recognize that illegal gun activity, primarily in the larger cities, for a number of reasons is out of hand, I don't think we should throw the baby out with the bath water. In defense of the legal gun purchasers and owners, more restrictive gun regulation would not take 'illegal' guns off the streets. This clearly is not a problem in the southwestern region of Pennsylvania. The majority of my constituency is gun advocates -- collectors, sportsmen, hunters for game or sport, clay pigeons or skeet shooters, target shooting, and/or competitive marksmen.
“Since this debate started last session in the House during the Committee of the Whole, the largest number of contacts I received, both in district and out of district, was generally against more gun control, and a small number of the contacts, some in the district, but more out of the district, that I received were for more gun control. While I am sympathetic to the problem in some areas, particularly Philadelphia, it is not symptomatic of the entire state, particularly southwestern Pennsylvania.
“Legal gun owners, legal gun purchasers and legal gun sellers are already complying with the law and will most likely continue to comply with the law; new, old or otherwise.
“Gun control is most certainly an important issue, on both sides of the argument and I take my support or non-support of an issue very seriously. I won’t criminalize the victims and I just don’t think this type of legislation will stop 'illegal' gun activity or gun crimes. I strongly oppose unnecessary gun control legislation and will continue to advocate for the sportsmen and legal gun owners, purchasers and sellers throughout Pennsylvania.
"The bottom line is that it is the illegal gun holders, purchasers and sellers that are the problem and in my opinion, the illegal gun activity will remain a problem, even if more gun control laws are passed. Let's face it, the law breakers aren't going to begin to follow the new laws any more than the law breakers follow the existing law now.”
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CONTACT: Lauren Rooney |