[TorahTrueJew]

If this passes and guns are outlawed in Philly, I will never take my family downtown again. It'll be more dangerous than ever, and I, as a law abiding citizen, will be defenseless!

[coloradan]

What evidence does the mayor present that additional regulations will result in lowered violent crime rates? Especially in light of England, Australia, Washington DC, Baltimore, Chicago, etc.

[TorahTrueJew]

Dear Slick Eddy,

I am a terrible mayor, and can't stand all these pro-life, pro-gun patriotic flag-waving Americans in Pennsylvania. If it weren't for us in Philadelphia, this state would have voted for that war criminal George Bush and his buddies at Halliburton. I've decided to secede from Pennsylvania and join New Jersey, where no level of corruption will keep me from public office, unless I am gay.

Yours,
Da Street

[G32]

"Philadelphia has been subject to special legislation"

I agree, Philly really is full of 'special people'.

[blackdog]

All that democrat hell and not one accusation that it's Bush's fault. Someone slipped up.

[Emmett McCarthy]

Dear Mayor Street,
You failed to mention whether any of these cited gun crimes were committed by a citizen who was legally and lawfully carrying a gun. Could it be that none were? Because, see, I have to believe that, if even one could be attributed to someone with a permit, you would have made that the headline of your letter. I'm sure there are some gun deaths that resulted from a legally armed citizen defending himself or his family, but those are not "crimes".

And why cry to the governor anyway? He can't change what the legislature has done by restoring some measure of constitutional freedoms to Pennsylvania's citizens. If you can't get the guns away from the bad guys, just resign. All of Philadelphia would be better off. Besides, aren't you a crook anyway?

[Hardastarboard]

I used to have a buddy who worked in Philly and he told me he was reading a history of the city during the colonial period. He said that the history made it clear that you absolutely did NOT go out at night in Philadelphia during that era unless you had a gun with you. Period.

[Stentor]

There was a photo on the cover of The Daily News that showed a gun lying on the street with the headline: "War on Guns. It's funny that the pistol is just lying there with no murdering idiot to operate it. It's about the criminals and the corrupt city administration, not the freaking gun.

[Chinito]

Yes, don't be a "bad people"!/sarcasm off

ps - BTW, I don't believe for a minute that some 6 year old drew this.

[chit*chat]

Wha's da matta, Mayor Street, can't da bruda's & sista's run da city like you said dey could?

[Palladin]

"It's the guns...it's the guns I tell ya. They be firin' theyselves off all ovah tha place.

Yours truly,

Kool Johnny Street"

[Lancey Howard]

In a three-year period from January 2001 to February 2004, there were 4859 gunshot victims killed or injured by gun violence, nearly ten percent involved juveniles.

Mayor Street needs to connect the dots: of all the known participants in these shootings, what percentage of them had carry permits (not including the police and those who acted in self defense against unknown assailants)? Until Governor Rendell and the people of Pennsylvania get a straight answer to that question, Mayor Street's request must be ignored.

[goldstategop]

Its all law-abiding Philadelphians fault, huh? By the Mayor's logic, its not criminals who need to be disarmed, its the people who seek to protect themselves from them. And missing from the Mayor's letter to Pennslyvania's Governor is any mention of toughening laws punishing people who use guns to commit a crime. Like DUH.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[bvw]

There are approximately 28,000 active Carry Permits in the City of Philadelphia -- compare that to the five boroughs of New York City where there are 16,000 permits. We were compelled to issue more gun permits in Philadelphia in one year --2003 -- than there are permits in the entire state of New Jersey.

In Philadelphia, how many -- IF ANY -- shootings and murders by shooting were committed by people with carry permits? And how many of the recent murders were by people who acquired their guns lawfully?

[El Gato]

There are approximately 28,000 active Carry Permits in the City of Philadelphia -- compare that to the five boroughs of New York City where there are 16,000 permits. We were compelled to issue more gun permits in Philadelphia in one year --2003 -- than there are permits in the entire state of New Jersey

And how many those murders were committed by permit holders? I'll wager that number is far far fewer than the number of permit holders would indicate if permit holder's committed murders at the rate of non permit holders. That has been the experience in every jurisdiction that issues permits.

Criminals don't "need no stinking permits", and in reality neither should the law abiding. It's just that the law abiding will jump through the permit process hoops, criminals can't and won't bother to try.

[metalurgist]

What a load of horse sh!t! The mayor of Philthadelphia needs to be honest. First off, these shootings are exclusively black on black crime, same as in Pittsburgh which also has a large black population. Every day another black man is found shot, usually to death.

But we cannot escape the fact that there are too many guns in Philadelphia and they are a significant contributing cause to our homicide rate.

Once again, mayor Street is lying and full of sh!t.

Here in Pennsylvania, hunting is a huge sport. The participants are almost exclusively white. Very few black men hunt. It isn't a tradition with them.

Pennsylvania sells almost a million hunting licenses every year. Just about every hunter owns at least 2 guns. Thats a lot of guns. Especially if you're mayor Street. How come these 1 million white people aren't shooting the hell out of every one? They have a lot of guns. Guns are the problem, so therefore, there should be 6 times as many dead white guys as compared to dead black guys. But there is not.

Could it be that mayor Street and the rest of his filthy party of democrats have managed to create a class of people where law, life and responsibility mean nothing. Yeah! There is the answer. This no good SOB wants to disarm and leave helpless the majority of people because of a lawless few that he helped create and perpetuates. This sh!tbag needs to run into a few of these criminals without his body guards. That would be justice.