Such chutzpah.
Posted on 04/11/2008 6:27:14 AM PDT by 2banana
Nutter defiantly signs five gun laws
Council's measures appear to fly in the face of state law and legal precedent.
The NRA says it will sue. By Jeff Shields
Inquirer Staff Writer
Mayor Nutter likened himself and City Council members yesterday to the band of rebels who formed this country as he signed five new gun-control laws that defy the state legislature and legal precedent. "Almost 232 years ago, a group of concerned Americans took matters in their own hands and did what they needed to do by declaring that the time had come for a change," Nutter said as he signed the bills in front of a table of confiscated weapons outside the police evidence room in City Hall.
"We are going to make ourselves independent of the violence that's been taking place in this city for far too long," he said.
The five laws - called everything from unconstitutional to criminal by critics - do the following:
Limit handgun purchases to one a month.
Require lost or stolen firearms to be reported to police within 24 hours.
Prohibit individuals under protection-from-abuse orders from possessing guns if ordered by the court.
Allow removal of firearms from "persons posing a risk of imminent personal injury" to themselves or others.
Outlaw the possession and sale of certain assault weapons.
Nutter said he would begin to enforce the laws immediately, with the exception of the one-gun-a-month requirement, which takes effect in six months.
He and Council are in for a fight, however. The city has tried and failed for three decades to buck the 1974 state law that reserves gun regulation to the state legislature. The state's preeminence appeared to be cemented in a 1996 Supreme Court ruling that allowed the legislature to prevent Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from enacting local gun laws.
Recent efforts include a 2005 referendum in which city voters, by a 4-1 ratio, demanded that the state allow the city to pass its own gun laws. Council members Darrell L. Clarke and Donna Reed Miller sponsored a set of gun-control measures bills last year, then sued the legislature to allow them to move forward. That case is pending.
National Rifle Association spokesman John Hohenwarter said he expected the organization to sue "within a short time frame."
Kim Stolfer, vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association's legislative committee, said the organization was considering its legal options and suggested that the enactment of the laws was a criminal act.
"He's committing five misdemeanor crimes," Stolfer said. "What kind of message is he sending when he and City Council are willing to commit crimes for issues that are not going to work?"
Nutter and Council are not likely to find a great deal of support in the legislature.
State Representative John M. Perzel (R., Phila.) said through a spokesman that the laws were unconstitutional. House Speaker Dennis M. O'Brien (R. Phila.) did not return a call for comment, and State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D., Phila.) declined to comment.
Even the city's fiercest proponent of stricter gun laws in the legislature, Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans, offered only lukewarm support.
Evans spokeswoman Johnna Pro said: "No one . . . feels the frustration" of city leaders more than Evans, so he would not criticize them.
But Evans, she said, also is a leader in the House of Representatives and "believes that everyone needs to allow the process to work, even though the process, at times, may be excruciatingly slow and incredibly unresponsive."
Phil Goldsmith, president of the gun-control advocacy group CeaseFire PA, said "it's worth trying" to enact and test the laws.
"It's a shame the city has to do something like this because the legislature has failed to exercise its responsibilities," Goldsmith said.
Council members Clarke and Miller pared their package down from nine bills, including two that would create registries of gun sales, to the five that they say would stand a constitutional challenge.
Nutter embraced the idea of taking "direct action" to challenge a legal status quo to protect city residents.
"If we all sat around bemoaning what the law was on a regular basis," Nutter said. "I'd probably still be picking cotton somewhere as opposed to being mayor of the city of Philadelphia."
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Contact staff writer Jeff Shields at 215-854-4565 or jshields@phillynews.com.
"Almost 232 years ago, a group of concerned Americans took matters in their own hands and did what they needed to do by declaring that the time had come for a change," Nutter said as he signed the bills in front of a table of confiscated weapons outside the police evidence room in City Hall.
There is so much irony in Nutter’s actions it is hard to know where to begin. I kinda like the fact that Nutter doesn’t even know that the opening shots of the American Revolution (Lexington and Concord) were because the British were trying to confiscate the arms (assault rifles of the day) of the local citizens.
Socialists are going to do what they are going to do (increase the power of government and take away rights and liberties from the people). I just wish they would know at least know a little history so at least they would not look so ignorant as they do it.
Regards,
2banana
His name sure suits him well...
Right, 2B!
God knows what would have happened had those British troops gotten their hands on those stands of arms and ammo of the Americans.
Mayor Nutter obviously believes that criminals will observe gun laws. What a fool.
How is that some silly people believe that if you take guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens, that action makes us safer?
Nutter—What an entirely apropos name.
(I’m sure I’m not the first to make this observation.)
“Almost 232 years ago, a group of concerned Americans took matters in their own hands and did what they needed to do by declaring that the time had come for a change,”
He must be refering to those men who stockpiled arms and started shooting agents of their corrupt government.
And with the use of military weapons if needed.
Commence firing.
This is a fine example of a liberal nut(ter) taking a look at the laws on the books as well as established precedent and saying “to hell with that” and making his own socialist laws. God save us from these people.
“Nutter—What an entirely apropos name.”
aproPOS, indeed.
Mayor Nutter likened himself and City Council members yesterday to the band of rebels who formed this country
Well let them secede from the country first and see what that gets them.
Such chutzpah.
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” From the Declaration of Independence
Looks like the Governor should call out the Penn State Police to bring him in.
I’m sure the teenaged animals who killed the guy on the subway last week for no reason will of course obey these laws.
Even people who have restraining orders for protection cannot carry firearms? Might as well just put big targets on them now.
"Assault weapon" confiscation turns violent in Boston
Scores Killed, Hundreds Injured As Para-Military Extremists Riot
BOSTON, April 20- National Guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned assault weapons were ambushed on April 19th by elements of a para-military extremist faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimated that 72 were killed and more than 20 injured before government forces were compelled to withdraw.
Speaking after the clash, Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage declared that the extremist faction, which was made up of local citizens, has links to the radical right-wing tax protest movement. Gage blamed the extremists for recent incidents of vandalism directed against internal revenue offices.
The governor, who described the group's organizers as "criminals," issued an executive order authorizing the summary arrest of any individual who has interfered with the government's efforts to secure law and order.
The military raid on the extremist arsenal followed wide-spread refusal by the local citizenry to turn over recently outlawed assault weapons. Gage issued a ban on military-style assault weapons and ammunition earlier in the week. This decision followed a meeting in early April between government and military leaders at which the governor authorized the forcible confiscation of illegal arms. One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed out that "none of these people would have been killed had the extremists obeyed the law and turned their weapons over voluntarily."
"Government troops initially succeeded in confiscating a large supply of outlawed weapons and ammunition. However, troops attempting to seize arms and ammunition in Lexington met with resistance from heavily-armed extremists who had been tipped off regarding the government's plans.
During a tense standoff in Lexington's town park, National Guard Colonel Francis Smith, commander of the government operation, ordered the armed group to surrender and return to their homes. The impasse was broken by a single shot, which was reportedly fired by one of the right-wing extremists. Eight civilians were killed in the ensuing exchange.
Ironically, the local citizenry blamed government forces rather than the extremists for the civilian deaths. Before order could be restored, armed citizens from surrounding areas had descended upon the guard units. Colonel Smith, finding his forces overmatched by the armed mob, ordered a retreat.
Governor Gage has called upon citizens to support the state/national joint task force in its effort to restore law and order. The governor has also demanded the surrender of those responsible for planning and leading the attack against the government troops. Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock, who have been identified as "ringleaders" of the extremist faction, remain at large.
Colonial News Network (CNN) April 20, 1775
The Tree of Liberty is mighty thirsty. Scum like Nutter are really, really pushing the ticket. Unintended consequences, and all that jazz.
Excellent post. Coming soon to a country near you.
Who is the governor?
Take the Nutter out in cuffs and lock him up.
I can visualize some 21st-century law enforcement spokesman saying the same thing after the raid turns tragic.
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