Posted on 05/09/2008 10:34:55 AM PDT by neverdem
Days after a Philadelphia police sergeant was killed with a semi-automatic rifle, Mayor Nutter and Gov. Rendell called upon Congress to enact a new federal assault-weapons ban that would remove such weapons from the streets.
"The time has come for politicians to decide," said Rendell at the City Hall news conference attended by top police brass and state elected officials. "You have to decide whether you're on their side - the men and women who wear blue - or whether you're on the side of the gun lobby."
The federal assault-weapons ban, which lasted from 1994 through 2004, outlawed an array of military weapons and semi-automatics that fire and automatically reload when the trigger is pulled.
The expired bill would not have outlawed the Chinese-made SKS Carbine - outfitted with a 30-round detachable magazine - used to kill Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski Saturday.
But a new version of the legislation, currently languishing in the House of Representatives, specifically lists "SKS with detachable magazine" as a banned weapon.
Supporters of the federal ban said that the restrictions made it harder to obtain illegal weapons. But critics argued that loopholes in the ban made it easy to modify deadly guns to keep them legal.
Rendell and Nutter have sent a letter to the state's representatives and senators in Washington. In it, they ask for a new assault-weapons ban, but do not back a specific piece of legislation.
Nutter said that the city just needs help.
"Those weapons have one goal and use in mind," Nutter said. "They are to destroy human beings and do it as quickly and as dangerously and in as devastating a fashion as possible. I stand here with Governor Rendell and members of the general assembly to ask for help. Our state and federal legislators need to pass laws that protect citizens and do not protect criminals."
Two local legislators are already showing their support. U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah co-sponsored the new version of the assault-weapons ban. And U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak this week added his name to the list of co-sponsors.
Sestak said that after the Liczbinski slaying he decided to see if he could "bring a light to a piece of legislation that hasn't been moving around. Let's add our name to it and try to move this further down the road."
Nutter also criticized the National Rifle Association, saying they should support this effort.
"The National Rifle Association must explain to the public how they can stand behind criminals who have access to these kind of weapons while purporting to protect the Second Amendment right," he said.
NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said it was "sad to see [Rendell and Nutter] stoop to this level to exploit the death of a police officer."
He said that new laws weren't needed. Instead he questioned why someone like accused killer Eric Floyd - who has a long criminal history and fled a halfway house earlier this year - was out on the street.
"The most important thing for residents in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania is to ask their governor and their mayor what career criminals are doing out on the street," he said. "The problem in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania is violent criminals get multiple chances."
Yesterday's news conference grew contentious when a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter questioned whether the SKS Carbine was technically an assault weapon, noting that the National Rifle Association disagreed with the classification and that a search on www.wikipedia.com brought up information saying it was not.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey then got into the mix.
"I don't care about Wikipedia or any other kind of pedias," he said. "If it's not an assault weapon by definition, then add it to the freaking list."
Meanwhile, gun-control advocacy group CeaseFire PA sent a letter to Pennsylvania gun-shop owners Wednesday, asking them to voluntarily stop selling the SKS Carbine. Nutter and Rendell said that they supported the effort.
Fred Delia, 69, owner of Delia's Gun Shop, on Torresdale Avenue near Benner Street, sells the weapon. He said he would not honor such a request.
"I don't want to see any of the police get shot," Delia said. But, he added, "them guns have been sold for the last 20 years."
Delia, who has run his shop for 39 years, said gun-shop owners are being unfairly targeted.
"I understand they're getting mad in the city," he said. "They have to get to the source of this. It's drugs, it's judges." *
That cheesy Norinco SKS is the same sort of semi-automatic action as now legal hunting rifles. Look at the Remington 750, the Browning Longtrac or the Ruger ranch rifle, all semi-autos with detachable magazines. Start banning one style of gun from legal use and sales and you end up banning all guns.
Meanwhile, the crooks and bad guys will be armed and dangerous. If the mob can ship into the USA tons of heroin, cocaine and marijuana, they can add a few rifles and pistols to the loads.
Let’s get a consensus. It’s time to see who the Constitution deniers are.
Time to stock up on high cap magazines.
Brilliant idea. All the criminals will immediately show up and turn in their assault weapons for sure. Gun bans in Chicago prove how well the laws work with the lawless.
This is one very EASY "fix."
First thing is to vote out every anti gun politician (but then, I repeat myself) currently holding elected office in the city of Philadelphia, and fire the police chief.
Next thing is to urge local residents to arm themselves and give them professional training using police ranges and equipment.
I would also make some kind of a deal so that city residents could buy Glocks or Sigs at severely discounted prices, in exchange for a separate contract to those companies on replacement weapons for all the cops.
I might think about outsourcing current police responsibilities to somebody like Blackwater USA, while relaxing certain Rules of Engagement in high crime areas. But that's only a thought....
For all of you folks wondering what to do with that big government check. Now you know. Even with the smallest check, $600, you can buy a Polish Tantal (5.45mmx39 AK clone) and over 1000 rounds of ammo.
Chief Ramsey was the DC Police Chief during the "DC Sniper" & "Chandra Levy" cases. He didn't seem that effective down in DC. Somehow he got hired in Philly.
I definitely would bet McCain would never say that before November 4. The only reason McCain has less than an A rating from the NRA in recent years is because of his foolish McCain-Fiengold Campaign Finance law and support for a bill ending private sales at gun shows. Before that he had an A rating, IIRC.
McCain slated to address May 16 NRA convention - 2nd Amendment is session theme
The GOP lost the Congress in large part because the donkeys took the Second Amendment off the table. They ran RKBA donkeys for Congress. I think they just shot themselves in the foot, big time!
Nutter and Rendell. THE two most useless Democrats in the State of Pennsylvania.
BTTT
“Time to stock up on high cap magazines.”
Again.
With the FOPA provision, I wonder if I would be able to travel to LaGuardia or Kennedy airport with a firearm, from CT, and then be able to go to say, Kentucky for the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot, without having police, National Guard and other government officials drawing their weapons me.
Gun control advocates target state legislators
IL considers alcohol treatment for DUI a firearm disability. Fed law now requires the States to forward all know disqualifiers to the feds for inclusion in the NCIS dbase, that includes the fed and state disqualifiers.Prior to the recent fed law that made this mandatory, the feds had asked the states to do so voluntarily. IL had always done so. VA did not, that's why VA's knowledge of Cho's adjudication of being a mental defective dangerous to himself, a fed disqualifier, never ended up in NCIS.
For the Democrats, Signs of a Possible Changing of the Guard
One example of the political environment Mr. Obama faces could be found in the fact that nearly 50 percent of Clinton supporters in Indiana said they would vote for Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, or stay at home if Mr. Obama was the candidate, surveys of voters leaving the polls said on Tuesday.
Hillary Clinton's Nuclear Option
From time to time, I’ll ping on noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs. FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.
So.. you are either on the side of the power elite, or you are little people trying to protect their Rights.
What I would like to say about this sh*tbag and what should happen to him some dark night in a blind alley are probably against the ToS here...
MORE GUN CONTROL: McCAIN-LIEBERMAN FR April '01
Gun Owners of America on McCain's Record.
GUNS AND SCHOOLS: THE POLITICS (McCain tries to grab guns, 1999)
CITIZENS COMMITTEE URGES JOHN McCAIN TO RETIRE FROM UNITED STATES SENATE
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA)
$4.95 back when LEVIs were the same......
And for the record, a standard SKS with a pile of loaded stripper clips is a pretty effective piece of hardware. Probably better than one with those crappy detachable mags they sell for them.
Not to mention time to BLOAT.
Unfortunately that's not quite correct. For those of us who pay in more taxes, we don't get any money back. This is more "fair" somehow. Apparently, to be more financially successful I need to earn less money and buy a house I can't afford.
Which is too bad, because I'd really like to send a letter to every anti-gun tyrant in Congress with a photo attached of some "assault weapon" that I had purchased with their "rebate". Hopefully someone who is getting the rebate can follow your advice and actually do that.
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