Rendell, Ravenstahl call for assault weapon ban

HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell today urged Congress to re-enact a ban on the sale and possession of deadly assault weapons, which criminals often use to kill police.

Mr. Rendell was joined at a news conference by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Police Chief Nate Harper, among others. Three Pittsburgh officers died April 4 when they responded to a domestic dispute in Stanton Heights.

"How much blood has to be spilled in the streets of America before we say enough is enough?" asked Chief Harper, who said he's still grieving over the deaths. "The use of assault weapons isn't for sport. It's only meant for harm."

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The mayor also supported two other gun control measures pushed by Mr. Rendell. He wants the state Legislature to require handgun owners to report to police, within 72 hours, any weapons that are lost or stolen, as a way of reducing "straw purchasers," who sell "lost or stolen" guns to criminals.

The governor also wants to permit Pennsylvania cities and towns to enact their own gun control laws, which would apply just to one municipality. Since 1996 the Legislature has given itself the sole authority to pass laws regarding gun sales and possession.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09105/963028-100.stm

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Gov. Ed Rendell and other Pennsylvania officials angered by the shooting deaths of three Pittsburgh police officers made an emotional plea to Congress on Wednesday to ban assault weapons like the one carried by the suspect.

Rendell, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and nearly a dozen other mayors and public safety officials from around the state stood next to a table full of assault weapons to make their case for reinstating a ban that expired five years ago.

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Last month, 65 House Democrats - including five from Pennsylvania - wrote to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to say they would oppose re-enacting the law. Such heavy Democratic opposition probably would doom any legislative drive.

The Pennsylvania members of Congress who told Holder they opposed a new assault weapons ban are Reps. Jason Altmire, Christopher Carney, Tim Holden, Paul Kanjorski and John Murtha.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/19186910/detail.html

"The use of assault weapons isn't for sport. It's only meant for harm."

and we dont define the constitutional protection of a weapon based on its "sporting purpose" do we?....isnt the PA constitution about defense?

guess no one told him

Also joining the Governor today was the Philadelphia Police Department's Deputy Stephen Johnson. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have suffered through the murder of law enforcement officers in the last year at the hand of assault weapons.

The Governor pointed to the other law enforcement personnel and elected officials joining him today as examples of the widespread support for taking real action on this issue. Also present today were Lancaster Police Chief Keith Sadler, Dan O'Hara and Dan Hanlan from the Pittsburgh Fraternal Order of Police, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Pawlowski, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Reading Mayor Tom McMahon, Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, Easton Mayor Salvatore Panto, Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, and York Mayor John Brenner.

In his letter to Congress, Governor Rendell asked Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation to support reinstating measures that ban possessing, manufacturing, using or importing assault weapons and ammunition clips that can hold more than 10 rounds. He also asked them to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts cities, states and the police from fully accessing and using gun trace data from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms that shows where illegal guns are coming from, who buys them and how they get trafficked into our communities

Congress allowed the federal assault weapons ban to expire in September 2004. Since then, more than 40 police officers have been killed or wounded nationwide with assault rifles. The number of assaults of law enforcement officers with firearms in Pennsylvania has increased by 76 percent between 2002 and 2007, fueled partly by easier access to assault weapons, he said.

The Governor said the ban had proven effective. After it went into effect in 1995, the number of assault weapons traced to crimes by the ATF dropped 66 percent, but one year after it expired, the bureau recorded an 11 percent increase in crime gun tracings of

http://sev.prnewswire.com/publishing-information-services/20090415/DC9959315042009-1.html

when your boss says "get your ass down here right now" you do that

i'm not impressed by rendell getting all those other pols down there. All he as to do is "ask" and almost no one is going to say no to the governor...

Reinstating the old ban would have very little effect on the availability of any particular kind of firearm. Most of the items that were "banned" were available during the ban in ban-compliant configurations.

I understand the individual words, but put together they don't make much sense.

"...deadly assault weapons, which criminals often use to kill police."

Ummm, actually no, no they aren't.

Rifles of any sort are rarely used in murders. Also, I like how the writer tosses the adjective 'deadly' in there. Makes everything seem much more fearsome.

"He wants the state Legislature to require handgun owners to report to police, within 72 hours, any weapons that are lost or stolen, as a way of reducing "straw purchasers," who sell "lost or stolen" guns to criminals."

Yeah!

Wait...what!?

"Straw purchasers" don't sell stolen weapons, they buy weapons legally, then illegally transfer them to people ineligible to buy guns themselves. Reporting stolen weapons won't do a damn thing about straw purchases which are already illegal.

<sigh>