Lawmaker Wants 'Bill of Rights' for Pennsylvania Gun Owners

Since 04-29-07

By Monisha Bansal
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
April 25, 2007

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200704/POL20070425a.html

(CNSNews.com) - Touting a "bill of rights" for gun owners, Pennsylvania House Republicans Tuesday introduced a package of two bills aimed at easing legal access to firearms.

"Our government must protect our liberties and ensure that our Second Amendment liberties remain second to none," state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R) said during a press conference in Harrisburg, Pa.

The first of the two bills sponsored by Metcalfe seeks to prohibit Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies from maintaining registries or databases of legal firearm purchases.

Metcalfe said an active database currently maintained by the state police includes personal information about gun owners including mailing addresses and Social Security numbers.

Under the proposed legislation, anyone caught maintaining an illegal gun registry or database would be guilty of a third-degree felony and could be fined up to $5 million.

"Prohibiting the present state police bureaucracy from keeping any type of gun registry or database of law-abiding citizens will provide another invaluable safeguard to ensure that our fundamental Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms will remain intact - regardless of whose sitting in the governor's office or what activist judicial 'black robe' is sitting behind the bench," said Metcalfe.

Diane Edbril, executive director of the gun-control group Ceasefire PA, said eliminating the records would be "really a poor idea."

"Right now, having the record of the purchaser of a handgun is the only tool that law enforcement across the state have to trace handguns that are used in crimes and recovered by the police," she told Cybercast News Service.

"Regardless of the actions of several dozen folks today in Harrisburg, that doesn't change the fact that the clear majority of Pennsylvanians think we need more appropriate regulation, not less," Edbril said.

Metcalfe's second proposed piece of legislation would provide emergency firearm licenses for "potential victims of domestic abuse."

"Any individual who can demonstrate evidence of imminent danger to themselves or a member of their family would be entitled to a temporary emergency license to carry a firearm after passing a computerized background check of criminal history, juvenile delinquency and mental health records," his office said in a statement.

"Contrary to the misinformation disseminated by gun-grabbing legislators and the mainstream media, innocent lives are needlessly lost any time government takes unnecessary action to take away the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves, their families and private property against violent criminals," Metcalfe said.

"History and violent crime statistics from around the world confirm two undisputable truths in this regard," he added. "The safest societies are armed societies, and citizenries deprived of their right to own firearms by their governments have been denied the most effective means to defend themselves against those who seek to do them harm."

Another gun-control advocate, Ladd Everitt of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, called the bills "disturbing."

"Victims of domestic abuse will not benefit from engaging in an arms race with their assailants," Everitt told Cybercast News Service. "They will benefit from policies that are tough on crime, policies that take guns out of the hands of the violent individuals who seek to harm them."

Of Metcalfe's first proposal, Everitt said the lawmaker "seeks to handcuff state police - literally - at a time when they desperately need the support of legislators in Harrisburg."

"As Pennsylvania residents, particularly in cities like Philadelphia, attempt to deal with the overwhelming problem of gun violence, they need real answers and serious solutions, not gun lobby posturing and gun sale promotion campaigns," he added.

Philadelphia media reported Tuesday that murder rates in the city have increased 17 percent over the last year.