Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf is no friend of gun owners. He made that abundantly clear when he stood by Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto when the mayor stated his intention to ignore state law and to pass gun control within his city. Wolfe did nothing and offered nothing but support, which is all you really need to know about the Democrat.
However, now he wants to Republican-led legislature to bend over, alienate their base, and pass his wish list of gun control laws.
A decade ago, then-Gov. Ed Rendell declared passing gun control laws in Pennsylvania “a lost cause,” saying the legislature was too beholden to gun rights groups to make any changes.
On Tuesday, another Democratic governor made an impassioned plea to state lawmakers to take up the issue by mandating universal background checks and passing a “red flag” law to allow firearms to be temporarily seized from people declared by a court a threat to themselves or others.
“Let’s make 2020 the year we choose to stop being cynical about the politics of gun violence,” Gov. Tom Wolf told a joint session of the legislature while pitching his latest budget.
Many of Wolf’s proposals, including strengthening reporting requirements for lost and stolen firearms, mirror ones that Rendell and others called for in 2010. The state’s laws have remained largely unchanged since then.
Republicans leaders, who control both legislative chambers, on Tuesday were noncommittal about Wolf’s call for action on gun bills.
While Pennsylvanian Republicans have signaled their willingness in the past to sit down on the issue of guns, this is something they should profoundly reject.
The truth is, Wolf only supports the law when it benefits him and his. That’s clear enough based on his tacit support for Peduto’s lawless efforts in Pittsburgh. Yet what Wolfe has illustrated quite well is that those who wish to ignore the law simply will ignore the law. How does new gun control do anyone any good when we know damn good and well that criminals don’t follow those laws?
At no point are we remotely likely to see any law being proposed doing a damn bit of good. Red flag laws are potentially leading to an increase in suicides, for example. Punishing the victims of crimes for not reporting that crime, especially when they know nothing will come of it, isn’t exactly a winning strategy either.
So lawmakers in Pennsylvania should refrain from working with the governor on any of these measures. We’ve slaughtered countless electrons here at Bearing Arms as to why each and every proposal being talked about is a horrible idea, and they are. More importantly, though, until Wolf illustrates that laws actually matter to him, even if he disagrees with them, there’s absolutely no reason at all to meet him halfway, a quarter of the way, or in any way on the issue of the Second Amendment.
Oh, I know and agree with the constitutional arguments against doing so as well, but not everyone shares those views. They should at least be able to understand that rewarding lawlessness isn’t going to benefit anyone, especially the people of Pennsylvania.
Tom Knighton is a Navy veteran, a former newspaperman, a novelist, and a blogger and lifetime shooter. He lives with his family in Southwest Georgia. https://bearingarms.com/author/tomknighton/
https://bearingarms.com/tom-k/2020/02/05/pa-gov-wants-gop-led-legislature-to-capitulate-on-guns/