Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
CLARION CO., Pa. (EYT) – Although Governor Wolf has emphasized that his proposal for additional gun control is supported by most Pennsylvanians, the increased restrictions are not wholly favored in our region.
In his recent budget address, Governor Wolf called on the legislature to pass comprehensive background checks for all gun purchases, a red flag law, improved lost and stolen gun reporting requirements, safe storage practices, and legislation to ban ghost guns.
“No law can eliminate every act of gun violence. But, the steps I’m proposing are supported by the evidence – and supported by the vast majority of Pennsylvanians,” Gov. Wolf stated.
“We can pass them tomorrow, and, by doing so, we could make our Commonwealth safer.”
While Wolf believes these measures have the support of the general population, the reaction in our region tells a different story, particularly in relation to the red flag law.
A red flag law is defined as “a law allowing courts to prevent people who show signs of being a danger to themselves or others from having access to firearms (as by ordering the seizure of weapons),” according to Merriam-Webster.
ExploreClarion.com asked its readers to weigh in on Wolf’s proposal for increased gun regulations.
Local resident Kevin Shaffer said that “Red flag laws are a backdoor to confiscate guns from law abiding citizens.”
“Hard no on the red flag laws. That’s basically convicting someone for ‘thought crime,’ or considering them guilty until proven innocent. It’s unconstitutional and a slippery slope that could lead to arrests before a crime is even committed as far as I’m concerned. Imagine issuing a warrant to arrest someone because they might do something,” Devin Hiben said.
“Red flag laws get innocent law abiding citizens arrested or killed. They should never be a thing,” Justin McGuirk added.
However, the red flag law wasn’t the only one of the measures people took exception to.
“I do not support the inclusion of ‘new’ ‘more restrictive’ gun laws,” Terry Rupp stated.
“‘Shall not be infringed,’ is pretty clear,” Justin Paul added.
Other local residents took a more moderate stance.
“I disagree with the Red Flag. We already have background checks. Ghost guns should be banned,” Patty Baughman stated.
While the reaction to Wolf’s proposals seems to be mostly negative in our local area, the proposals do have some local supporters.
“Yes, absolutely! Great first steps to better firearm regulation,” Staci Renae said.
“Yes I support it. Especially red flag laws,” Rachael Shaffer stated.
Others noted that gun violence may be the result of other problems that could be tackled by legislation.
“Instead of increasing gun laws why not open more mental health facilities? It’s not the guns that kill people, it’s the person behind the gun that kills. We have a problem with people that need help that are not institutionalized due to a bed shortage in this state. The mental health laws need to be changed so that the health records are open and not protected,” Jan Dwojak Veltre said.
“We need to address the real issues. Criminals and mentally unstable people having or getting access to guns. The solutions whatever they may be will not be easy to find or 100% full proof. There needs to be a way to restrict access to mentally unstable persons and adhere to privacy laws. The answer is not throwing a wide net over gun control but concentrating on the real areas that need change,” Mike Guntrum argued.
Though Governor Wolf may have gun control legislation in his sight, whether or not the legislature chooses to pursue any of the measures he has suggested remains to be seen.