Gun control sinks in Pennsylvania. Not even personal appearance by Democratic Governor can move bills.
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Quote:
Why gun control has no shot
Governor's effort to pass new restrictions runs into organized and effective opposition, as usual
Sunday, November 25, 2007
By Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State Rep. Dan Frankel took note of the e-mails he received last week concerning a package of gun control bills emotionally endorsed by Gov. Ed Rendell.

Unofficially, the count was about 1,000 to 10, with the gun-rights lobby winning that grassroots campaign just as it succeeded in rebuffing Mr. Rendell's efforts to sway the House Judiciary Committee.

It didn't matter that everyone knew in advance the Squirrel Hill Democrat supported the bills. (SEND EMAILS TO YOUR REPS NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE) In nine years, he's yet to be on the winning side of any significant legislation opposed by the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights lobbyists. And, with their continued strength in hunting-happy Pennsylvania, there's no telling when -- or even if -- he'll ever be.

"There's no political penalty for those that don't support [gun control] measures, but there is a political penalty if they do," Mr. Frankel said of the impressive political activism that continues on behalf of sportsmen and other gun owners in Pennsylvania.

"We know based on independent polling that most Pennsylvanians support stronger gun control laws," he said. "The question is where on those persons' priority list of issues does gun safety rank, as opposed to where on the list of the gun advocates. ... The other side are single-issue voters and that carries a lot of weight."

The strength of the gun rights movement can be seen and heard in the woods of Pennsylvania tomorrow for the opening of deer season. * * * An estimated one of three Pennsylvania households owns a gun or rifle, and 415,075 firearms were purchased or transferred in the state last year.

Pennsylvania has long been a challenge for gun-control advocates, going back to the defeat in 1968 of incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Joseph Clark [anyone remember "U. S. Senator " Don Fraser?]. * * *

In his unusual House Judiciary Committee appearance last week, Mr. Rendell unsuccessfully urged approval of bills that would limit handgun purchases to one a month; permit local gun ordinances tougher than state law; and require that lost or stolen guns be reported to police within 24 hours. Such proposals have failed to win support for years, last year losing by 2-to-1 margins on the floor of the full House during a special legislative session on guns and violence. * * *

But a leading opponent of such measures, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, questioned the governor's timing. He noted that House Democrats had suffered negative publicity recently over the attorney general's investigation of their payment of bonuses to staff members. Because the governor's committee appearance was so unusual, he won news media attention for several days on the gun control issue.

"Many of us suspect that the governor and Democratic leadership were really looking for an issue to take front page headlines away from the bonus pay investigation," Mr. Metcalfe said. "If the governor were serious about addressing violent crime, there's many things we can do using the laws that are on the books."

Mr. Metcalfe and activists on the pro-gun side criticize proposals like the ones rejected by the Judiciary Committee as intrusive measures that would miss their target.

"Each time you pass a gun control law, the only universe of people you affect is the law-abiding gun owner," said national NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. "Criminals by definition break the law. Passing a law such as one-gun-a-month is not going to deter criminals who intend on robbing or murdering or raping."

California, Virginia and Maryland have monthly gun purchase limits. South Carolina was the first to enact such a law in 1975, but repealed it three years ago. ... South Carolina's repeal came after analysis showed that nearly 30 years after the restrictions were passed, the percentage of guns originating in South Carolina used in New York City crimes was about the same as before.

Little change foreseen

While Pennsylvania and many states did enact tougher background checks for purchasers in the 1990s to supplement federal regulations, few have enacted any new restrictions this decade, said Daniel Webster, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.

"In states where it's politically possible to do more on regulating guns, they've done most of what they can do," he said. "Generally speaking, the status quo rules."

In addition to the vigilant NRA, which on its national Web site immediately posted information about the House Judiciary Committee's votes and each committee member's position on them, a newer coalition of smaller gun-rights organizations adds to the effectiveness of the gun-rights lobby. They banded together two years ago to win legislative compromise on how gun owners would be affected by a new law concerning protection-from-abuse orders, and were also active on last week's votes.

"We are more organized now than we've ever been in Pennsylvania," said Kim Stolfer, legislative committee chairman of the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League, which is part of the coalition.

He and others attribute that effectiveness, in part, to Mr. Rendell. They say the more attention received by gun-control efforts, the more lobbying the gun-rights movement knows it needs to do. While challenging the merits of individual pieces of gun-control legislation, they often cite wider concern about losing their Second Amendment right to bear arms. It's common for groups representing rifle-toting hunters to take dead aim at bills whose focus is criminals with handguns.

"You're worried about the domino effect," explained Melody Zullinger, executive director of the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, which encompasses about 100,000 members. "If the camel's head comes through the door, you're worried about what's going to follow."

Though there's nothing to indicate they need to worry about any impending success by gun-control advocates, *** political influence in the Legislature has gradually shifted from the cities to suburban and rural areas -- where pro-gun sentiments are stronger. While mayors of mid-sized cities such as York, Allentown and Bethlehem [Duluth] have joined the anti-gun lobbying, many legislators view the topic as a Philadelphia [Minneapolis-St. Paul] issue that does them no good to support. * * *