2 Council members push gun-control measures
By MARK McDONALD
mcdonam@phillynews.com
Only the Pennsylvania General Assembly can pass tough gun-control legislation, but that didn't stop two City Council members yesterday from introducing bills aimed at the horror of gun violence.
Council's past attempt to control assault weapons, for example, failed because the courts ruled that only the state has the power to legislate firearms laws.
With images of shell casings on the sidewalk and a third-grader felled by an errant bullet reverberating through City Hall, Councilman Darrell Clarke said he hopes the bills that he and Donna Miller introduced yesterday will light a fire under the Legislature.
"I feel the state has found the need to get involved with a substantial amount of local issues and I'm hoping they'll see the need to get involved in this," Clarke said.
But he may have a long wait.
Kate Philips, Gov. Rendell's spokeswoman, said the governor has no plans for any kind of handgun-control legislation in the near future.
And House Speaker John Perzel's spokeswoman said that while Perzel is concerned about keeping children safe in schools and their neighborhoods, he isn't pushing any new legislation.
Clarke, who says he'll offer more legislation in the coming weeks, has proposed to limit the number of guns that can be purchased to one per month. He also would require businesses that sell ammunition to report to the police the buyer's name and purchase.
Miller wants to prohibit weapons inside or near school property, something that is already part of state law, and to require the police department to trace firearms illegally possessed by anyone under 21 years old.
Mayor Street, who earlier this week said his relationship with Rendell had been badly damaged by the governor's support for a Philadelphia Parking Authority bill that preserves Republican control of the authority, pledged to reach out to the governor to get legislative approval for the city to make gun control laws on its own.
"It's time to start reining in the availability of guns because they are creating so much devastation in our neighborhoods," Street said.
But given the state's control over firearms laws and the generally conservative nature of the General Assembly, Street was asked the odds of getting anything from Harrisburg.
"Let me tell you, I think the odds get better and better every time we have these horrific events the likes of which we are experiencing right now," he said.
