Quite a few new gun-control bills have been introduced in the PA House, not the least of which is House Bill 760, which would:

* Create a statewide registry of guns.
* Require gun owners to renew their registration annually and pay $10 per gun per year.
* Require gun owners to be fingerprinted, undergo a background check and carry a registration card – with the owner’s photograph – with the gun at all times.

This measure does nothing to alleviate crime, it only places more of a burden on law-abiding citizens who chose to own firearms.

If you oppose any further efforts to infringe upon our Second Amendment right, sign the petition on Rep. Sam Smith’s website. http://www.samsmithpahouse.com/?sectionid=171&sectiontree=171

Yeah, and let’s get rid of those burdensome driver’s licenses too…

This is not a license to possess a firearm. This is a registration so that the firearm can be tracked. You do not have to have a license to own a firearm, but you must submit to a background check if you are buying the firearm legally.

The reality of life is that criminals won’t follow the law… they will do what they do today and trade illegally. They don’t care about registration. Besides, a serial number and your finger prints do absoutely nothing unless the firearm is recovered - only a ballistics signature on file would do any good.

I think it is a great big waste of money and effort. Why not focus on enforcing the current laws and nail the criminals to the wall.

To Alex’s post:  AMEN!

Wonderful and explosive topic.  No pun intended. I agree some with Alex, but I also see both sides of the fence. I just can’t figure where I stand.

The Constitution and the original Bill of Rights was born with no idea what America would be like today. It was quite specific to right the wrongs that the colonists were under before the revolution. Its an old document.  I feel some of it is irrelevant and should be changed.  The right to bear arms was intended for a specific reason. That bill served its purpose or else we would have not be where are today. I think that right is still relevant in some form today, but not as our ancestors intended. It should not be used as a crutch. Sadly, proving God exists will be easier than amending that part of the Bill of Rights or even the Constitution.

Those with ill intentions will gain whatever they need regardless of the law. That is a given. I have no objections to being licensed, registered and known to the government that I uphold the second amendment by possesing firearms. Good for them. If they want to use our tax money to maintain that effort, fine too. In fact, just like there is a website that lists all sex offenders, there should be one that lists all registered gun owners. I want my neighbors to know that I have registered 5 firearms. If a crook is so inclined, I want them to be able to search homes and know that I am armed. Perhaps this nation would chill some knowing that the home you are thinking about robbing or child you are stalking belongs to an adult that owns a firearm. Ultimately, if a thief enters my house and takes my weapon, I want it to be known that I reported it stolen and I am not the one using it for crimnal purposes. And if they manage to get it out of my house when I am home, then I wont be able to report it then

An interesting part of history. Switzerland was neutral country until 2002. Thats when they joined the UN. No big deal in this era, but it served a purpose in WW1 and WW2. The reason why any nation did not invade / occupy Switzerland in either war was for several reasons. First off, the nation had little to give in terms of natural resources. Their only natural resources are timber and salt. That in itself was not enough for any nation to rationalize the effort for gain versus loss. Despite being in the way of travel, cutting through Switzerland would save so much time for all parties involved, the second fact was the determining factor in leaving Switzerland alone. Their national pasttime is ‘shooting’. Over 90% of the population owned firearms. The idea of trying to occupy a nation that is situated on a mountain so to speak, where nearly everyone was armed did not make military sense. That is why Switzerland was the only nation not devistated in Europe during the world wars. In the end, all participants of the wars decided it was easier to fly over or move around Switzerland than through it.

Now it is highly unlikely that the US will ever be occupied as long as the government stands, but its a nice fact to know that amongst all the first world nations, our civilian population has the highest percentage of armed citizens outside of Switzerland. It will definately give other nations something else to consider should they be so bold. On a more local level, it is very likely that the nation will split into city-states like the Romans and Greeks of old, and that is where the danger lies. That is the plain and simple result of the ‘melting pot’ everyone is welcome mentality that this nation is. Let everyone in, with all points of view and then try to make them one…

I could care less that the government knows what I registered. That will give them an idea of how many men they need to send should they wish to take away my Second Admendment Right.

Before someone mentions anything about the Va Tech shootings, which was absolutely horrible and my prayers go out to the families, what that kid did up to the point of killing was within the law. He bought and registered the firearm, and had a background check which came back ok. He waited the proper period and did it again to get a second gun...all within the law. Despite the horrific nature of his actions, if he was so twisted in his mind to go to that length, no law would have prevented him from getting a gun or guns (back to what Alex mentioned) The fact that thousands of firearms are acquired each month like this, without incident or lawless intention will go unnoticed. The Constitution and Amendments should only apply to citizens…

Guns don’t kill people, people do. You see law suits against the gun manufacturers all the time, when was the last time you saw a suit against A.G. Russell, Henckels or Lakota because someone used their knife to stab someone? Think...heck, I hit someone in the head with a brick, are you going to go after the brick manufacturer because I was not a construction worker and had no business having a brick....get real.

Off topic a bit, but while I am here, if the Second Amendment is so holy then why are folks not so passionate about ‘by the people, for the people’ - we, as citizens, have the right to THROW officials out of office for not representing the people. Why does it not happen....too painful perhaps? We don’t have to wait for the next election or vote....think about it...that is of course if you hold the Constitution and Bill literally

Joe

I am definitely on the side of gun control!  I grew up in a house where my dad had rifles for hunting, but they were always locked up and kept away from us kids.  Not everyone is this responsible.  When your child goes to someones house, how do you know if they have a gun that is not under lock and key.  Too many children have been killed by unlocked guns.  And it is way to easy for anyone to get guns in the country legally or not! 

Why do people need automatic weapons and hollow point bullets.  These are not for hunting purposes.  They are for killing purposes. 

I don’t say take the guns away from everyone, but I do say that our laws have to be tougher.

LabLover - 19 April 2007 07:35 PM

I am definitely on the side of gun control!  I grew up in a house where my dad had rifles for hunting, but they were always locked up and kept away from us kids.  Not everyone is this responsible.  When your child goes to someones house, how do you know if they have a gun that is not under lock and key.  Too many children have been killed by unlocked guns.  And it is way to easy for anyone to get guns in the country legally or not! 

Why do people need automatic weapons and hollow point bullets.  These are not for hunting purposes.  They are for killing purposes. 

I don’t say take the guns away from everyone, but I do say that our laws have to be tougher.

In 1995 there were 1,400 accidental gun deaths.  200 of those involved children under 15. In comparison, 2,900 children died in motor vehicle crashes, 950 children drowned, and more than 1,000 children died from fire and burns. Hundreds more children die in bicycle accidents every year than die from all types of firearms accidents.

Of course, any child’s death is tragic, but should we ban cars, swimming pools and space heaters or candles? 

When your child goes to someone’s house, how do you know if they are supervised at all?  If they can get their hands on unlocked guns, why would you think the parents are watching them in the pool, or stopping them from playing with matches?

The accidental firearm death rate is at its lowest point since records were started nearly 100 years ago according to Injury Facts 2000 from the National Safety Council.

Responsible gun owners teach their children gun safety.  There are more than 130 million privately owned firearms in the United States.  Firearms are used defensively roughly 2.5 million times per year, more than four times as many as criminal uses. This amounts to 2,575 lives protected for every life lost to a gun.  America’s founders regarded personal security as one of the primary rights of mankind. That was the main reason for including a right for individuals to be armed in the U.S. Constitution.

If it is way too easy to get guns in the country legally OR NOT, how do you think more gun laws are going to stop the illegal flow?  Criminals don’t go by the laws.

LabLover - 19 April 2007 07:35 PM

I am definitely on the side of gun control!  I grew up in a house where my dad had rifles for hunting, but they were always locked up and kept away from us kids.  Not everyone is this responsible.  When your child goes to someones house, how do you know if they have a gun that is not under lock and key.  Too many children have been killed by unlocked guns.  And it is way to easy for anyone to get guns in the country legally or not! 

Why do people need automatic weapons and hollow point bullets.  These are not for hunting purposes.  They are for killing purposes. 

I don’t say take the guns away from everyone, but I do say that our laws have to be tougher.

You really need to get better informed and not rely on the info from the Brady people. Exactly how many crimes have been commited by a fully automatic weapon? Or do you think all semi-automatic weapons should also be highly regulated? Hollow points are for hunting. In case you weren’t aware, the one result of hunting is killing. A hollow point results in fewer animals getting away to die a slow death. A soft point can also be used, but for certain game, a hollow point is better. As far as using hollow points against people. Well there is a good reason even the police use them. It’s to bring down the criminal before he gets the chance to do harm. From what I recall from the Strasbourg goat test, a solid nose .38 did not put the goat down at all. In fact after the initial shock wore off, it went back to eating. If someone is doing something that would cause me to need to shoot him, I certainly want to make sure it does the job quickly.

How would you want the gun laws to be tougher? There are already thousands of gun laws on the books. What would you suggest?

Sending your child to someone elses house that may have guns that are kept unlocked is exactly the reason that your kids should be exposed to gun safety at YOUR home. If all they are taught about gun safety is that they are kept locked up to keep them away from them, then the sight of an unlocked gun just might be too tempting for them. Your best defense against your child becoming an accidental gun victim is educating them about guns. Common sense dictates that you teach your child not to swim alone, don’t play with matches because you may burn the house down or burn yourself, don’t play marbles in the middle of the road ..... etc. and give them some real world experience to demonstrate the dangers. Locking their marbles up because they may play with them in the middle of the road does nothing to educate them about the dangers and doesn’t give them the common sense to refuse to play with their friend’s marbles in the middle of the road when they are visiting. Why would you not then take the responsibility of teaching your own child about gun safety and the hazards and dangers involved with them, and then back it up with your own actions? Teaching our children that laws will protect them from all dangers only leds them to believe that they are not responsible for themselves. I prefer to raise my child to take responsibility for his own safety and not rely on the government or officials to strip other people of their rights (either perceived or real) to protect him.

By the way, I do not own any hand guns, semi-automatic or automatic weapons, rifles or bazookas. That is my choice, and I prefer not to force that choice on my neighbors. Like Tim said above, there are already numerous laws on the books right now governing guns, let’s start with enforcing those first and see where that leads us before we start making more laws that only affect law abiding people.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe more laws will keep guns away from bad people.

However, I must say that it is more than a little pathetic that this thread was started on the day of the massacre at Virginia Tech. 

This is your first reaction?  “Don’t take my guns away!”

I do not have the answers to better gun control.  Believe me, I wish I did.  I just know that the laws aren’t working.  I do not think that the house bill 760 is a bad thing.  This can at least help to keep track of registered guns.  Maybe the $10.00 fee per year can go to victims of gun violence (I know, wishful thinking).  The only thing I do know for sure is that I want to keep my children safe.  And believe me when I say, I do teach them not the play with guns (or matches or marbles in the middle of the street).  I do not have to have guns around to teach them gun safety.  They know that guns can kill.  I think everything going across the TV this week is enough “real world experience” for all of our children.

guns don’t kill.....people do.  And the only people any new laws or resolutions will affect are those that choose to abide by them.  Gun control is a joke.  Govt is doing nothing about the criminals that get guns illegally.  They need to enforce the laws they already have on the books.

I am totally against this bill (and most other gun control bills) and will keep my reasons to myself. However, I did want to say that the $10 fee has been removed from the bill.

stephen - 20 April 2007 07:02 AM

Unfortunately, I don’t believe more laws will keep guns away from bad people.

However, I must say that it is more than a little pathetic that this thread was started on the day of the massacre at Virginia Tech.

This is your first reaction? “Don’t take my guns away!”

VT did take the guns away from everyone on campus with a concealed carry license and made it a gun free campus last year. What a great place for a psychopath to go on a killing spree. States with conceal carry laws have 40-60% less violent crime than those without.

I do find it ridiculous that a he was able to buy a gun in 10 minutes, with a mental health history like he had, something has to be done about that. There should be a waiting period and access to a court document that finds you are an imminent danger to yourself an others… an absolute failure in my opinion. I also think while they’re fixing that law, they should throw in that only American citizens should be able to own a gun.

God Bless the Virginia Tech victims and their families.

My house was broken into. I was here. I called my husband (out of town and was given instructions on how to load and use the 12 gauge).  The police that responded told me about many break-ins in the area and since then everyone I talk to (dental hygienist, bank teller, mechanic, neighbor, everyone has a story of a breakin recently).  I’m getting a lighter weight (20 gauge) pump action that can be used for trap shooting at my parents’ place in Oxford Md.  The load will be nominal, but just enough to scare the crap out of someone who enters my house again.  And maybe leave a little DNA ‘behind’. I plan on taking any and all classes and help offered in the correct use of the gun.  The police advised against Karate - you have to be too close to the attacker - and tazers - expensive because of the training and cost of materials (and what if you miss?) and were against security systems, I believe because of false alarms. Ladies, mace may seem inconvienient to carry, but I hope and pray that you never find yourself in a situation that could have gone better for you if you had it.  Face it.  Our little sweet community has changed, and if you want to be around for your grandkids, protect yourself anyway you can against someone who means you harm.  Thugs and thieves are lazy.  Otherwise they’d have jobs.  Drug addicts are crazy, and don’t care about you or your future.  Protect yourself.

PS There are no children in the house, and the gun and the ammo are kept in separate secret places.

stephen - 20 April 2007 07:02 AM

Unfortunately, I don’t believe more laws will keep guns away from bad people.

However, I must say that it is more than a little pathetic that this thread was started on the day of the massacre at Virginia Tech. 

This is your first reaction?  “Don’t take my guns away!”

This had nothng to do with the VA Tech incident.  I had received an e-mail from Rep. Sam Smith a few days prior and hadn’t gotten around to posting it.