PA: Rumors on Preemption Bill HB2011

In Pennsylvania, the legislature is looking at a strong preemption bill, HB2011, to put some strength into the Pennsylvania preemption law.   Local governments have been scoffing at the law, because it has no provision for enforcement.   Other states have had to add enforcement measures to their law for this very reason.  All states have some form of preemption for gun laws.  The law seemed likely to be brought up last week.   It wasn’t.

From ar15.com, brich2929 writes, on 17 September, that State Rep Brad Roae’s facebook page had this notice:

 We will be voting on a pro gun rights bill today or tomorrow. HB 2011 would clarify that gun laws are done at the state level and not local level. When a city like Philadelphia passes a city law that violates the PA Constitution and PA statewide gun laws, people could sue. If the win, the municipality would pay their legal bills. As could be expected, the Democrats have filed over 100 anti gun amendments to the bill. Repealing the Castle Doctrine, serial numbers on all shell casings, one gun a month limit on purchases, etc. and other anti gun rights amendments have been filed. I have always voted no on gun control. We all know that criminals will not follow laws and it would make it harder for law abiding citizens to defend themselves.

 Then brich2929 contacted their local rep:

I just spoke to my local Representative’s Legislative Aide- She said Gov. Corbett asked that they not bring this to a vote right now due to that asshole shooting the Trooper…I suppose because it puts us in a bad position poltically.

She is supposed to call me back with more info.

My first thought is, what does the criminal shooting of a Pennsylvania State Trooper have to do with a bill that keeps local governments from flouting the rule of law?    This is just an Internet rumor, of course, someone passing on information that cannot be traced back to a clear source.  

I can see some logic to it.   Why pass a bill that  restores some of Pennsylvania’s second amendment rights, when the old media is carrying numerous stories about an infamous, recent shooting.   But again, what does one have to do with the other?  

About the only connection is that both have a connection to firearms.   One  is a crime committed with a firearm, the other is about local governments who violate state law about firearms.

But, that is exactly what the citizen disarmament types have been working to instill for at least five decades – an illogical connection between firearms and crime.   Actual facts do not bear it out.    The numbers of guns in citizens hands has little to do with levels of crime.   There is some evidence that more guns equal less crime, and some evidence that more guns or less guns does not make much difference in crime.   There is no evidence that more guns equals more crime.

There is evidence that more guns in citizens hands means that more suicides or accidents will involve guns.   But that is a trueism, like saying that the more hospitals in a country, the more people die in hospitals, or that the more cars a country has, the more accidents occur in cars.   The fact is that homicide rates have never been shown to drop when even draconian gun control, such as gun bans, have been instituted.

Second amendment activists have been consistently winning for two decades, and it did not happen by using bad tactics.    Governor Corbett may wonder; why allow the old media to surf the wave of stories about an infamous shooting to oppose a bill to restore second amendment rights? 

Perhaps the Pennsylvania legislature will wait a week or 10 days for a vote.

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