Gun Politics in PA
Jan 16 2007, 22:19 EST
Pennsylvania now has a narrow Democratic majority and that new majority is making noises about more restrictive gun laws. As a purple state opinions aren't straight down party lines. The voters are mostly Blue Dog Democrats and Rockafeller Republicans. My mother votes Republican but doesn't much like guns. Her brother votes Democrat but owns plenty (as an aside the only Republican he will vote for is Arlen Specter who my soft-R mother avoids like the plague).
The state is also massive by East Coast standards. You can drive from Philadelphia to Boston as quickly as from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. As the Philly Inquirer puts it:
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Despite the Democrats' one-vote majority, Harrisburg-watchers say the odds of passing significant firearms measures remain long because gun politics in the state are as much about region as about party. Rural legislators on both sides of the aisle tend to break against gun control, which has its strongest supporters in cities and suburbs.
While the ground politics of the thing are muddled the actual proposals aren't. The laws will ban "assault weapons" and limit hand gun purchases to one a month. Localities will be able to set their own gun laws. This means Philly can go back to a virtual ban. This is tough to square with the PA constitution:
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The right of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.