Assembly overturns gun ban

The battle over assault weapons continues to rage in Harrisburg and on the streets of Philadelphia. The state House of Representatives and Senate voted Tuesday night to overturn a Philadelphia and Pittsburgh law that bans a number of assault weapons. Reverend Joseph Turner of the Peace and Justice Commission said he has been angered by Democratic State Senator Vincent Fumo's actions to overturn the law. "There is no reason for Pennsylvania residents to own an assault weapon," Turner said. "Fumo is not listening to his God-given responsibility to protect the lives of innocent children. "Fumo must stop brainwashing the people and the citizens of Philadelphia," Turner added. "Guns are good. Guns are great. God bless guns. That is sick!" Fumo's spokesperson Christopher Craig disagreed with Turner's assessment. "Senator Fumo is in favor of control," Craig said. "He is not in favor of a stupid policy that will not solve the problem of gun violence. It is useless to make a determination that a gun is more or less dangerous than another." Craig argued that the overturned law violated the Second Amendment of the Constitution. "Senator Fumo has consistently believed that our Constitution is extremely important," Craig said. "He thought the ban was unconstitutional." Craig said Deputy Philadelphia Police Commissioner Thomas Seamon said the law was not being enforced by Police. Turner said the law did not violate the Second Amendment and was effective in crime prevention. "It has a tremendous effect of alerting criminals," Turner said. "It won't stop the killings completely. But it will stop some of the killings." Craig said Fumo organized the 15-member Select Committee to Investigate the Use of Automatic and Semiautomatic Firearms to determine effective gun control measures. Later this month, a "bi-partisan comprehensive bill addressing all aspects of gun violence" will brought before the Senate, he added. Turner said he is skeptical of the bill because the committee was formed by Fumo who "made himself chairman" and "overstacked it with [National Rifle Association] members." "I think Fumo is being ill-advised," Turner said. "He is bought and owned by ill-fated special interest groups." Craig said the bill will be different from others because it does not regulate which guns are legal, but rather controls who should be in possession of the gun. He said the bill will also be the first to hold individuals criminally and civilly liable if they illegally sell guns that are later used in a crime. Craig said this provision is important because guns are illegally obtained in more than 70 percent of all crimes involving guns, according to Department of Firearms and Tobacco statistics. He added that the bill would be an effective measure in the war against crime.