Observers say Pennsylvania isn't ready for major gun-control ...

"Without the governor being on board and bringing enthusiasm, moving a gun bill in Pennsylvania is a nonstarter.? - Michael Young

If the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings spawn a surge of support for stronger gun-control laws, it?s going to have to be pretty strong to reach Pennsylvania.

Or maybe even imposed from Washington, D.C.

While there are signs since Friday?s mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., that some politicians are willing to consider restrictions on guns and gun ownership, reactions from many state leaders have been largely limited to expressions of sympathy and regret.

And no state leaders considered among the strongest proponents of the Second Amendment have voiced anything like a conversion.

Gov. Tom Corbett, for example, commenting after an unrelated public appearance Tuesday in Dover, York County, said his immediate focus is on redoubling security measures at the state?s schools.

As for gun-control measures?

?We are not going to get into that right now,? Corbett told reporters. ?We?ve had discussions about gun-control legislation for many, many years, and there have been many gun-control laws that have been passed. ... I am for enforcing the laws we already have.?

This is not to say that gun-control proponents will not make the case here.

Shira Goodman, executive director of the gun-control group CeaseFirePA, said her group will push in Harrisburg for background checks of private gun sales and to bolster requirements that mental health records of Pennsylvanians get forwarded to national databases.

Gun-control proponents such as Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery County, vow to launch efforts requiring gun owners to report the loss or theft of their guns to police, or to cap the number of guns an individual can purchase at one per month.

Some nationwide public-opinion snapshots taken after Friday?s school shootings seem to have shown the opinion needle swinging in favor of stricter gun-control laws. A CBS News poll taken during the weekend showed 57 percent of respondents supporting stricter laws, up from 39 percent in April.

But many observers think Harrisburg isn?t ready for major gun-control measures.

?I do expect an assault-rifle ban to be enacted federally, but in Pennsylvania, I would be surprised if we see any significant legislation coming out of this,? said Michael Young, a retired Penn State political scientist who is head of his own consulting firm.

That?s in part, he said, because of the strong, pro-gun culture that dominates large regions of the state. But it is also because the facts might show that the Newtown massacre owes much to breakdowns in the nation?s mental health system.

?This is a problem without a solution at this point,? Young said. ?There?s no consensus about what to do beyond assault rifles, and that?s a federal issue. ... So without the governor being on board and bringing enthusiasm, moving a gun bill in Pennsylvania is a nonstarter.?

There might be related areas where lawmakers can work toward the mutual goal of a safer society with less conflict.

Rep. Todd Stephens, R-Montgomery County, for example, said Monday he will introduce a bill that requires state police to forward information on involuntary mental health commitments ? a disqualifier for gun ownership ? to the federal government.

It?s a modest step, because state background checks already include this data, but it could prevent a mentally ill person who would be flagged in Pennsylvania from crossing into Maryland to buy a gun.

Even top gun-rights supporters such as Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler County, support background checks in concept, and there might be room for all sides to work toward improvements in the system.

Republican leaders in the Senate and House left the door open to these discussions when the 2013-14 legislative session begins.

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County, said in a statement, ?It is incumbent upon us to review our laws and see if there are changes that should be made not only to gun laws, but mental health laws, school laws and any other relevant areas.?

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Ron Marsico, R-Lower Paxton Township, vowed ?a closer look at every single piece of legislation that may have prevented, or could in the future prevent, such an atrocity.?

The National Rifle Association?s top lobbyist in Pennsylvania, John Hohenwarter, did not respond to a request for an interview for this story.

But the Legislature?s strongest Second Amendment supporters cautioned Tuesday that they will fight to protect the right of Pennsylvanians to own a gun, in part because it is their belief that the Newtown tragedy was the product of an evil mind, not lax gun laws.

On Tuesday, Metcalfe advanced the argument that the recent mass shootings across America only give support to the notion that too much gun control ? including public spaces such as schools or parks that have been declared gun-free zones ? is a bad thing.

?We don?t know the hearts of people and what?s in their hearts that are going to cause them to do these wicked acts,? Metcalfe said in a telephone interview. ?If they?re going to do something, somebody needs to be there with the force to stop them.?

Kim Stolfer, chairman of the Pennsylvania-based Firearm Owners Against Crime, noted that by his count the Newtown shooter, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, broke 18 state or federal laws in his actions. ?So if we had 19 [laws], it?s going to make the kids safer?? he asked. ?It?s a red herring.? ?

Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/12/gun_control.html

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