Posted on 03/07/2014 6:02:34 AM PST by Phillyred
It still makes him shake just thinking about it, said Jenkintown police Chief Albert DiValentino, as he recalled an incident that occurred last year in the borough during a Gun Violence Prevention Forum Feb. 27.
He was transporting a man his officers arrested after they found him sleeping in the back of vehicle with a gun tucked in the front of his pants.
On the way up to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, DiValentino said he asked him a question.
“I said, ‘If you were awake … you wouldn’t have used your gun would you?’ The man said, ‘Officer, it’s nothing personal. It’s just business.’”
Many criminals seem to make it their business to cause unrest in communities; however, there are several legislators, community organizations and residents who are making it their business to see that doesn’t happen.
Sen. LeAnna Washington, D-4, hosted a panel discussion at the Reformed Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, to shed light on gun violence prevention legislation and highlight efforts underway in the community.
This forum was organized because gun violence is a top concern of many residents she represents, Washington said.
For the last eight years, Washington has re-proposed bills she believes would help reduce illegal gun violence. She has recommended legislation that would limit the amount of firearms an individual can own, as well as limit the purchase and sale of handguns in cities of the first and second class. In addition, she proposed a bill that would prevent firearms from being accessible to individuals who have been ordered to undergo involuntary mental health treatment.
The newest bill proposed is an amendment to the firearms law that would make recreational centers, parks and playgrounds places where it’s illegal to carry firearms.
Abington Parks and Recreation Director and panelist Doug Wendell acknowledged there have been instances of guns in parks in the township but no shootings. He explained that Abington police are responsive and have been able to defuse situations without any problems.
No matter how many tightly constructed laws you have, Wendell said, the best ways to reduce gun violence is active prevention.
He explained that the township’s Parks and Recreation Department has an unarmed ranger in each of the township parks who monitors the facilities all year-round. There is also surveillance at some of the parks including the Patrick Kerr Skatepark in Roslyn. The surveillance systems operate as a deterrent of criminal activity, he said.
After events such as the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn., the death of Plymouth Township K-9 Officer Brad Fox who was shot and killed on the line of duty and the shooting at the municipal meeting in Ross Township, Lehigh County, last summer, discussions about sterner background check practices have been among some of the issues Washington, and a number of her colleagues, have been vocal about.
“In Pennsylvania there are no limits to how many guns you can buy and the type of gun you can buy,” said CeaseFirePA Executive Director Shira Goodman. “If you go into a gun store and you pass a background check, you can walk out with basically anything you want and don’t need to take any training.”
Background checks review criminal records, pending Protection from Abuse orders, drug and alcohol convictions and mental health history.
Background checks are not very extensive, easy to pass and are only mandatory for those who want to carry a concealed weapon, she explained.
There are loopholes in these background check laws, Goodman said. Certain types of guns can be sold privately without background checks.
"Sales from a federally licensed dealer require background checks, as do private sales of handguns in the state," Goodman said via email following the meeting. "However, the private sale of long guns such as rifles, shotguns and semi-automatic rifles are exempt from the background check requirement."
In the last couple years, DiValentino said that he has received approximately 82 gun permit applications from Jenkintown residents who wanted to carry concealed weapons and explained that a comprehensive background check is done on all the applicants.
Last year, DiValentino said he denied nine permits.
“Even though people have to go the sheriff’s office to be approved for the permit, if I can, I like to stop it at the local level first,” he said. “The sheriff’s office will call the police station for further details and [take into account that information] before making a determination.”
Legislators and the police are not the only ones who are actively speaking out against gun violence. Cheltenham resident and panelist Bill England is one of the administrators of the Facebook group Not the NRA. Established after Sandy Hook, this group serves as a community forum to discuss “common-sense” gun laws like the ones Washington has proposed, he said.
Organizing phone calls and letters to legislators can help get things moving in Harrisburg, Goodman said.
“It’s beyond time, and we have to wake up,” England said. “We have 330 million guns in this country and 300 million people — something just isn’t right about that.”
How much more deadly does she think a person who owns 100 firearms is than a person that owns 2? A person can only hold two guns at once, but can only really effectively use one at a time. And how many guns can a person carry on their person without just becoming a pack mule? 4-5?
Occupy Wal Street has now moved to shake down guns before businesses. Nice to know Bloomberg is hiring terrorists like Obama did at Ben Gazhi.
Right, there should be a minimum of 900,000,000 guns in this country, at least 3 apiece average for every citizen. Since many of the 300,000,000 citizens are children, that would bring the average up to at least 6 guns for every citizen. There should be tax credits for every gun purchase also.
What an extremely biased article. It starts with the terrifying anecdote about someone sleeping with his pistol at the ready. Was this person already a criminal? Had this person purchased his pistol legally? The paper does not answer this because that is not their purpose.
Then they pimp for a representative who says she is trying to lower gun violence. Is she? None of her suggestions will lower gun violence by one iota. Where is the papers’ balance? None. They just go on to pimp for someone with a gun control facebook page. This is not reporting. They should reprint this article and pass it out seperately as an anti-gun pamphlet and quit pretending this is a news article. It is not.
Exactly. Actually, over the past 30 years or so, every single mass shooting event has taken place in an allegedly "gun free" zone. If you want to reduce "gun violence" - heck, let's just call it what it is, violence... If you want to reduce it, lets eliminate so-called "gun free" zones which everyone, and I mean everyone with an IQ greater than their shoe size, realizes are not gun free at all.
The entire article is full of bad, ludicrously, idiotically bad ideas. But the overall, fundamental problem with every single "gun control" law or proposal is this: criminals break laws. So it absolutely does not matter what dumb, feel-good legislation anyone passes. When the evil or insane decide they want their 10 minutes, it does not matter if they have to break 5 laws or 10, 20, or more. They are already committed to breaking laws, murder, mayhem, etc.
This is the cold hard truth - for any of you lib lurkers out there - none of your laws, none of your feel-good initiatives, none of it, will keep you safe. Get that libs and gun-grabbers? YOU ARE NOT SAFE. If you are relying on the police, the laws, the courts, your "gun free zone" signs etc. then you a potential walking victim, you just haven't bumped into your murderer yet. If/when fate calls are you going to be ready to take steps to protect yourself, or are you going to be a sheep?
> The newest bill proposed is an amendment to the firearms law that would make recreational centers, parks and playgrounds places where it’s illegal to carry firearms.
She does know that these are favorite spots for yutes to shake down and play the knockout game with polar bears doesn’t she? Why she’d be depriving them of their rights to engage in such activities.../s
We have more than enough gun restricting laws.
What we need is for the laws that are already there to be enforced.
No law will stop a criminal from obtaining and using a gun; the law will only deny the right to have a gun to a law abiding citizen who may need it for protection of himself and his family.
Edit for accuracy.
Gun Free Zones-—aka Killing Fields.
“...recreational centers, parks and playgrounds...”
Add these to schools, churches, public buildings, movie theaters, entire cities and even entire states.
It’s growing, one small bill at a time. Soon even our own homes.
Molon labe.
Let me see if I can mimic their logic here.
Theirs: “Criminals use guns illegally so we should limit how many guns law abiding citizens can own and execute more rigorous background checks on them when they want to purchase a gun.”
Compared: “Commercial Airplanes do sometimes crash so we should increase security at airports and require every passenger to get special permission to fly.”
That is how ridiculous their arguments for gun control are.
Sandy Hook has become such convenient agitprop for these people.
Can we assume that this was a legally purchased gun on the perp and that he had the appropriate permits?
And since when was sleeping in your vehicle, breaking the law?
He was transporting a man his officers arrested after they found him sleeping in the back of vehicle with a gun tucked in the front of his pants.
Chief DiValentino was never in danger himself. If we are to believe the reporter of this story...the Chief was simply transporting the perp. How hard is that?
The man said, ‘Officer, it’s nothing personal. It’s just business.’”
I SMELL 100% UNADULTERATED PURE BOVINE EXREMENT.
Another money quote “illegal gun violence.” GASP! you mean making something illegal doesn’t prevent it? Something not mentioned is the racial break down of gun violence in this community. Wonder why.
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