Paul Muschick: Gov. Wolf nailed it on gun control: ‘Let’s make 2020 the year we act’ By PAUL MUSCHICK THE MORNING CALL ..FEB 05, 2020
In his annual budget address Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf talked at length about the need to reduce gun violence in Pennsylvania.(Burlingham, Getty ImagesiStockphoto)
Reducing the carnage of gun violence isn’t about money. So the subject didn’t have to have a place in Gov. Tom Wolf’s annual budget address Tuesday.
But he made it a big part of it anyway.
A quarter of his speech, or roughly 1,162 of the 4,544 words, were dedicated to the topic. People were watching, so he made the most of the opportunity.
With state lawmakers not having the spines to do anything to reduce the bloodshed, Wolf tried a different approach. He made his case directly to “law-abiding, responsible gun owners.”
He nailed it, so I’ll share that portion of his speech verbatim.
“I know that, across the commonwealth, there are law-abiding, responsible gun owners. And there are those deeply concerned about the Second Amendment. And I support their right to be heard when it comes to gun safety reform,” Wolf said.
"And if you’re one of those law-abiding, responsible gun owners, all I ask of you is this: Imagine it’s your gun that is stolen from your house by someone who is neither responsible nor law-abiding. Imagine it’s your gun that, through no fault of your own, gets re-sold to someone who couldn’t pass a background check. Imagine it’s your gun that winds up in the hands of someone who intends to use it to harm himself or others.
"Can you honestly say that you don’t care just as much as anyone else about making sure that doesn’t happen?
"All I ask of you is this: Imagine that it’s your municipal building, it’s your synagogue, it’s your neighborhood pool that suddenly becomes the symbol of this crisis. Imagine that it’s your child who doesn’t come home from a party, from a concert, or from school.
“Can you honestly say that you don’t believe there’s any way to protect both your family and the Constitution?”
There is. A lot of people are just too stubborn to support it.
Second Amendment worshipers will counter that the way to protect their family is by protecting their constitutional right to arm themselves.
No one is suggesting otherwise.
All they would have to do is pass a background check. And not act like a loose cannon and make themselves subject to a red flag law that would temporarily take away their guns.
And even if a law were to pass banning assault rifles — which I doubt will happen — those who have them would be allowed to keep them. And those who don’t have them could arm themselves with other firearms.
My use of the term “Second Amendment worshipers” irritates people. That doesn’t describe every firearm owner. Many, hopefully most, have common sense and recognize the need for balance. I know because I’ve talked to some.
But there are those who fly the Second Amendment flag in objection to every plan, regardless of how logical, such as the attorney general’s recent attempt to keep felons from building their own firearms. What’s the problem with that? Those obstructionists worship the Second Amendment above all else, even lives. So I’ll continue to label them as such.
Wolf was careful in his speech not to use the term “gun control.” That sends worshipers scurrying to the store to buy more bullets. And he acknowledged that laws won’t eliminate all gun violence.
Rather, he asked lawmakers to try to reduce it.
“Let’s make 2020 the year we choose to stop being cynical about the politics of gun violence. Let’s start to address the reality of gun violence. Let’s make 2020 the year we act,” he said.
He called for laws to create universal background checks, a red flag process and stronger reporting requirements for lost and stolen guns. He budgeted $10 million for gun violence prevention efforts.
He also tried to shame legislators into doing something.
“So the question is: Why can’t we act? Why haven’t we tackled this like other states have?" Wolf said.
In statements issued after the governor’s speech, Republican House and Senate leaders did not address the topic, focusing instead on Wolf’s proposal to increase spending.
I suspect his call will be ignored because of people like state Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin.
He is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which any gun control legislation must pass through. And Kauffman made it clear last summer — not long after two mass shootings — that his committee wouldn’t be considering any further gun control bills for the entire session, which runs through the end of this year.
The committee previously passed several bills on the issue, including to force people who are involuntarily committed for mental health care to turn in their weapons sooner; preventing gun purchases by criminals who attempted, solicited or conspired to commit murder, rape and robbery; and imposing longer sentences for gun crimes.
But there’s a lot more work to be done.
So it’s going to be up to others to demand action. And that includes law-abiding, responsible gun owners.
Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com
In his annual budget address Tuesday, Gov. Tom Wolf talked at length about the need to reduce gun violence in Pennsylvania.(Burlingham, Getty ImagesiStockphoto)
Reducing the carnage of gun violence isn’t about money. So the subject didn’t have to have a place in Gov. Tom Wolf’s annual budget address Tuesday.
But he made it a big part of it anyway.
A quarter of his speech, or roughly 1,162 of the 4,544 words, were dedicated to the topic. People were watching, so he made the most of the opportunity.
With state lawmakers not having the spines to do anything to reduce the bloodshed, Wolf tried a different approach. He made his case directly to “law-abiding, responsible gun owners.”
He nailed it, so I’ll share that portion of his speech verbatim.
“I know that, across the commonwealth, there are law-abiding, responsible gun owners. And there are those deeply concerned about the Second Amendment. And I support their right to be heard when it comes to gun safety reform,” Wolf said.
"And if you’re one of those law-abiding, responsible gun owners, all I ask of you is this: Imagine it’s your gun that is stolen from your house by someone who is neither responsible nor law-abiding. Imagine it’s your gun that, through no fault of your own, gets re-sold to someone who couldn’t pass a background check. Imagine it’s your gun that winds up in the hands of someone who intends to use it to harm himself or others.
"Can you honestly say that you don’t care just as much as anyone else about making sure that doesn’t happen?
"All I ask of you is this: Imagine that it’s your municipal building, it’s your synagogue, it’s your neighborhood pool that suddenly becomes the symbol of this crisis. Imagine that it’s your child who doesn’t come home from a party, from a concert, or from school.
“Can you honestly say that you don’t believe there’s any way to protect both your family and the Constitution?”
There is. A lot of people are just too stubborn to support it.
Second Amendment worshipers will counter that the way to protect their family is by protecting their constitutional right to arm themselves.
No one is suggesting otherwise.
All they would have to do is pass a background check. And not act like a loose cannon and make themselves subject to a red flag law that would temporarily take away their guns.
And even if a law were to pass banning assault rifles — which I doubt will happen — those who have them would be allowed to keep them. And those who don’t have them could arm themselves with other firearms.
My use of the term “Second Amendment worshipers” irritates people. That doesn’t describe every firearm owner. Many, hopefully most, have common sense and recognize the need for balance. I know because I’ve talked to some.
But there are those who fly the Second Amendment flag in objection to every plan, regardless of how logical, such as the attorney general’s recent attempt to keep felons from building their own firearms. What’s the problem with that? Those obstructionists worship the Second Amendment above all else, even lives. So I’ll continue to label them as such.
Wolf was careful in his speech not to use the term “gun control.” That sends worshipers scurrying to the store to buy more bullets. And he acknowledged that laws won’t eliminate all gun violence.
Rather, he asked lawmakers to try to reduce it.
“Let’s make 2020 the year we choose to stop being cynical about the politics of gun violence. Let’s start to address the reality of gun violence. Let’s make 2020 the year we act,” he said.
He called for laws to create universal background checks, a red flag process and stronger reporting requirements for lost and stolen guns. He budgeted $10 million for gun violence prevention efforts.
He also tried to shame legislators into doing something.
“So the question is: Why can’t we act? Why haven’t we tackled this like other states have?" Wolf said.
In statements issued after the governor’s speech, Republican House and Senate leaders did not address the topic, focusing instead on Wolf’s proposal to increase spending.
I suspect his call will be ignored because of people like state Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin.
He is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which any gun control legislation must pass through. And Kauffman made it clear last summer — not long after two mass shootings — that his committee wouldn’t be considering any further gun control bills for the entire session, which runs through the end of this year.
The committee previously passed several bills on the issue, including to force people who are involuntarily committed for mental health care to turn in their weapons sooner; preventing gun purchases by criminals who attempted, solicited or conspired to commit murder, rape and robbery; and imposing longer sentences for gun crimes.
But there’s a lot more work to be done.
So it’s going to be up to others to demand action. And that includes law-abiding, responsible gun owners.
Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com
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