http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/02/1...oting_spree.php

Gun violence is the scourge of Philadelphia. Last year, 406 people were murdered in this city. Nearly all the victims were young, poor, and black; and already, the city is on course to exceed this total in 2007. The situation here has become so dire that in late January, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence released a report in Philly entitled "Shady Dealings: Illegal Gun Trafficking from Licensed Gun Dealers." The report focused on over two dozen cases of gun trafficking nationwide, most of incidents coming from urban areas like Philly.

Thanks to the Bush administration and a Republican-controlled Congress that was heavily influenced by the National Rifle Association for the past decade, our federal gun laws have become so shoddy that only gunrunners could be prosecuted in these cases. The dealers who supplied these weapons continue to go unpunished, and cities like Philadelphia have been left to fend for themselves.

The Brady report determined that in the U.S., “5.86 million people were victimized by gun violence from 1996 through 2005.” What’s worse, between 2004 and 2005, gun crime jumped nearly 50 percent. While these numbers are staggering, there is an explanation for this recent surge. The Brady Law, first passed by Congress in 1993, mandated criminal background checks on all gun sales by licensed dealers. That law, coupled with additional initiatives from the Clinton administration, tightened licensing requirements for gun dealers, hindered gun trafficking, and ultimately blocked the sale of 1.4 million firearms (according to the U.S. Department of Justice). The last Congress, however, allowed the ban in the Brady Law on semiautomatic assault weapons to expire in September 2004.

The 109th Congress made its allegiance to the gun lobby abundantly clear. Rather than renew the ban on assault weapons Congress instead passed the Tiahrt Amendment, which made it illegal to trace the origins of guns in crime scenes. Rather than weed out individual gun dealers (Shady Dealings concluded that eight dealers in Philadelphia distribute 50 percent of “crime guns,” and found similar results in other cities), Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, further limiting the liability of gun dealers and manufacturers. Although the 109th Congress is history, the question remains whether the 110th will look at gun control any differently with the Democrats in charge.

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Back in the Philadelphia area, one candidate who was an outspoken advocate of gun control during his campaign was Joe Sestak. Last October, Sestak received the Brady Campaign’s endorsement during a rally in front of Lou’s Loans (or “Lethal Lou’s,” as it’s more commonly known), one of the dealers cited in Shady Dealings. “We’re going to protect fundamental rights to guns for sports and traditions,” Sestak said by phone, “but I refuse to put special interest groups ahead of gun dealers.” Sestak’s 7th Congressional district includes the suburbs of Philadelphia where gun violence isn’t a direct problem, but it’s certainly on the minds of his constituents.

In Philadelphia proper, however, Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., is far more skeptical. “The realities of the Bush White House are that we won’t be passing specific gun legislation.” While Fattah feels that the gun lobby will have a hard time advancing its agenda with the new Congress, he’s more interested in tackling gun violence at the local level—using tip hotlines and gun buyback programs in exchange for groceries—than trying to pass sweeping Federal legislation.

Fattah agrees guns are a wedge issue within both parties, and that they’re regarded in urban areas like his district as menacing, whereas in the suburbs they are a way of life. He mentioned a car dealership in a Philly suburb that started offering a free shotgun to anyone who purchased a pickup or SUV. This happened last fall, shortly after the Amish school shooting occurred not far from the dealership. “Can you imagine a car dealership in Philly offering that kind of deal?” he asked incredulously. “They’d be run out of town on a rail.” Yet with all the gun violence and illegal trafficking going on in Philly right now, a car dealership offering free firearms might be like all the other gun dealers in this city—above the law.

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