Sunday, June 28, 2015

A Point of Intersection and The NRA Loses Standing

At services today, during our general prayers, we offered a prayer for those killed last week in Charlestown, South Carolina.  Much has been made about the sentiments of the shooter, and it may have sprurred a renewed interest in legislative action.  With an election coming up, that seems a bit unlikely.

But those tragic events may be an opportunity for two movements that have seemed to existed in parallel, but never quite intersected, until now.

The shooting in Charleston was not just another mass shooting, it was a mass shooting at an African-American church.  It also seems that the shooter may have targeted the church because it was African-American. 

Could this be the opportunity for the "Black Lives Matter" movement and the movement for "Gunsense" to start collaborating?  The two groups don't seem to be overlapping very much.  When I went to an event sponsored by Heeding God's Call of Harrisburg, and then a movie sponsored by Harrisburg's contribution to "Black Lives Matter", I was one of only two people at both.

It's been suggested that the reason police are so aggressive to people of color, is that they presumed they are armed at all times, laws to limit straw purchases, or require stolen guns be reported, are among those opposed by the National Rifle Association.  As a response to this fear, we say "Stand Your Ground" and "Castle Doctrine" laws passed.

The death of Trayvon Martin and the Tuscon Shooting were not that far apart, perhaps it's time to for the two movements to start working more closely.


 While national focus was on the Supreme Court decisions upholding the subsidies of the Affordable Care Act and making same-sex marriages legal in all 50 states, in Pennsylvania, what was basically a "going away" present from outgoing Governor Tom Corbett to the National Rifle Association was ruled unconstitutional by a Commonwealth Court.

The law gave groups like the National Rifle Association the standing to sue cites who had enacted laws requiring stolen guns be reported, etc.  The law was tucked into a bill dealing with secondary metals. 

According to Harrisburg's WITF, the judges determined the law violated a requirement that bills be confined to a single subject and cannot be altered to change purpose.

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