Eddie Mac McWilliams – 10/23/09

This page was last updated on October 23, 2009.

Aliquippa should enact a gun ban; Eddie Mac McWilliams; Beaver County Times; October 23, 2009. An editor’s note asserts, “The writer is a former resident of Brighton Township.”

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Former Steeler and New York Giant Plaxico Burress is in prison because he chose to carry a concealed weapon in New York City, which is against the law even if you have a permit to carry.”

[RWC] Not exactly. Mr. Burress is in prison because he accidentally discharged a handgun and didn’t have a permit for it for NYC. Having a license for one jurisdiction doesn’t mean it’s legal in all jurisdictions. That the weapon was concealed was a secondary issue at best.

“It’s time the elected officials of Aliquippa take serious steps, too, in an attempt to ensure the safety of the law-abiding residents there.

“Aliquippa has third-class city status and should be able to enact an ordinance of this nature. Other than law enforcement and related personnel, no one should be able to carry a concealed weapon within city limits.

“To do so should carry a mandatory prison sentence— no exceptions. Of course, the judges and lawyers would also need to be on board in carrying out this penalty.

“It is said that when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. That is true, and sooner or later they show up and then they should be removed like the plague they are. It’s a process, and it has to start somewhere.

“When the people of the Beaver Valley tell their loved ones to avoid driving through Aliquippa, even in the middle of the day, then this current state of life there should be unacceptable to everyone.”

[RWC] Let’s ignore the Second Amendment and PA Constitution issues with this proposal. When has making handguns illegal ever worked? For many years Washington, DC, banned handguns completely yet DC still has one of the highest handgun crime rates in the country.