Mayor Street's suggestion that Philadelphia needs more laws restricting the ownership of firearms is wrong.
It's true that there are too many crimes committed with guns and that law enforcement should step up its efforts to find and prosecute those who are illegally owning, carrying, and using guns, particularly in the recent rash of Philadelphia murders.
But nobody has suggested that any of these crimes is being committed by law-abiding gun owners. Indeed, it is hard to imagine that the people committing these murders are first submitting to an FBI background check to legally purchase a gun, then a county sheriff's check to get a permit to carry, and then carefully abiding the patchwork of schools and federal buildings where carrying is already forbidden. More likely these cold-blooded killers are outlaws who already have criminal histories that prevent them from legally possessing a gun.
Responsible gun owners are an asset to any city, not a liability.
David Bookstaber
Berwyn