Mackereth votes ‘no’ on gun control measures
By MARK FRANKLIN
Gov. Ed Rendell made a rare plea in front of legislative committee Tuesday. He spoke for 40 minutes. He gestured. He smacked his hand on a table. He had a row of police officers sitting behind him.
And he struck out.
Rendell argued for legislation that would allow municipalities to establish their own gun control laws. The House Judiciary Committee shot it down, 19-10.
Rendell lobbied for a bill that would limit handgun purchases to one a month. The committee voted 17-12 against sending it to the full House floor.
State Rep. Beverly Mackereth, R-Spring Grove, is the lone York County lawmaker on the committee. She voted against both bills, and wasn’t at all hesitant to explain why.
“The bottom line is this — philosophically, I don’t think either one will have an impact on gun violence,” she said.
The proposal allowing gun control laws to vary by municipalities was the worst of the two, in her mind. If passed, it would have allowed York City, for instance, to limit handgun sales to one per month, or even one per year. But what would be the point, Mackereth asked, if neighboring municipalities didn’t follow suit.
As for limiting handgun purchases to one a month, Mackereth said it’s been tried elsewhere “and hasn’t done a thing” to curb gun violence. She compared it to the war on drugs. “As long as there’s a demand, there’s going to be a supply. Criminals are still going to get their hands on guns.”
Mackereth argues the real answers to gun violence are enforcement, the presence of police officers and violence prevention programs, such as early education opportunities and intervention services for families living in high-crime areas. Part of the problem is that services to at-risk children and families “remain our lowest priority in government,” she said.
As for the proposals touted by the governor …
“Everyone wants to do something that sounds good,” Mackereth said. “My thinking is, ‘If it’s not going to work, why do it?’”
One get-tough-on-crime measure passed muster with the judicial committee Tuesday. It voted 27-2 in favor of a minimum 20-year sentence for someone who shoots at a police officer, even if the officer isn’t wounded. Mackereth voted in favor of the proposal.