More On Pennsylvania's Proposed 'Lose A Gun,Go To Jail' Legislation

Eric over at Classical Values has a very good piece on a proposed law that would criminalize law abiding gun owners while doing nothing about the problem criminals it purports to address.

"What I think is going on here is an attempt to circumvent the Fifth Amendment by creating a legal scenario requiring criminals to report their own crimes. It would be impossible to require the reporting of illegal transfers, though, as that would violate the Fifth Amendment outright, so instead (and I'm being charitable here about their motives), they're trying to fudge by establishing a catch-all provision.

"The problem is, the reporting requirement involves the reporting of legitimate losses -- and illegal transfers are neither losses nor legitimate. So, true criminals remain exempt from the reporting reporting requirement. There can be no duty to report to the state a loss or a theft that did not occur. The crime can only be committed by law-abiding citizens who lose their guns or are victims of crime. I think this bill is just an attempt to single out guns and gun owners because the proponents don't like them."

Worth the read.