Another Cop Killed in Philly
And Mayor Nutter blames the NRA:
Mayor Nutter this morning said the National Rifle Association owed an apology to the family of slain police officer Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski.Nutter recently signed five local gun bills into law, including one that would outlaw the possession and sale of certain assault weapons. The NRA immediately sued the city on the grounds that the city does not have the authority to enact local gun control. They obtained a temporary restraining order to keep the city from enforcing the new laws.
Liczbinski was killed with a Chinese-made assault weapon.
“I think it’s insane,” Nutter said. “The fact that we put forward a piece of legislation to prevent the sale and use and transfer of assault weapons and have a Philadelphia police officer assaulted on the streets with one, I think makes it pretty clear to anyone who is confused about this issue that there’s no reason for any citizen, any person other than in law enforcement or in the military to have such a weapon.”
The mayor completely ignores the fact that had the laws been passed, they would not have kept the guns out of the criminals’ hands. Why? Because all three were convicted felons, and under current law it is illegal for them to possess any type of firearms – let alone a Chinese made assault rifle, the SKS. Howard Cain, the shooter, had recently been paroled after doing the minimum for armed robbery:
Cain entered the state prison system on Nov. 12, 1997 to serve a 9- to 18-year sentence for robbery, said Susan McNaughton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.Just shy of nine years later – his minimum sentence – Cain was sent to Lycoming House, a halfway facility at 1712 Point Breeze Ave. in South Philadelphia, on Sept. 5, 2006, McNaughton said.
That followed a decision by the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole nine days earlier to grant Cain parole at his first hearing.
On Dec. 12 of that year, Cain walked out of Lycoming House a free man.
However, Cain was subject to parole supervision until the year 2015.
Leo Dunn, a spokesman for the parole board, said Cain’s release was based on five considerations.
“First of all, his acceptance of responsibility for the offense committed,” Dunn said. “His participation in and completion of prescribed institutional programs. The positive recommendation made by the Department of Corrections. His reported institutional behavior. And his placement in a community corrections residency.”
Dunn did not know how frequently Cain was required to meet his parole officer, but Cain had to follow a series of requirements to maintain his freedom, including drug tests and avoidance of alcohol.
Overall, Dunn said, the board granted parole in 61 percent of its cases in March, the most recent month for which statistics were available.
The robbery sentence stemmed from a string of armed robberies of state liquor store in West and Southwest Philadelphia in 1996.
Cain, then 23 at the time of the robberies and listed as 5-feet 8-inches tall and weighing 167 pounds, was found guilty a year later in one case and pleaded guilty in another.
Cain also had a history of fighting and fleeing from the police, court records show.
In 1993, Cain stole a car in West Philadelphia and crashed it into a fence after a brief chase by police. He was sentenced to 11 and ½ to 23 months in city jail.
In 1996, he was stopped by police and reportedly began punching at the officers and then running away. He was caught and sentenced to no more than 23 months in city jail.
So the mayor blames the NRA for laws that would not have prevent the officer’s murder, but remains silent on the parole board that put the guy onto the streets 8 months ago. Life in the liberal looking glass in Philadelphia.
Cop Killed in Philly: Mayor Says NRA Should Apologize — Dean’s World:
[...] felons from possessing firearms of any type, let alone assault weapons. More on the story at The Razor. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]
5 May 2008, 8:30 pmJack:
“So the mayor blames the NRA for laws that would not have prevented the officer’s murder, but remains silent on the parole board that put the guy onto the streets 8 months ago.”
Of course, it’s always possible that the killer himself was to blame for his murderous and criminal behavior. But it’s just a theory.
5 May 2008, 10:38 pmYu-Ain Gonnano:
A couple of nits.
The SKS is not an assault rifle. An assualt rifle is a select fire rifle (can fire both Semi-Automatic and Fully-Automatic) chambered for an intermediate catridge. While the SKS does fire an intermediate cartridge it is not a select fire weapon and thus not an assault rifle.
The basic SKS is also not an “Assault Weapon” (as defined by the AWB). It does not have a detachable magazine: the first prerequisite. Even if it is modified to accept a detachable magazine (which it appears this particular one was), it would only be covered if it had 2 or more of: Large Capacity Magazine (Check), Folding stock (not stated), Pistol Grip (not stated), Bayonet mount (not stated), Flash Suppressor (not stated), or Grenage Launcher (not stated).
So, by the description given in the articles it would not have been covered by an Assualt Weapons ban anyway.
So we have a Mayor who is responding to a tragedy, by not only blaming the wrong people and the wrong process, but also is blaming the wrong weapon.
6 May 2008, 9:48 amScott Kirwin:
Yu
6 May 2008, 5:34 pmGood points. I haven’t fired an SKS; the only assault rifle I’ve fired is the MP5 and I’m not a fan of that type of gun. I suppose the MSM is using that term because it fits their liberal agenda; an assault weapons ban is much easier to pass than just a “gun ban”.
The Razor » Blog Archive » Philadelphia Won’t Charge Criminals…:
[...] I pointed out here that the issue wasn’t the Chinese SKS used by Cane to shoot Liczbinski; Cane, a convicted felon, couldn’t legally own a .22 to shoot squirrels let alone a carbine firing 7.62×39mm cartridges. But it was easier to blame the gun in a city that has been run by Democrats so long that the Republicans long ago gave up and fled to the suburbs. [...]
27 May 2008, 12:10 am