Michele Grant (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} opadit) wrote,@ 2008-05-08 09:30:00 |
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gun used in robbery that led to cop-killing was from central Penna.
Steven Liczbinski, a Philadelphia police officer, was killed in the line of duty a few days ago. Three men had just robbed a bank inside a supermarket, and, after a brief chase, one of them basically executed the officer. It turns out that one of the guns used in the bank robbery -- found in the suspects' stolen van afterward -- came from central Pennsylvania.
According to police, this is how the gun found its way to Philadelphia. Levi Swigert, a 19-year-old resident of Duncannon (near Harrisburg), stole the .22 caliber revolver from his mom. She reported the theft in February. Then he bartered it for crack cocaine. The crack seller, who often visits family in Lancaster, was one of the suspects in the robbery (Inky).
Maybe the whole "Pennsyltucky" outrage against gun control isn't a self-defense and freedom to hunt thing. Maybe it's actually an economics thing. As the mines, farms, and factories between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh close down, folks can barely make a living any more. Who are we, the urban elitists on the east and west ends of the Commonwealth, to fight for stricter gun laws that would help prevent illegal but profitable gun sales? Rural Pennsylvanians have to put food on the table, too!
Steven Liczbinski, a Philadelphia police officer, was killed in the line of duty a few days ago. Three men had just robbed a bank inside a supermarket, and, after a brief chase, one of them basically executed the officer. It turns out that one of the guns used in the bank robbery -- found in the suspects' stolen van afterward -- came from central Pennsylvania.
According to police, this is how the gun found its way to Philadelphia. Levi Swigert, a 19-year-old resident of Duncannon (near Harrisburg), stole the .22 caliber revolver from his mom. She reported the theft in February. Then he bartered it for crack cocaine. The crack seller, who often visits family in Lancaster, was one of the suspects in the robbery (Inky).
Maybe the whole "Pennsyltucky" outrage against gun control isn't a self-defense and freedom to hunt thing. Maybe it's actually an economics thing. As the mines, farms, and factories between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh close down, folks can barely make a living any more. Who are we, the urban elitists on the east and west ends of the Commonwealth, to fight for stricter gun laws that would help prevent illegal but profitable gun sales? Rural Pennsylvanians have to put food on the table, too!
