Pittsburgh Mayor Pushes Firearm Confiscation Orders, Gun and Magazine Bans

Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto (D) is pushing firearm confiscation orders, bans on commonly-owned semiautomatic firearms and “high capacity” magazines.

Following the October 27 attack on the gun and security-free Tree of Life Synagogue, Peduto voiced opposition to hiring armed guards to protect congregants. Eleven innocents were killed when a gunman entered the synagogue and no one could shoot back.

Peduto’s solution is to create gun confiscation orders, ban commonly-owned semiautomatic firearms, and ban “high capacity” magazines and bump stocks.

There are two problems with Peduto’s proposals: 1. They would not prevent another synagogue attack from occurring because the biggest issue in a mass shooting is not the type of gun used but the amount of time the attacker has to ply his trade.

For example, while the Democrat Party and gun control groups focused on the type of gun used in the February 14 Parkland shooting, they overlooked the fact that the Parkland gunman has so much time that he was able to pause five times and reload during the attack. There was not pressure because no one could shoot back.

Moreover, the December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook attacker had over nine minutes without armed resistance when he struck that gun-free school. With that kind of time in a gun-free scenario an attacker with a five shot revolver and a pocket full of bullets could kill a gut-wrenching number of innocents.

The second problem with Peduto’s gun control push is Pennsylvania’s preemption law. That law makes it illegal for a municipality to pass gun controls that exceed the controls at the state level. The NRA-ILA published the text of PA’s preemption law: “No county, municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.