Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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When Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto signed three new gun control provisions into law in the Steel City recently, he did so in blatant disregard for the state’s preemption law. In fact, while the laws were under consideration by the Pittsburgh city council, DA Stephen Zappala warned all involved that what they were doing was clearly illegal.

Peduto’s response: arrest me.

But after the bill signing, when local residents attempted to file charges against Peduto and city council members for their violation of state law, they were stonewalled by DA Zappala, who has to approve charges filed by citizens. Zappala says he won’t do that until the law goes into effect and someone is actually cited for violating it.

But wait! Surely the state’s Attorney General, Josh Shapiro won’t stand by and watch locals thumb their noses at a state statute. That’s can’t be a precedent he’d want to see established.

But Shapiro seems to have bigger fish to fry. There are other states in the union doing things with which he disagrees.

The problem is that both Peduto and Shapiro are Democrats (as is Zappala, for that matter). And the AG doesn’t want to violate the unwritten commandment, Thou shalt not prosecute someone of thine own party. 

Especially when the law-breaking furthers a political goal that the AG supports. Namely, more restrictions on civilian gun ownership. So the lesson is clear in the Keystone state; you can get away with anything as long as the state’s chief law enforcement officer agrees with the outcome.

And so it goes.

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70 COMMENTS

    • A Banana Republic compels NO loyalty or Recognition by ” We The People ”

      When the ‘ outlaws ‘ are office holders and public ‘ servants ‘ sending out their brain dead ” enforcers ‘ to harass the countryside , the rule of law is lost.

      • “…the rule of law is lost.”

        Yes. Worse, I fear it has been for quite a while now. Matter of time until more people start feeling it personally.

    • I’m not disagreeing but the lawyers would say “Abortion has 4th amendment Protection”.

      The 4th is under strict scrutiny standard.

      Unless that changes, I’m not seeing abortion argument going anywhere.

      • Kyle,

        The major problem with abortion is that it kills a human being which is homicide. And in order for homicide to be legally justifiable, the human who dies must be posing a credible, imminent threat of death or grievous bodily harm to a victim.

        A woman who is pregnant and whose baby is not threatening her life has no legally justified reason to kill her baby.

        Of course the error is that the courts do not recognize a baby in the womb as a human being with a right to life. Change that and the courts HAVE to recognize abortion as murder unless the mother will die without the abortion. And yes, a baby in the womb is a human being deserving of rights. To say otherwise is to put qualifiers such as location, self-sufficiency, sentience, and value to others on our rights, which is WRONG in every other situation at this time.

        Do pregnant women have a right to privacy with respect to their pregnancy? Absolutely! Note, however, that a woman’s right to privacy does not empower a health practitioner to kill a baby.

        • If you cause a car wreck and the woman and fetus die, you are charged with a double homicide. Why? If the baby isn’t a baby, you didn’t kill anything. It’s life or not life. The politicians can’t have it both ways…but they do. (Same with the transgender thing. Today I’m a girl. I think I’ll be a boy tomorrow and then, you can’t say I’m not.)

        • Victoria Illinois,

          Your example is another illustration that babies in the womb are human beings and, indeed, life.

          Legal abortion is nothing more than state sanctioned murder when the mother does not want her baby: it is an institution that says a person only has rights when an authority figure (the pregnant mother in this case) has decided that said person is “valuable”. That always has been and always will be abhorrent.

        • Unborn embryos are not human beings, they aren’t viable outside the womb and the Bible says they don’t have a soul.

          Read genesis 2:7:

          “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

          Other verses confirm that God’s law does not value children until they are one month old.

        • Leviticus 27:6:

          “And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.”

          God’s law as given to Moses clearly shows that God attaches no value to unborn children or children up to one month of age. It is interesting to note that God values men more than women, what do you ladies think of that?

        • As millions have done before.
          You have to be careful when taking biblical verses out of context, nowhere did that specify that breathing was the definition of all humans. That verse simply implies that the FIRST person was giving the start of life through that breath, not all.
          Same for the value of a child, just because it was written in one verse does not make it an absolute word of god, most verses are references to an event in time at that moment and do not represent everyone everywhere all the time, particularly in using old testament statements as a lot of those “laws” were man made and used before the arrival of Christ.

        • To expand on Leviticus 27.

          The values given were monetary equivalents of the amount of work that could be done by the individual for the church. For example, the poor were rated at or lower than one month old infants because the poor had no value and could rack up too much unpayable debt, this does not translate that the poor are then not considered to be living or have no souls in the eyes of the Lord.
          Therefore this valuation does not represent the withstanding of a person but rather their ability to work, the elderly were also rated as low as infants due to their decreased work ability.

          As for the one month old, the valuation starts at one month because the Hebrew calendar rotated on a moon to moon or month to month basis and less than one moon was considered 0

          Personally anyone who does not value children, be it one month or 5 years old and needs an old book to tell them if they should, needs to SERIOUSLY get their heads straight.

          I will also go to my grave rejecting that God would see no value in a developing baby or a born infant.
          Anyone who would think that the greatest gift given to man had no value deserves no audience of their opinion.

        • “ just because it was written in one verse does not make it an absolute word of god”

          “a lot of those “laws” were man made”

          Interesting, so you’re saying the Old Testament laws are man-made? You know the 10 Commandments are from the Old Testament, right? I guess that explains why we haven’t stoned Donald Trump, he’s a three times adulterer, violating the 10 commandments which requires death by stoning.

          But Michelle Bachmann says he’s a ‘highly biblical president’ so that makes all A-OK.

        • I said “a lot of those laws” not all.
          I see you have a problem with reading comprehension, this explains a lot.

          So before this can continue into a viable conversation you need to work on that.
          It appears your lack of skills is causing a lot of your confusion. To clarify, I again said ‘a lot” not all.
          You really want to get that under control before reading into the bible as converting thousand year old text isn’t easy with poor reading skills.

        • Although, with some provisions of Obamacare, the right to privacy has been voided already by the federal government.

        • “I said “a lot of those laws” not all.
          I see you have a problem with reading comprehension, this explains a lot.”

          So who decides which walls are still in effect question Bob, are you a prophet of God bringing a new revelation?

          Let me guess, adultery is out as a death penalty crime but homosexuality is still in as a death penalty crime, right?

          These cafeteria Christians are fascinating, to pick and choose a Bible verses is wrong.

        • @ bob, don’t waste your time, you’re aruging with a Professional liar. Possibly even a troll bot.

        • Tom,

          A human life is a human life, regardless of age (elapsed time since conception), development (how many cells it has), environment (in versus out of the womb), or perceived value (whether or not the pregnant mother wants the child). Scientists and medical professionals who say otherwise are flat-out lying.

          Looking at it another way, a human life is the result of the reproductive process of humans. Period. Size, shape, environment, location, independence, value, sentience, etc. have no bearing.

    • most of the “gun violence” in Pittsburgh comes from blacks shooting each other with pistols…and it’s practically a daily occurrence…so how would this legislation prevent that?….

    • in many respects this AG is a pretty good guy…and doesn’t look be serving time like many of his predecessors…but I…along with many others….will be watching closely to see how he handles this issue….as far as what’s transpired in kentucky…why is that any of his business?…..

  5. Like we give a rat’s ass what politicians and elites think about us in Pennsylvania. Y’all quit making Kentucky long rifle’s a long time ago in PA so I’m damned if I know what we need you for.

    Come on down and run that purty mouth in my holler until you hear the banjo music.

        • BOURBON dude, get it right. And yes the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot was last weekend and the next one is in October I believe. Also KY is a Commonwealth which means we have our right DOUBLY assured and we are FINALLY started to take the state back from the Liberals who have been running it into the ground for the last 100 years.

  6. It is really quite sad-and ironic really-that when the United States was a very young country just getting written and started, the nation’s capitol, for a time, was in Philadelphia. How ironic, then, that this very state is in line for shredding the very documents that our Forefathers fought and shed blood to give us.

  7. the dems have recently gained some power in PA…guv, ag and the supreme court and they’re beginning to show their true colors….

  8. I live in PA. Shapiro is an idiot. He’s backing a bill to change our constitution to permit the passing of a retroactive law. NOTHING is that important even though it involves changing the statute of limitations on a child abuse law. He is only the SECOND elected Democratic AG of the state, the first one a female is serving time in prison. I don’t know about but I have never read anything the 14th amendment that permits the killing of babies. Wasn’t it the Democrats who Nam vets bay by killers?

  9. Another former US state going down the drain. Think they’re coming after the vaccine exemptions in PA also, seems to be the trend. Go for guns and remove parents rights to refuse these pharmaceuticals.

    • Well that’s a bit of an apples and oranges comparison. Guns are inanimate objects and wont harm anyone on their own. Viruses are animate objects (in the sense that they move and act independently but dont meet the biological definition of a living organism) and can very easily kill susceptible populations on their own.

    • “easily kill? … And what do you mean by susceptible?”

      Good questions. Basically the risk unvaccinated kids pose is that they can transmit the virus to children with immunodeficiencies (i.e. kids who are susceptible to serious infection with the measles virus because they dont have a fully-functioning immune system [due to a genetic disease or or due to the side effects of anti-cancer drugs]). A child without a fully functioning immune system can suffer tremendously from the infection and easily be killed by the measles virus despite treatment. It’s not the anti-vaxxer’s kids that suffer the most (although measles is a cunt of a disease even with a fully-functioning immune system); it’s the parents of a kid already battling childhood cancer.

      • Standard industry answer. Newsflash….kids, like adults, vaccinated or not vaccinated, cannot transit infections they don’t carry. Science. Try it sometime.

      • Fully Involved,

        If a child has a compromised immune system, it is the responsibility of that child’s parents to take appropriate measures to ensure the health and safety of that child. It is most definitely NOT the responsibility of other families. If that requires total quarantine and a clean-room environment for the child, so be it.

        Saying it another way, that child should be wearing a bubble-suit if he/she goes out in public rather than requiring everyone in public to wear a bubble-suit.

        • @ uncommon_sense:
          (Because of ttag’s shitty comment/reply system, ive posted my response below).

      • Measles can do a lot more than make you miserable. A girl I had my first real crush on school came down with it same as the rest of us. After a week or so she fell asleep according to her parents and never woke up. Measles Encephalitis was what I was told killed her a few years later. That and Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis are serious side affects. Both are rare here now but let the cases keep popping up and you will see more of these.

        • lol yea I admit that saying “measles makes you miserable” is a vast understatement, you got me there.

          The problem with the measles outbreaks from the anti-vax ‘movement’ (for lack of a better term) is that it puts everyone at risk, even if you are vaccinated and have a normal or strong immune system. The reason being is that the vaccine is 97% effective. When people dont vaccinate, outbreaks occur. When outbreaks occur, that 3% means hundreds to thousands of vaccinated people will get the disease (the number is obviously higher for those that are unvaccinated) and is at risk of suffering the same unfortunate fate as your childhood crush. You could do everything right and still die from measles because other people chose not get vaccinated or not vaccinate their kids. This is why it’s super important that everyone who can get vaccinated actually does get vaccinated.

        • Ken, the measles death rate prior to measles vaccine was approaching zero. But you knew someone that died from a measles complication……funny how these anecdotal measles deaths/complications stories sudddenly started popping up online….just as the industry is pushing to remove peoples rights to refuse these products…..

        • Pg2, That event has stayed with me, she did not return to school and if I had not overheard my parents talking about it I would not have known she had died. The school never said why she did not come return to classes. Just that she was no longer a student there.

        • Again, the measles death rate before the measles vaccine was introduced was approaching zero. It’s amazing how many of these measles complications anecdotes have started popping up in these online comment sections….just at the same time there is an overt push by the pharmaceutical industry to remove the public’s rights to refuse these products. A childhood disease that was harmless for the vast majority of children that caught it….

    • “Standard industry answer.”

      Well… yea it’s the scientifically-verified truth and one would hope we base our healthcare on scientifically-verified information.

      “kids, like adults, vaccinated or not vaccinated, cannot transit infections they don’t carry.”

      Uh… right, a person can’t transmit an infectious pathogenic agent without first having that infectious pathogenic agent… because they have nothing to transmit. That’s like saying a person who has no money cant make a monetary donation. Your statement is obvious so I’m not sure what exactly is the point you’re trying to make (forgive me if that came off as harsh or rude as that isnt my intention).

      Did you mean to say “a person without symptoms cant transmit the infectious pathogenic agent that caused those symptoms”? If so, then you should know that it’s not true; a person can absolutely be asymptomatic and still transmit an infectious pathogenic agent (i.e. we would call that person an asymptomatic carriers). However with measles its a bit different because an infected individual can transmit the virus up to 4 days before and 4 days after the characteristic rash appears. So that person might not know they are infected and still be spreading the virus around. Also the virus can survive in the air for up to 2 hours and still be capable of causing an infection. These are some of the reasons the measles virus is considered to be extremely contagious.

      • @fully. Where to start with this gem…how about your first sentence …the same healthcare system that unnessasrily kills 250k-400k(depending on which sources you use) people yearly? That “scientifically verified truth”? The vast majority of the adult population no longer has measles protection from their childhood measles shots, we know whatever protection from the shots is always temporary and wanes, and for some people it doesn’t work at all. Where have the measles epidemics been without more than half the population living without protection for decades? You’re asking an unknown number of children to be sacrificed yearly to allegedly protect a very small small group of people that exposure to infections that could be high risk, even infections that we don’t even have vaccinations for? Has medicine become a religion? You have no right to demand other people undergo medical procedures to make you feel safer. How about this scientifically verified truth about childhood vaccines…not one pediatric vaccine has ever been safety tested against an inert placebo. Any belief you have about these products is faith, literally.

    • @ uncommon_sense:
      “If a child has a compromised immune system, it is the responsibility of that child’s parents to take appropriate measures to ensure the health and safety of that child. It is most definitely NOT the responsibility of other families. If that requires total quarantine and a clean-room environment for the child, so be it.

      Saying it another way, that child should be wearing a bubble-suit if he/she goes out in public rather than requiring everyone in public to wear a bubble-suit”

      Well, first of all it’s not just kids that get immunocompromised, it also includes newborns, cancer patients, HIV patients, transplant patients, the elderly… basically what im trying to say is that the susceptible audience here is huge, i just gave the example of kids with cancer for simplicity.

      Second, putting all these people in a constant sterile environment is practically impossible and financially unfeasible. Realistically the best we can do is try to minimize transmitting infectious agents through hand-washing, sanitation and sterilization techniques, wearing masks and vaccinate those that are able to receive a vaccine (as not everyone is eligible for all vaccines, such as the immunocompromised).

      • Fully Involved,

        The fact remains that a tiny percentage of the U.S. population have compromised immune systems. Forcing the other 99% of the U.S. population to do something against their will for the benefit of the 1% (or however tiny the percentage is) is wrong.

        For what it is worth, my mom falls into that category with a compromised immune system. Our family does not ask the world to accommodate my mom. Instead, we limit her exposure to the world. We keep away from public places quite often, especially during cold/flu season. We have her wear a mask in public often times. And we are sticklers about ensuring that she does not touch door handles, shopping carts, etc., as well as ensuring that she washes her hands. Is that annoying at times? Of course! Nevertheless, that is our family’s problem to handle: it is not society’s problem to handle.

        Note that I am a HUGE advocate of education. We need better information and verification of the possible risks and benefits of vaccinations. And we need to do a much better job communicating such information.

  12. Perhaps gov Matt Bevin will eliminate the welfare industrial complex in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. And churches will go back to doing what they were originally created to do. That is to care for the welfare of people in need, using private funds. The Democrats would prefer to use government funds to interfere in the morality choices of the citizens.

    • BTW
      This is normal for Democrats. California got upset because Alabama wouldn’t allow it citizens to buy sex toys through the mail. Also California got upset because North Carolina wouldn’t allow men to go into a woman’s bathroom and masturbate in front of children.

      This is what the sexually liberated and Democrats do.

      • “Alabama wouldn’t allow it citizens to buy sex toys through the mail.”

        What kind of BS repressive dictator does the government in Alabama think they have a right to be?

        I thought the conservatives were for less government, the smaller government that stayed out of my personal life.

        Please explain to this Democrat why the conservatives think they have a right to tell me what I can buy through the mail from another state. Today dildos, tomorrow 30 round magazines.

        • Democrats tell people they can’t have sex all the time. In fact Democrats tell folks who they can and can’t have sex with. They are called welfare recipients. And if Democrats find out, they put some of them in jail because they were having sex.

        • Miner49er
          I forgot to ask you. Why do Democrats like to masturbate in front of other people’s children so much?

          Is this why Democrats insist on disarming teenagers? Raising the age to possess a firearm from 16 years of age to 21 years of age?

          You do realize that 12 year old children have shot and hit their attacker who invaded their home? Of course they were trained by their parents. The children understood and were well disciplined in Firearms handling.

  13. So the lesson is clear in the Keystone state; you can get away with anything as long as the state’s chief law enforcement officer agrees with the outcome.

    Thus, Pennsylvania is no longer a “nation of laws”, but rather a “nation of men”. In other words, whoever has power does whatever they want regardless of laws.

  14. Fucking politicos. Were they ever truly OUR representatives? I do believe Trump is fighting for the few remaining Americans. Have fun with that.

  15. Looks like the fix was in. They wouldn’t have passed the laws if there wasn’t a wink from the AG. Watch Philly pull something next. And then wolf and his AG will go on record as saying “well, let’s see if it makes cities safer or not” while the state supreme court snoozes.

    PA is going through a transformation. 11 counties re elected Wolf and these are liberal strongholds. It won’t be much longer until it’s new York state 2.

  16. It isn’t a gun violence problem, it’s a crime problem.
    The Luciferians are flagrantly violating the Constitution but are protected from prosecution by other Luciferians.
    What does one do when the Law fails? There is only one thing left.

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