Lancaster Intelligencer Journal
October 6, 2010

On Sept. 12, Marquis Hill shot 18-year-old Irving Santana 13 times in the Olney section of Philadelphia. Hill said Santana was trying to break in to his car. That was his version of street justice.

Hill was licensed to carry a concealed weapon. But he didn't have a Pennsylvania license. That had been revoked years earlier after his involvement in a shoting. So where did he get his permit? From the Florida Department of Agriculture. The permit is recognized in Pennsylvania through a reciprocity agreement between the states. It can be purchased online or through the mail, and Florida authorities don't bother checking to see if Pennsylvania has revoked the applicant's license.

Although Hill is believed to be the first person to be charged with homicide by the use of a firearm that was obtained from another state after having been denied a permit in Pennsylvania, he is not the only person to circumvent this law. At present, more than 3,000 permits have been issued to Pennsylvanians from Florida. More than 10 percent of those permits have been issued in the past seven months alone.

Law enforcement officers say a large portion of those who have received the permit are purposely evading Pennsylvania's permit requirements.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns has mounted a campaign to close what they call the "Florida Concealed Carry Loophole." Monday, the mayors published a full-page advertisement in the (Harrisburg) Patriot-News.

State Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-Del., has proposed sensible legislation in the form of HB2536. His straightforward proposal -- it consists of two double-spaced typewritten pages -- would require anyone seeking an out-of-state permit to at least be eligible for a Pennsylvania permit. That also would apply to Utah and New Hampshire, which issue gun permits to nonresidents.

But the state House, in an unusual parliamentary twist Monday, refused to consider Lentz's bill as amendment to a bill regarding one's right to self-defense in the home.

Lentz's legislation is supported by the mayor's group, which noted that more than 1,200 Pennsylvanians die from gunshot wounds each year -- five persons have been shot and killed in Lancaster County this year alone -- and that 22 police officers -- including seven in 2009 -- have been killed in the line of duty since 2000.

Pennsylvania also has another distinction: According to the FBI, Pennsylvania has led the nation in black homicide victimization rate for three of the past four years.

Reading and former Lancaster police Chief William Heim said, "In my 33-year career, I have not seen such a unified message from my fellow police chiefs and sheriff. ... We should not allow Pennsylvania law to be circumvented by weaker regulations that exist in other states."

The legislation has the support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato. But Republican candidate and state Attorney General Tom Corbett has termed the Lentz legislation a "solution in search of a problem."

The problem is now fully apparent. Irving Santana's death is the direct result of Pennsylvania's failure to close this loophole. Yet, in the wake of the Santana shooting, the Corbett campaign has said the candidate sees no reason to change the current state law.

That's a troubling declaration from the attorney general of a state whose mayors and police chiefs must worry not only about the proliferation of guns on the street, but about whether those with permits actually are entitled to one.