Open Letter to Police Commissioner Johnson re Concealed Carry.

Dear Mr. Johnson.



I heard a sound byte from you on 1210AM the other day to the effect that "If I had my way, there would be no concealed carry"



First of all, I would like to say that it is statements like that that drove me and my business out of philadelphia (lower case intentional) to the suburbs.



I would like to pose a series of questions which you or your staff can feel free to reply to

• Exactly how many concealed carry holders have committed crimes of violence? Can you give the numbers as a percentage of the total crimes of violence? HINT - the number is extremely low or is approaching ZERO. The law abiding citizens are NOT the problem.


• Many people have twisted the meaning of the Second Ammendment of the Federal Bill of Rights. However, the Constitution of our beloved Commonwealth, which you are duty bound to follow, reads "The right of the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned". The language of our Commonwealth's Constitution leaves no "Wiggle Room" in it's language. Deny the right of people to protect themselves and you are violating the rights of Pennsylvanians as guaranteed under the constitution.


• It is a well known management principle that trying to "solve" the problem by focusing on something that is not the cause of the problem is worse than doing nothing. Decent people exercising their rights under the law is not the problem. Taking away their rights while ignoring the real causes of crime will leave them unprotected while doing nothing to reduce criminal behaviour.


• If concealed carry is such a problem, can you explain Vermont? I vacationed there about 2 years ago. Any adult who does not have a criminal or mental record can carry without a permit. No paperwork required. No need to ask the Government for permission to exercise your basic rights. Would you care to compare the crime rates in Vermont with those of Philadelphia?? I thought not.
• Do you, or do you not, believe that citizens have a right to self defense? I believe that court decisions have shown that the police are not obligated to protect the individual, just the 'public at large'.

There are numerous causes for the decay of our society which contribute to criminal behaviour. Those will take a little bit of work to fix.

• The Decay of the family - Crime was much lower when we had traditional families. We have created a society where the traditional family is a pariah. When my wife and I attended childbirth classes in Philadelphia, I became aware that the instructor was twisting every possible way to avoid the terms "Father" or "Husband", instead using stalistic euphamisms such as "Labor Coach" and "Significant Other". Over a half century of liberalism has shattered the traditional family with predictable results.
• Revolving Door Justice - Criminals know that prison caps and liberal judges will ensure their immediate return to the streets for all but the most dastardly crimes.
• An environment hostile to small business - Guess what, Philadelphia is one of the worst places for a small business person. The taxes are staggering. You are driving small business and even larger business out of the city to the suburbs, other states or even overseas. You reap what you sow. With the loss of those jobs, there is a corresponding loss of opportunity.
• Corruption - Philadelphia --- Corruption??? Who would have thought. .. You need to clean up the mess in a manner similar to that of Theodore Roosevelt in New York City in the late 1800's. Weed out the bad apples. Have ZERO tolerance for corruption. Why is it that drug dealers can operate openly on the streets? Unfortunately I would think that some envelopes full of cash are going into some blue pockets.

Anyway, Mister Commissioner, that is just a beginning. They say that Republics generally only last for about 300 years. I see the that the foundations of freedom laid down by out Founding Fathers are crumbling. I see politicians such as yourself ignoring the God given rights of the people for political gain, or out of ingorance or to perhaps further some other agenda.

(and make no mistake, you are a political animal)

Respectfull,

Christopher G. Mendla

Philadelphia Expatriot.

Philly - Efficient parking enforcement.

I missed getting to my car by less than 5 minutes. One of Philly's illustrious meter maniacs had already tagged my car with a $26 fine. Aaaargh... I wish the rest of the city, the parts that actually matter would work half as well.

Oh well, I guess the city needs the revenue. I understand that the honarable Mayor Street was a little fuzzy on the concept of city politboro members needing to pay their real estate taxes the same as the common folk. Efficient collection of parking fines will help offset that lost revenue.

City Politicos destroy 77 year old Holmesburg Group.. After all, shooters are second class citizens.

There was an excellent but sad article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the City of Philadelphia ending the lease of the Holmesburg Fish and Game Club. The club has been in existance for 77 years.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20070914_Final_rounds_for_durable_gun_club_.html

or,
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/
20070914_Final_rounds_for_durable_gun_club_.html

if the first link doesn't work.

Supposedly the prison guards need a larger range to train. The lease will end on December 31st of this year.

Over the past decade or so, Holmesburg has shared it's facilites with the prison guards and other police. The range facilities were built by and funded by the members. Now the city is throwing them out and taking over.

"Corrections officers already use the club's ranges several days a week, and association members said they did not see why the prison system needed a 24/7 facility along with the costs of its upkeep."

Many of the members are third generation. The club is active in the community with training programs and youth programs. They have been sharing the facility for the past several years. This doesn't mean anything to prison commissioner Leon King who offered a laundry list of lame excuses for the grab.

Here are just a few random thoughts

• You really can't trust government to play fair. If they lust after something you worked to build, they will simply use the power of government to take it.
• If you are on the wrong side of the political correctness fence, liberals who preach diversity and tolerance will show neither to you. Can you imagine the outrage if the city did the same thing to a gay or minority oriented club ?

One final question that should be asked of the illustrious Mayor Street and Commisioner King.. Are you telling us that the prisons are so full, and so difficult to control, that you need to confiscate a range that was used by over 1500 people for the use of the Philadelphia prison guards? Maybe the answer is on the Mayor's Blackberry. .....