Politics & Government
Kampf Says He'd Consider Tougher Gun Laws
But even after Aurora, the state Rep. said such legislation would be unlikely to pass in PA.
In the aftermath of the Aurora shooting that killed 12, injured 58, and renewed a national conversation about gun control, state Rep. Warren Kampf (R-157) signaled a willingness this week to consider legislation that would place restrictions on gun ownership in Pennsylvania.
“I can’t ignore what happened in Aurora,” he told a group of constituents at Phoenixville High School on July 30.
“I was a prosecutor for five years in Philadelphia and York County and a public defender here in Chester County, so I’m somewhat up close and personal with the effect of gun crime.”
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He emphasized that any reform would face long odds though; reminding the audience that many of his colleagues in the Pennsylvania legislature, especially those from the western part of the state, view the second amendment as sacred. Some not only receive contributions from the NRA, he added, but are members themselves.
“The National Rifle Association is a very powerful lobby in Pennsylvania,” he said
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Kampf added that even if a bill were to make it through the legislature and into law, it would be unlikely to survive the scrutiny of the courts. The prevailing jurisprudence is hostile to gun control measures, he pointed out, citing laws in Chicago and Washington, DC that were struck down by the Supreme Court. He said he’d be unwilling to support legislation that precedent suggests would be invalidated by the courts.
“I’m also not going to vote for something that’s just a show and not going to pass muster with the Supreme Court. And I’m also not going to vote for legislation that sounds good; I’d like it to pass muster with me as something that could have an impact,” the representative said.
Though he added that there is, to his knowledge, no gun control bill pending in either house, he expressed alarm that the weapon used in the Aurora shooting is available for instant purchase in the Commonwealth.
“There are no restrictions at all on ammunition purchases [in Pennsylvania]. I also believe that long rifles can be traded or bought without a background check. And I believe…that the AR-15 that was used in Aurora would fall under that definition. Those things concern me, so I’m going to take a look at them. But I’d have to see a piece of legislation, and I don’t have one in front of me."
