whats the scoop on this ridge guy?

hacker

so tom ridge of penn. is going to be the new homeland security secretary. how is he on the second amendment? seems like i have heard some bad stuff going on in pa recently with background check files and such. is he ok or do we need to worry that he will push for gun control to combat terrorism?

gunpaq

Tom Ridge is OK in my book as a lifetime Pennsylvania resident who has seen better and worse. He is the right man for the job. As with any politician or government agency especially during times of emergency they have to be reminded that they work for us and that we are only willing to sacrifice conveniece and not our God given rights as citizens. As far as the gun registration records, all sales records have been kept by the State Police for over forty years - but this may change with new legislation. Unfortunately most people in this state vote with thier party instead of thier conscience.Pennsylvania is about 75% rural and musters a million man militia once a year during buck season. Again, unfortunately the remaining 25% of Pennsylvania is urban and that majority population with the rurals who vote thier party call the shots with our gun laws and policies. Mr. Ridge will do fine.

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salzo

Inever sensed any anti gun feelings from Ridge. He has actually stood up to the antis. A bill was recently signed into law, that would require trigger locks be sold or given with any firearms purchase. The PA congress pretty much voted overwhelmingly for this, but Ridge would not sign UNLESS they put into the law, that NO CITY OR TOWN IN PA COULD SUE GUN MANUFACTURERS. They put it in, and Ridge signed the bill. It is also interesting to note that even though the law stated that cities in PA could not sue the gun manufacturers, Philadelphia, led by Mayor Street, decided to sue them anyway.

Iconoclast

While this individual may well be protective of our rights, can you imagine what a Bubba appointee would do in such a position? "In the name of domestic security, the following items have been deemed dangerous to the public & must be turned in to _____________ in the next 30 days!" Or something like that. One need only look at EPA & OSHA to see good intentions perverted by Those Who Know Best. As firearms owners, we will have to be particularly vigilant in examining the enabling legislation, scope of authority & etc. or we will be SOL in no time at all. I am not saying an anti-terrorism coordinator is not needed, but that rather we must work - *hard* - w/ our legislators to ensure it doesn't become the backdoor confiscation that HCI & others have sought for the past 30 years.[This message has been edited by Iconoclast (edited 09-21-2001).]

1blitzer

I proud to have him as my governor and was hoping he was going to Bush's v.p.

ICE NINE

Indeed, Ridge should have been Bush's pick for VP. There wouldn't have been any question about who won the election. This might be a better gig for him in the long run, though. Maybe it will even set him up for the VP spot in 2004, if Cheney's health gets worse or he isn't feeling like another 4 years . . .

Rembrandt

The reason he wasn't selected for the VP position was his stand on abortion...he's pro-choice.

ICE NINE

I know. That's why he would have appealed more to the middle-of-the-road types than Cheney did. [This message has been edited by ICE NINE (edited 09-21-2001).]

Rembrandt

I would guess that for every middle of the road vote Ridge picked up, GWB would have lost two conservative votes....then we would have had Gore handling this crisis...

salzo

Rembrandt- Right on!!Though he is not "pro choice"- murder is never a "pro-choice"[This message has been edited by salzo (edited 09-21-2001).]