Officials re-write gun laws for more scrutiny

    Philadelphia police and the District Attorney are sending a stern warning to people trying to skirt firarms regulations.

    Philadelphia police and the District Attorney are sending a stern warning to people trying to skirt firearms regulations.
    Caption: Deputy Police Commissioner William Blackburn and D.A. Lynn Abraham.

    Listen:
    [audio: 090831tmgun.mp3]

    Law enforcement officials have re-written the city’s gun permit law in an effort to stop people from submitting false information. William Blackburn is a Deputy Police Commissioner.

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    Blackburn: There’s several questions that we feel by wording in a different if a person doesn’t tell the truth we will be able to prosecute to the fullest extent. When a person comes in there is an instant check we wanted to understand if it’s denied why that was denied.

    So far this year 300 permits have been revoked, and the city turned down another 500 permit requests because those people weren’t qualified to carry a gun. Blackburn says some ambiguous questions on the form made it difficult to file charges againt those suspected of falsifying their backgrounds.

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