Pennsylvania lawmakers decry gun-rights banner invoking lynching

MARK SCOLFORO
The Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Two participants in a gun-rights rally Tuesday at the Capitol held up a banner calling for a Philadelphia lawmaker to be "hung from the tree of liberty." Black lawmakers denounced the message as racist and "a terroristic threat," and demanded a police investigation.

The banner said Rep. Angel Cruz, a Democrat of Puerto Rican descent who is sponsoring legislation to require gun registration and a $10-a-gun annual fee, "should be hung from the tree of liberty for treasonous acts against the constitution."

Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, said at a news conference that the banner was "an act of racism, an act of hatred, an act of bigotry and a terroristic threat on the life of a colleague."

"No one has the right to call for the lynching of another human being , no one," he said.

Paul Estus, of Ridgway, one of two men who held up the banner, said during the morning rally that the lynching tree was "just a figure of speech."

"You've got to make a stand," he said.

Rep. Jewell Williams, chairman of the Democrats' Philadelphia delegation, threatened a boycott on legislative business unless leaders of both parties agree to a policy or procedure to ban threatening signs from the Capitol.

"They said they're going to address it," Williams said.

Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, an organizer of the rally, condemned the banner as "not appropriate," and was later among a handful of lawmakers who criticized it on the House floor.

"It's very appropriate," said Alan Kiser, of Warren, who held the banner along with Estus. "If they don't think that this is appropriate, they wouldn't think our founding fathers were appropriate."

A spokesman for the Capitol Police, Edward Myslewicz, said the department was unaware of the banner but would "follow up" if it receives a complaint. Kirkland, D-Delaware, said a letter would be sent to the state police late Tuesday.

Cruz's proposal was on the minds of many of the hundreds of gun-rights advocates who packed the Capitol Rotunda to hear a group of state lawmakers, mostly Republicans, advocate proposals to expand those rights.

Cruz has said he introduced his bill to address escalating gun violence in Philadelphia, where 128 homicides already this year is on pace for the city's highest murder rate in a decade.

But gun owners in Pennsylvania are well organized and well-connected politically, claiming strong support from legislative leaders , and rank-and-file , of both parties in the General Assembly.

Cruz's bill has virtually no chance of passing, and many at the rally bitterly opposed it.

"Criminals will not tell you how many guns they have and pay a tax on it," said Charles McKelly, a 69-year-old retiree from Hershey. He said the proposal would cost him a substantial sum to pay fees for the weapons he keeps for hunting, clay-pigeon shooting and self-defense.

The event was organized and dominated by Republicans, although some Democratic lawmakers participated.

Rep. Dick Stevenson, R-Mercer, proposed allowing those with valid concealed-weapons permits to buy guns without having to go through the criminal-background checks currently required of all gun purchasers.

Metcalfe said he wants to eliminate a gun-sales database maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police and allow people who can show they are in "imminent danger" to be quickly issued temporary permits to carry concealed weapons.

Positions on gun control among House Democrats run the gamut, said Tom Andrews, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene. DeWeese has promised to consign Cruz's bill "to oblivion."

Despite overwhelming opposition in the House, Cruz said he is standing by the bill. Four of five co-sponsors have already withdrawn their support.

"It's my bill and I am not running from it," Cruz said. "A good legislator dances to the song that he chose."

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