Pennsylvania could be a difficult challenge for Democratic frontrunners Senator Hillary Clinton of New York and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. The issue of guns will most certainly be the number one topic on the platform prelude to the Pennsylvania Democratic primary that is set for April 22, which is only seven days away. One could ask: Why would guns be the hot topic on the table in regards to the Pennsylvania contest?
The reason being is that the issue of guns is an interesting and razor sharp double-edged sword in Pennsylvania. One side of the sword reflects upon the fact that Pennsylvania has almost one million licensed hunters. The other side of the sword reflects on the part that there is almost one murder a day in Pennsylvania which is caused by firearms. It is highly likely that the issue of guns will be uncharted and highly volatile territory for both Clinton and Obama.
Most of the gun-related murders take place in Philadelphia, which is nicknamed as “Killadelphia.” It is highly likely that most of the gun related murders taken place in the northern part of Philadelphia. Statistics show that while Philadelphia has a high crime rate, it adds that most of the crimes are concentrated in northern Philadelphia. This is information also coming from friends that do live in that part of the city.
There are at least 250,000 National Rifle Association (NRA) members that live in the state of Pennsylvania. This is the highest number of members than any other state in the country.
Recently, a bill was killed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. If the bill was passed, handgun owners would be required to report the theft or loss of their guns to law enforcement.
This is the sharp double-edged sword situation that is presented to both Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. Pennsylvania is the next major primary contest in the Democratic races. If not dealt with carefully, any side of this sword will cleave either candidate into pieces in the political sense.
It would look to be unavoidable with the gun issue as both frontrunners will square off in a debate on Wednesday, April 16. This also comes before the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting in which Cho Seung-hui shot and killed 32 students and professors before killing himself.
On a side note, 21-year-old Korean student Daniel Kim had committed suicide eight months later after the incident. He had fallen into a state of depression out of fears that student would mistake him for Cho. Kim’s father said that school officials did not take the warning signs seriously.
In the case of gun-related murders, police have said that 343 people were killed by guns back in 2006. The total was added by another 330 in 2007.
The issue of guns could possibly decide who wins Pennsylvania and ultimately the Democratic nomination. In short, the issue of guns will be one that will divide primary voters in Pennsylvania.