City Council is expected to pass a series of nine gun-control measures today – including one that failed in the state House of Representatives this week – that could set up a showdown between Mayor Nutter and the state.

City Council’s package is similar to one introduced last year, but which expired without the state-legislation required to enact it. Without any hope of approval from the legislature, Council members Darrell L. Clarke and Donna Reed Miller introduced new bills this year that do not require state approval.

Mayor Nutter has promised to sign the bills and enforce the law, even if it’s contrary to Supreme Court rulings prohibiting the city from creating its own gun laws. Such an action would invariably result in a legal challenge, observers say.  read more »

A widely anticipated ban on the use of deer-hunting rifles in the Lehigh Valley may not happen as soon as expected, a Pennsylvania Game Commission official said Sunday.

A preliminary vote on the rifle ban — which would expand Southeastern Pennsylvania’s shotgun-only area to include virtually all of Lehigh and Northampton counties and a significant portion of Berks County — is scheduled for Tuesday.

But Commissioner Gregory Isabella of Philadelphia, whose district includes the Lehigh Valley, said sportsmen have raised a number of concerns that may require more consideration before the measure moves forward. Additional discussion could take place today during the commission’s work session.  read more »