The food-stamp economy
On the last day of every month, shoppers at Walmart load their carts with food and household items and wait for the midnight hour. Is this the new normal in America? Full Article
Judge blocks Philadelphia ban on assault weapons
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia judge struck down city ordinances banning assault weapons and limiting handgun purchases on Tuesday, in a blow to the city's attempts to make gun laws separately from the state.
Pennsylvania state lawmakers, influenced by a strong rural gun lobby, have repeatedly rejected gun-control proposals from Philadelphia, one of the most violent cities in the United States.
Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas said in a brief ruling that the city should be permanently prevented from enforcing the ordinances passed unanimously by the city council in April.
The ruling made permanent a temporary injunction and came in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association, which argued that only the state legislature has a right to set gun laws.
NRA attorney C. Scott Shields called the decision a "huge victory" for gun-rights advocates. "The assault weapons ban and one-gun-a-month were the meat and potatoes of these ordinances," he said.
The city is expected to appeal the decision.
Judge Greenspan denied a challenge by the NRA to three other ordinances. Those allow judges to remove guns from people declared to be a risk to themselves or others; prevent people under protection-from-abuse orders from owning guns, and require gun owners to report the loss or theft of a gun to police within 24 hours.
(Reporting by Jon Hurdle)
