Rendell Wants Restriction on "Assault" Weapons

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell says as a result of the April 4th shooting deaths of 3 Pittsburgh Police Officers he will call for policy changes at the state and federal levels concerning semi-automatic "assault style" weapons. 22 year old Richard Poplawski is charged with killing Officers Paul Sciullo II, Stephen Mayhle and Eric King when they came to his mother's Stanton Heights home in response to a domestic dispute call. Investigators say Poplawski used and AK-47 to kill the officers. Several other weapons were found in the home.
Governor Rendell says "police officers all over the state are out-gunned" and there probably would have been more dead officers if Poplawski's AK-47 hadn't jammed. The governor says assaults on police officers in Pennsylvania were up 86% last year. Rendell says politicians have to listen to law enforcement groups across Pennsylvania and across the country about changes that need to be made to gun laws...."If you want to honor them (police officers) then listen to them, forget about going to funerals, listen to them." Rendell says he doesn't want police officer to walk into a house where a person has automatic and semi-automatic weapons..."that shouldn't happen." Rendell says it's up to the District Attorney whether to seek the death penalty against Poplawski but as governor he would sign an execution warrant for Poplawski "without a minute's thought."
Rendell is to make his official proposal for gun law changes tomorrow in Harrisburg.