At 1230 pm today, the Plaintiffs made a formal offer to the City to totally drop all claims in terms of attorney’s fees if they simply would follow the state law and commit to rescinding the illegal gun ordinances.
We take to heart what the Mayor has said previously but in a different context. The Mayor is reported in the Patriot News as saying: “‘The appropriate response is not, ‘Give us more time to keep breaking the law,'” Papenfuse said. “The goal should be to stop breaking the law.'”
For the sake of all good hardworking citizens of the City of Harrisburg, please take our offer. There is great honor in fighting based on principle. But there is greater honor in admitting that the law and the facts are nowhere near to being on your side and accepting a graceful way out. It is time to stop sacrificing other people’s money out of stubborn hubris. Lead the City. Be a leader.
It would be one thing if the attorney’s fees and money came from the private household expenses of the Mayor and City council members, but for all of the money that it is going to take to litigate this, I am ashamed to think of where that money could go to put more police officers and victims services in place to make a real impact on crime and criminality.