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Mayor Donald J. Baumgarten

To my fellow citizens:
As Mayor of Castle Shannon, it is my responsibility to
ensure the safety of our community.
To that end, when the opportunity came up recently to
sign on as a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns - a
coalition dedicated to calling attention to the scourge
of gun violence fueled by illegal guns across the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania and America–the answer
was yes.
The organization is unique because of its extremely
narrow focus on illegal guns. The vast majority of
crimes committed with guns are committed by people
who are not legally allowed to possess firearms. They
are either convicted felons, underage or for another
reason deemed a danger to society and barred from
possessing firearms. But still, each year more than
1,200 Pennsylvanians are shot and killed–including 18
Pennsylvania law enforcement officers in the last seven
years alone.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns is also unique in its dedication
to upholding the Second Amendment right to bear
arms–and its commitment to seek remedies to gun
violence that do not infringe upon this crucial right. Every
study indicates that the problem is not guns themselves,
but the dangerous, prohibited persons who can
readily gain access to them.
In fact, Mayors Against Illegal Guns should be commended
for the organized effort that is underway to
deal with gun violence in our communities. Thanks to
Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the leadership of local
municipalities, 11 municipalities in the state, including
the City of Pittsburgh, have passed ordinances or resolutions
to rid our streets of illegal guns.
Also, misleading charges have been made regarding
“the truth about Mayors Against Illegal Guns”. The
truth is this: upholding the Second Amendment right
to bear arms and apprehending those who traffic, posses,
or use illegal guns are not mutually exclusive. And
as a mayor, it is my duty to call attention to threats to
our community. In joining the coalition, I signed an
explicit statement of principles:
- Punish criminals who possess, use or traffic illegal
guns.
- Hold accountable irresponsible gun dealers who
knowingly sell to straw purchasers.
- Oppose federal efforts to restrict cities’ access to
trace data that is essential to effective enforcement, or
to interfere with the ability of the ATF to combat illegal
gun trafficking.
- Work to develop and use technologies that aid in
detection and tracing of illegal guns.
- Support local, state and federal legislation targeting
illegal guns.
The coalition has never deviated from that mission,
and we never will. If this group were ever to support
a policy that would violate my personal right to bear
arms for any reason–tradition, hunting or protection–
I’d be the first mayor to leave.
Until that moment, it is an honor to be one of more
than 100 mayors in Pennsylvania who have the courage
and fortitude to stand up for their convictions.
Thank you,
Mayor Donald Baumgarten
To my fellow citizens,
You may have read or heard criticisms of our decision to switch the
borough's emergency dispatching service from South Hills Regional
Dispatch Center to the Allegheny County dispatch center. These
criticisms were primarily concerning response times and the ability to
communicate with other police and EMS departments.
There are those who say we are putting money savings ahead of public
health, safety and welfare.
These are the facts: Castle Shannon will save nearly $100,000 annually.
There has been no increase in response times since January 1, 2005 when
the police began to be dispatched by the county, and since February 8,
2005 when Medical Rescue Team South began to be dispatched by the
county; and finally, the ability to communicate with other public safety
entities has not been a problem.
I do not want to be redundant because there are other articles in the
newsletter concerning the 911 system, so please refer to them for
additional comments.
*****
Spring is finally upon us and it's time to remind our residents to keep our
community clean to protect property values. One unsightly property has
a tendency to ruin an entire neighborhood. Most people in Castle
Shannon keep their homes and businesses litter-free. There are always a
few, however, who don't seem to care about their properties or their
neighbors.
The police department and the codes enforcement officer will
aggressively issue warnings, and, if necessary, write citations to those
who allow weeds, trash, building materials, junk cars, or other types of
eyesores to accumulate.
Thank you,
Mayor Donald Baumgarten
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