Yesterday, Mayor Nutter signed into law some pretty serious measures to try to end gun violence. According to the Inky:

The five laws - called everything from unconstitutional to criminal by critics - do the following:

Limit handgun purchases to one a month.

Require lost or stolen firearms to be reported to police within 24 hours.

Prohibit individuals under protection-from-abuse orders from possessing guns if ordered by the court.

Allow removal of firearms from "persons posing a risk of imminent personal injury" to themselves or others.

Outlaw the possession and sale of certain assault weapons.

Cool! It's time the city stood up for itself, and Nutter's actions not only send a signal that his administration is going to devote resources to the fight, but also serve as a real incentive for our local state legislative delegation (including those suburban members who have a vested interest in seeing less guns on the streets) to fight for us too.

After we win, I hope this kind of resolve and logic...

Nutter embraced the idea of taking "direct action" to challenge a legal status quo to protect city residents.

"If we all sat around bemoaning what the law was on a regular basis," Nutter said. "I'd probably still be picking cotton somewhere as opposed to being mayor of the city of Philadelphia."

...will be extended to other areas of divergence between city residents and the state legislature, like allowing same-sex unions, or implementing progressive taxation, or requiring a fair distribution of education funds, or passing an even better campaign finance law, etc.

How awesome would it be if Mayor Nutter made the city solicitors' office into a totally activist office, responsible for challenging the state constitution every time it prohibits Philadelphia from passing progressive laws to the benefit of its people?