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?

How much does a good education cost?

Last year the Pennsylvania House and Senate hired an auditor to figure out the minimum amount of money that should be spent per student in the state to provide a good education.

They found that each school district in the state needs to spend at least $12,057 per student-- $2,000 MORE per kid than the School District of Philadelphia spends just to provide a basic education.

The Philadelphia Student Union, Bread & Roses grantee and education reform group led by Philadelphia public school students, has helped organize a press conference tonight to release the full report to the media.

They need you to attend and show the press and the legislature how seriously we're taking the findings of this report on education funding. We have to convince House and Senate members to provide the moneyschool districts need to meet the new bottom line dollar amount that they have set.

If you can make it, RSVP here.

Rally & Press Conference for Our Schools
Today, Wednesday November 28 at 6 PM
Benjamin Franklin High School, 550 N Broad St
(near Broad and Spring Garden)

We don't need a study to know that there are real inequities from school district to school district across the state. However, having an objective, well-researched study makes it easier for all of us to agree on a baseline amount of money to spend per kid.

Please help make the efforts of education reform groups, like the Philly Student Union, to get fair and equal funding of schools, a reality. Show your support for equitable funding for school districts across the state by coming to the press conference tonight.