When will lawmakers finally shut the revolving door for gun offenders?
A story over the weekend by The Sun’s Justin Fenton had an all-too-familiar ring to it: Police spot a man on a busy downtown street walking in a manner suggesting he may be carrying a concealed weapon. When a patrolman approaches to investigate, the man pulls a gun and fires, seriously wounding the officer. After back-up units track down and arrest the alleged shooter, it turns out he’s a felon out on parole with a lengthy record of prior gun-related convictions. The case of 29-year-old Franklin Gross Sr., the suspect in Saturday’s shooting, is only the most recent example of a pattern that has frustrated police and prosecutors for years: violent, repeat offenders who are handed substantial sentences at trial yet serve only a fraction of their time. Before Saturday’s shooting, Mr. Gross had been charged with four previous gun-related crimes, including armed robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Yet despite receiving sentences in 2008 totaling 17 years, he was back on th
