Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti said she supported disarming police officers and wanted to emulate Japan’s gun-control laws in a resurfaced video from 2020.
Cognetti, who is seeking to unseat Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Rob Bresnahan in the Eighth Congressional District, has a history of supporting anti-Second Amendment groups, notably Everytown. She made the remarks about Japan’s gun-control laws during a June 2020 virtual town hall in which she also said she wanted to disarm police.
“I would love to get to a world where a country where we don’t have or police don’t have firearms and where we don’t have firearms that citizens aren’t carrying them either,” Cognetti said. “I’ve lived in Japan for a couple years. There are no guns there and it’s lovely.”
“We don’t have to worry about some of these things because there are no guns there. That would be something that would be a great reality for us to live in,” Cognetti continued.
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Japan’s Firearms and Swords Control Law of 1958 prohibits the possession of firearms and swords in principle, permitting civilians only shotguns or air rifles for hunting or sport shooting after a rigorous process, according to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The process includes an all-day class, a written exam, a shooting test with at least 95% accuracy, mental health and drug evaluations, thorough background checks and interviews with family and associates, with police holding broad discretion to deny applications.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that under Japanese gun laws, handguns are banned, and licenses require renewal every three years with re-testing and firearms must also be registered. Firearms must also be stored locked and unloaded separately from ammunition, and gun owners are subjected to annual police inspections.
“It’s something that we have to work toward. So I commit to work toward gun-control policies,” Cognetti added. Cognetti also received the Everytown’s endorsement for her mayoral reelection bid in 2025.
Cognetti did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) notes that similar U.S. controls would require intrusive police powers and civil liberties limits incompatible with the Bill of Rights and American traditions.
“Without abrogating the Bill of Rights, America could not give its police and prosecutors extensive Japanese-style powers to enforce severe gun laws effectively,” Dave Kopel said “Unlike the Japanese, Americans are not already secure from crime, and are therefore less likely to surrender their personal means of defense.”
“Political opportunist Paige Cognetti wants to rip firearms away from law-abiding citizens while simultaneously making life easier for criminals,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Reilly Richardson told the DCNF. “Pennsylvanians know Cognetti will go to great lengths to strip them of their constitutional rights.”
(DCNF)
