One-on-One with Rep. Dwight Evans (Part II)

“I don’t know who you think you’re talking to, because you don’t understand, I’m not your typical Democrat.”

After previously serving in the Pennsylvania state legislature, Dwight Evans was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2016. A Democrat, Rep. Evans has been active on issues from criminal justice to education, and he has formed a number of bipartisan coalitions during his time in government to work towards policy goals. This is part two of Rep. Evans’ conversation with Merion West editor Erich Prince. Here, they continue to discuss Rep. Evans’ governing philosophy, as well as his focus on food issues and how he works to bring the media’s attention to policy goals rather than horse race politics. (Also, here is a link to part one of the interview.)

Rep. Evans: I kept saying, if you wanted to do economic growth, there was a direct connection between dealing with crime. Because you’re not going to get entrepreneurs or customers if people think it’s the Wild West. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist—I mean, I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. So I would say the reason we have unequal growth in certain communities is because the element is that the crime is impeding. Now let’s accelerate us to 2019. One of the things I used to say—and I was joking with Allen the other day—I called him the quantum man. So I’m at this debate in ’99, and I’m raising the issue on crime; and I’m talking about gun violence. Well, do you know, in the United States Congress, there’s a law that prevents you from suing the gun manufacturers?

So I get in Congress—the first bill I’m a part of is to repeal that ability. Why? Because I want you to understand this. I would argue the NRA is a trade association and an extension of the gun manufacturers. They, in return, help them. And then they sell guns. They sell guns, right? That’s what they do. The industry—they produce, and they sell guns. The NRA is the trade association which, in return, protects the industry: their behavior, what they do, who they sell guns to. So, at the local level, I was trying to attack this on different fronts—i.e. through Bratton and policing, through public health, and all these things. Not that the police commissioner was a bad guy, but I would argue he came up in the culture that he was in. He was doing what he thought he knew. He was inside the process. Rendell was district attorney, and what did some state rep from Northwest Philadelphia know? It’s ironic, Rendell said at John Timoney’s funeral, that he was responsible for bringing John Timoney in. But if you read—John Timoney—the meeting that I go to Bratton—Bratton knows Timoney.