Finally, some sign of life from legislators in Harrisburg, PA. The Philadelphia Legislative Black Caucus there has finally stood up for their citizens rather than the gun lobby-- they've announced they're going to withhold any votes for the state budget until their bills to fight crime and gun violence get considered.

Anger about the lack of action on gun-control bills boiled over onto the House floor yesterday, with several African American Democrats from Philadelphia vowing to hold up passage of the state budget unless their bills are considered.

With the city's death toll approaching 200 this year, six members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus made impassioned pleas for help during an unexpected two-hour discussion about gun violence and many of its root causes: drugs, joblessness and poverty.

They were not debating a bill; none of the 14 anticrime bills introduced this session has even made it out of a House committee.

Amid a busy day filled with a slew of budget bills, Rep. Jewell Williams, chairman of the Philadelphia delegation, used a parliamentary procedure known as "unanimous consent" to voice his frustration over the stalled gun-control bills.

"I am going to make it completely clear: no gun legislation, no votes for the budget," Williams said. "Philadelphia members are constantly asked to support legislation that helps other areas of the state as our pleas for help continue to fall on deaf ears."

About time. The situation is disgusting in Philadelphia, where hundreds of lives have been claimed already this year by gun violence. It is unconscionable for legislators to stand by and do nothing while that's happening, and yet that's exactly what legislators have done so far: nothing.

Several suburban Philadelphia lawmakers stood to support their urban colleagues. Rep. Mike Gerber (D., Montgomery) said gun violence has a negative effect on the region.

"These problems don't know city borders," he said. "The guns flow into Montgomery County, certainly in levels that are unacceptable."

Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland (D., Delaware), chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, which has 17 House members, invoked the words of civil rights activist Malcolm X on the House floor, saying he was prepared to advance the cause of gun control "by any means necessary."

"We are prepared to stand firm and we could hold up some things," he said. When asked whether he meant the budget, Kirkland said, "yes."

And yet still NRA-beholden legislators stand in the way of actual progress. Instead of passing laws (which are the only solution that can work here), they only promise commissions and more talk.

House Speaker Dennis O'Brien (R., Phila.), responding to a request from members, said he would form a special commission to address crime and violence. His spokesman, Bill Patton, said the commission members would include outside experts and crime victims' groups, as well as lawmakers, who will draft legislation for consideration this fall.

For some, there's been enough talk about crime.

"Commissions are fine," said Kirkland. "But we have to move beyond that. We need action."

The time for talk is over-- for too long, the NRA has condemned solutions to gun violence to nothing but talk and conjecture. It's time for action-- these laws are necessary in Pennsylvania, and have been necessary for a long, long time. If stopping the budget is what it takes to get these bills considered, then stopping the budget is exactly what will have to happen.

Kudos to the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus for stepping up and standing firm on the need for common sense gun laws in the state.

In an act of courage rarely seen in Harrisburg, some caucus members Wednesday threatened to stonewall the state budget unless Harrisburg reconsidered its indifference to the lax gun laws that contribute to the bloodshed in the city.

...The black caucus has shown it's serious about the gun problem. The rest of Harrisburg should be, too.

Instead of hiding behind the gun lobby's skirts, it's about time legislators stood up for themselves and fought for the safety of citizens, rather than against it. We commend these legislators on making their priorities known, and we challenge all of Harrisburg's other legislators to do the same.