Gun Guys

(We are pleased to post the following press release from CeaseFire PA).

For immediate release, August 5, 2009

Contact: Jana Finder, (412) 370-3778

9th PA municipality to adopt reasonable legislation to help police crack down on illegal handguns is yet another victory for statewide movement

ERIE – Today, Erie City Council voted unanimously to pass a law requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to the police – joining a growing list of Pennsylvania communities that have passed this common sense reform to help police reduce access to illegal handguns.

By a 7-to-0 vote, Erie Council passed the lost or stolen firearms reporting ordinance at its regular council meeting today. Under the ordinance, firearm owners will have 72 hours to report a lost or stolen gun to the police after they have discovered it missing.

Penalties include a maximum fine of $1,000 and/or 90 days in jail for repeated offenders. The law applies to handguns and other short-barreled guns – not to shotguns or hunting rifles.

“I am proud to sponsor this common sense legislation, which will help reduce the criminal use of handguns within the City of Erie,” said Council President Joseph Schember. “We know this ordinance alone won’t solve the problem of gun violence, but it is an important piece of the solution. As more and more municipalities across Pennsylvania pass similar ordinances, I hope that our State Legislature will make this ordinance the law across all of Pennsylvania.” Schember added, “I also want to thank Jana Finder from CeaseFirePA and Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Kraus for their tireless efforts in educating the members of Erie City Council on this issue.”

Erie now joins Allentown, Reading, Pottsville, Pittsburgh, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Wilkinsburg, a cross-section of Pennsylvania cities and towns that have passed lost or stolen handgun reporting ordinances into law in recent months and collectively represent more than 2 million Pennsylvanians. The intensity of this movement is growing every day and includes mayors, city councils, police chiefs, faith leaders, and citizens across the Commonwealth who support this reasonable reform and are urging our legislators to address the problem of illegal handguns in our communities.

“Gun violence is a statewide problem – not just a city problem,” said Joe Grace, CeaseFirePA executive director, “and the issue of reporting lost or stolen handguns to the police must be resolved by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Erie Council’s unanimous vote today reaffirms our position. Our focus remains the same – to bring this statewide coalition of cities, towns, mayors, city council members, police chiefs, faith leaders, and citizens to the General Assembly to urge that they pass lost or stolen handgun reporting as a common sense reform to protect every Pennsylvanian.”

Sister Marlene Bertke of Erie Benedictines for Peace supported Erie Council’s initiative and testified in favor of lost or stolen handgun reporting. “If the state legislature would pass a lost or stolen handgun reporting law, it would be a good first step toward addressing the problem of teenagers obtaining handguns,” said Bertke.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Kraus discussed Pittsburgh’s passage of a similar ordinance and congratulated Erie Council on its action, saying, “I offer my sincerest appreciation and thanks to Erie City Council for their unanimous vote to join our growing coalition of municipalities dedicated to a safer citizenry and the promotion of responsible gun ownership. Their support of “lost or stolen” on a municipal level brings us one step closer to providing these citizen safeguards statewide in Pennsylvania.”

Jana Finder, Western Pennsylvania coordinator for CeaseFirePA, noted important legal developments that have occurred since Erie Council began considering this ordinance last spring. “In June, the PA Commonwealth Court affirmed Philadelphia’s lost or stolen handgun reporting ordinance, and, in July, the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas threw out the NRA’s lawsuit against the City of Pittsburgh, allowing Pittsburgh’s lost or stolen handgun reporting ordinance to stand.”

“The NRA’s fear and intimidation tactics are not holding up in court,” Finder added.

CeaseFirePA Board President Phil Goldsmith stated the myth of the NRA’s invincibility in Pennsylvania is beginning to crack – one city, one mayor, one council at a time. “We are competing directly with the NRA now, in the heart of Pennsylvania – Wilkinsburg, Lancaster, Harrisburg, and now Erie – and we are winning,” Goldsmith said. “The NRA is opposing us vigorously – and they are losing. There is another voice in Pennsylvania now – the people’s voice – and it’s being heard.”

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CeaseFirePA is Pennsylvania’s largest gun violence prevention organization. CeaseFirePA is dedicated to reducing and preventing gun violence through education and advocacy in communities across Pennsylvania.  

For more information, please visit http://www.CeaseFirePA.org.