(We are pleased to post the following alert from CeaseFire PA).
Pennsylvania’s gun violence problem continues at unacceptable levels which are deeply harmful to the public’s health – particularly to our children. The first of two new studies shows that 80 percent of Pittsburgh area youth are directly impacted by gun violence. The second study reports that Pennsylvania again leads the nation in black homicide victimization – the third time in four years PA’s received that dubious ranking. Yet some PA lawmakers, as usual, are ignoring these troubling reports and are more worried about pleasing the gun lobby.
A PA senator has introduced a bill naming the Pennsylvania Long Rifle as the state’s official firearm – an empty gesture that trivializes the deadly problem of gun violence. As a statewide community, we need to demand real change in how we deal with this growing threat to the public’s safety. This weekend, CeaseFirePA will join progressives from across Pennsylvania and host a workshop to discuss our growing movement to reform PA handgun safety laws to protect our citizens, police and children.
Taking Aim at the Gun Lobby
CeaseFirePA will host “Building a Statewide Movement for Commonsense Handgun Reform” at the PA Progressive Summit 2010 this weekend. We have assembled a distinguished panel of speakers- Reading Mayor Tom McMahon, Reading Police Chief Bill Heim, Pittsburgh Councilman Bruce Kraus, and State Rep. Cherelle Parker- to discuss how local elected officials and grassroots activists are taking on the gun lobby by passing a commonsense reform – reporting lost or stolen handguns to police – to stem the flow of illegal guns in communities across Pennsylvania – and how you can take action in your community.
The Pennsylvania Progressive Summit will be the largest gathering of progressive activists ever assembled in Pennsylvania, welcoming hundreds of field organizers, volunteers, bloggers, labor leaders, elected officials and policy experts at the state and national levels.
The CeaseFirePA workshop will be tomorrow, Saturday, January 30 at 11:45 a.m. in Hershey, PA. Visit the PA Progressive Summit website for more information.
Guns are Robbing Pittsburgh Youth of Their Childhood
When asked if they had family or friends who were wounded or killed by gun violence, nearly 80 percent of students from urban neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh area reported that, yes, they had a friend or relative who had been wounded or killed by gun violence.
The Metro-Urban Institute of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and several associate organizations surveyed 455 students-ranging from 9 to 18 years old- through after-school programs, charter schools and community groups to measure the impact of gun violence in their neighborhoods.
These findings are a terrible reminder of the effect of gun violence not only on a community as a whole, but on our children, robbed of their innocence.
Read the article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
PA Leads Nation in Black Homicide Victimization for Third Year
Pennsylvania leads the nation in the rate of black homicide victimization, according to a new analysis of FBI data released this week by the Violence Policy Center, a respected Washington policy group that analyzes gun violence prevention issues. The annual study, “Black Homicide Victimization in the United States: An Analysis of 2007 Homicide Data,” ranks the 50 states according to their black homicide victimization rates. The study found overwhelmingly that firearms, usually handguns, were the weapon of choice in the homicides.
This is the third time in four years that Pennsylvania has topped the ranking.
For Pennsylvania, the study reported that in 2007 there were 485 black homicide victims, resulting in a homicide rate of 36.36 per 100,000. More specifically, for homicides in which the weapon used could be identified, 86 percent of black victims (402 out of 467) were killed with guns. Of these, 87 percent (349 victims) were killed with handguns.
View the complete annual study.
Long Rifle Proposed as State Firearm
As gun violence continues to plague children and communities across Pennsylvania, some legislators, as usual, seem blithely unaware and are more concerned with their NRA rating.
Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh County, has introduced a bill that would designate the Pennsylvania Long Rifle as the state’s official firearm. The bill, SB 895, has been reported out of committee and is on its way to the Senate for consideration. If approved, Pennsylvania would become the first state with a state firearm. View the bill here.
At a time when CeaseFirePA is working with prosecutors to seek stronger enforcement of gun laws to get criminals with illegal guns off the streets, and as towns across Pennsylvania are taking action on a commonsense reform – lost or stolen handgun reporting – the best our legislature can do is waste their time talking about a state rifle for Pennsylvania. Even conservative pundits in PA are shaking their heads.
Read an editorial in the Public Opinion.
We’re making real progress across Pennsylvania. 25 PA cities and towns have taken action in support of lost or stolen handgun reporting. More are getting ready to take action soon. As always, we hope that you will consider donating to CeaseFirePA, joining the discussion on Facebook, or forwarding this email a friend to keep our momentum growing.
