Philadelphia Residents Rally Against Gun Violence In Wake Of Mass Shooting At Texas Elementary School
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- People are rallying against gun violence in Philadelphia in the wake of the Texas mass shooting at an elementary school that left 19 children and two teachers dead. They're calling for action and say these types of incidents are preventable.
Gov. Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is the Democratic nominee for governor, are scheduled to speak at a news conference on Friday afternoon. The briefing and rally are sponsored by CeaseFirePA.
They say there are a number of bills that are stalled in Harrisburg that could help prevent shootings like what happened in Texas. Earlier this week, Democrats in the Republican-led house failed to pass a package of bills geared at gun control.
The package has been stalled for years. It included bills that would ban assault weapons, reporting stolen or lost guns, safe storage and allow local governments to enact their own laws.
House Republicans blocked the efforts to put the bills up for a vote. The vote was mainly on party lines, with one Republican and one Democrat flipping sides.
"Guns are the number one killer of Pennsylvania children," Adam Garber, the executive director of CeaseFirePA, said. "As a society that means we are failing and we have to do better.
"We're here for the long term," he added. "Our job is to shut ourselves down because we live a life free from gun violence but until we all come together to make that happen, we will be here to work with you."
After that failed vote in the house, the speaker of the house released a statement saying that Pennsylvania already has strong background checks and that the state spends $200 million dollars on school security every year.
We'll have much more from this rally starting at 4 p.m. on Eyewitness News.