Mother of Newtown, Ct. School Shooting Victim Urges Pa. Lawmakers to Tighten Gun Controls
By Tony Romeo
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- The mother of a young boy killed last December in the mass shooting at a Connecticut school is appealing to Pennsylvania lawmakers to close loopholes in the state's gun background check system.
WATCH: Wheeler Urges Pa. Lawmakers to Tighten Gun Controls
Francine Lobis Wheeler, a native of the Philadelphia suburbs, today asked the state House Judiciary Committee to subject the sale of long guns by private sellers to background checks.
"Right now in Pennsylvania, a convicted felon -– say, someone who has been to prison for rape or abusing a child or even homicide -– couldn't go into a licensed firearm dealer and buy an assault weapon like the one that killed my son. The background check would stop the sale. That same convicted felon, however, could buy a rifle from a private seller," she said.
On the whole, however, much of the testimony about the state's gun background check system was positive. The director of CeaseFire Pennsylvania says there are certain aspects that are a model for other states.
