Gun control advocates lobby for stricter laws in Harrisburg
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Gun control advocates gathered on the steps of the state Capitol asking for action on a series of bills they say will keep guns out of the hands of young people and curb the alarming rise of gun violence in our streets.
"I lost my son three years ago today," said Tina Ford.
Among them calling for stricter laws was Ford, who founded Mothers of Murdered Sons after her son, Armani, was shot and killed in Clairton.
"We have tools that we can keep other mothers from being in this club. Because if you don't listen, we have a seat for you," she said.
Just last week, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said 50 percent of the illegal guns confiscated from juveniles in Pittsburgh last year were found to have been stolen from homes and cars.
On Tuesday, Governor Tom Wolf joined the group in calling for the passage of a safe storage law, which makes gun locks and gun safes mandatory, and another requiring owners to file a police report if their guns are lost or stolen.
"I'm calling on the General Assembly to pass common-sense gun safety reform that Pennsylvanians are demanding. We cannot afford to wait because every day that our Republican leaders delay, lives are on the line," Wolf said
State Rep. Aaron Bernstine countered: "They're trying to push anti-gun, anti-freedom, anti-Second Amendment agenda."
Bernstine, a major supporter of gun rights, calls the bills misguided, saying safe storage and mandatory reporting laws will do nothing to keep guns away from criminals and only make life more difficult for legal gun owners.
"What we ultimately need to do is hold people who are stealing firearms accountable and commit any crime with a firearm. There should be severe penalties for doing so while never impinging on law-abiding citizens," Bernstine said.
But state Rep. Joanna McClinton, of Philadelphia, said people are dying from inaction.
"It is unacceptable that children are growing up now wondering if they'll get to their 16th birthday, wondering if they'll get to their 21st birthday, wondering if there's anything to even live for because we are not doing enough to keep the guns out of the wrong hands," she said.
