Wednesday, November 11, 2009

A Cease Fire Update

CeaseFire PA would like us to know that all 12 of the PA mayors on the ballot who are in favor of reporting lost or stolen guns won.

In other news, the city of Braddock has become the 15th community in the commonwealth to pass gun legislation:

Braddock Borough Council last night voted unanimously to pass a law requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to the police. With this action, Braddock joins forces with a growing group of 15 Pennsylvania cities and towns that have passed this commonsense reform to help police target individuals who buy handguns to sell to criminals and minors.

By a 6-to-0 vote, Braddock Council passed the lost or stolen firearms reporting ordinance at its regular meeting. Under the ordinance, firearms 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. The law applies to handguns and other short-barreled guns - not to shotguns or hunting rifles.

Braddock Council Vice President Matthew Thomas said, “We really need this reform in Braddock and I’m glad we are starting to pay attention to the problem of illegal firearms, because most crimes in Braddock are committed using illegally obtained handguns.”

Braddock joins Wilkinsburg, Clairton, Homestead, West Homestead, Munhall, Pittsburgh, Erie, Oxford, Allentown, Reading, Pottsville, Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg in passing lost or stolen handgun reporting ordinances into law in recent months. These communities represent a broad, geographically diverse cross-section of Pennsylvania cities and towns that collectively represent over 2 million Pennsylvanians. The statewide movement toward reasonable handgun reform is growing every day and includes mayors, city councils, police chiefs, faith leaders, and citizens across the Commonwealth who have joined together to support this reasonable reform and urge legislators to address the epidemic of illegal handguns in our communities.

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