By Amy Worden, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Mar. 17--HARRISBURG -- Handgun-control proponents in the State House are attempting to force a floor vote today on a controversial bill that would require handgun owners to tell authorities when their weapons are lost or stolen.
To avoid a counter-lobbying campaign by the National Rifle Association, lawmakers late Wednesday filed the language as an amendment to a crime-code bill that had already cleared a House committee. The move sends the bill directly to the floor.
"This is a historic moment for the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the House in particular," said Rep. Cherelle Parker (D., Phila.). "For many years, legislators across Pennsylvania have been trying to answer calls law enforcement has been making to us to give them the tools to get handguns off the streets."
The amendment will face opposition from Republicans and many rural Democrats. But, proponents say, polls showing that a majority of voters support mandatory reporting of lost and stolen handguns will compel lawmakers at least to go on record with their position.
It's unclear whether opposition has softened in Harrisburg since 2006, when the House overwhelmingly defeated the measure. Votes were not recorded then.
Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Sam Smith (R., Jefferson), was unaware of the amendment until a reporter contacted him. Miskin would not say where Smith stood on the lost-and-stolen amendment, but he expressed concern about the measure's language. He said the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, though not opposing the policy, was reluctant to support the strict penalties in the measure.
"Some members may support it, it depends on the language," Miskin said. "But the majority of our members oppose restrictions on the ability to purchase firearms."
The gun-control advocacy group CeaseFirePA has stepped up pressure on lawmakers ahead of the vote.
Joe Grace, CeaseFirePA executive director, said the group had lobbied all 203 House members and would hold a rally and news conference today. Hundreds of supporters are expected to turn out, among them 10 busloads of Philadelphians.
Last week, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh City Councils passed resolutions urging the legislature to pass a lost-and-stolen bill.
Law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Pennsylvania State Police, say such a mandatory requirement would help prevent straw purchasers of guns from using the excuse that their guns, later used in crimes, were lost or stolen.
A straw purchase occurs when a felon, barred by law from buying a firearm, recruits someone with no such restriction to buy guns. The felon usually illegally resells the guns, which often end up being used in crimes.
Police say they are often stymied because without information about a missing weapon, they cannot begin an investigation until after a crime has been committed.
"Instead of waiting for a shooting to occur before starting a straw-purchaser investigation, our investigators can become proactive, which would slow the flow of guns into the hands of criminals," Lt. Francis Healy, special adviser to the Philadelphia police commissioner, said before a House committee in December.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office supports the measure.
"We want this amendment," Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said. "Frequently we see reports of lost and stolen guns, many of them are false."
Rising gun violence in Philadelphia and elsewhere in the last two years have propelled lawmakers -- joined by mayors, police, prosecutors and Gov. Rendell -- to increase efforts to pass what they describe as "commonsense" handgun restrictions.
In December, after Rendell made an impassioned plea for tougher gun laws, the House Judiciary Committee considered three gun-control bills. In the end, the committee defeated one that would have limited handgun purchases to one a month and another that would have given municipalities the right to pass their own gun laws. The lost-and-stolen legislation, however, was tabled, leaving it open for future consideration.
Democrats, realizing the dim prospects of a stand-alone bill passing out of the House Judiciary Committee, moved last week to attach an amendment to a crime-code bill penalizing those who remove identification numbers on guns. The committee had already approved that bill, leading to today's floor vote.
The amendment states that if a lost or stolen handgun is recovered as part of a criminal investigation and the owner did not report it as lost or stolen within three days, the owner could be charged.
The NRA and other gun-advocacy groups have argued that would unfairly punish law-abiding citizens who fail to report their missing weapons. The NRA was unavailable for comment on the Democrats' attempt to pass this provision.
Abraham, who has testified numerous times on the issue over the last 15 years, called the NRA's rationale a "stupid excuse." She says law enforcement agencies are not interested in prosecuting law-abiding citizens who may not recognize that their weapon is missing; they are targeting criminals.
Contact staff writer Amy Worden at 717-783-2584 or [email protected].
Mar. 17--HARRISBURG -- Handgun-control proponents in the State House are attempting to force a floor vote today on a controversial bill that would require handgun owners to tell authorities when their weapons are lost or stolen.
To avoid a counter-lobbying campaign by the National Rifle Association, lawmakers late Wednesday filed the language as an amendment to a crime-code bill that had already cleared a House committee. The move sends the bill directly to the floor.
"This is a historic moment for the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the House in particular," said Rep. Cherelle Parker (D., Phila.). "For many years, legislators across Pennsylvania have been trying to answer calls law enforcement has been making to us to give them the tools to get handguns off the streets."
The amendment will face opposition from Republicans and many rural Democrats. But, proponents say, polls showing that a majority of voters support mandatory reporting of lost and stolen handguns will compel lawmakers at least to go on record with their position.
It's unclear whether opposition has softened in Harrisburg since 2006, when the House overwhelmingly defeated the measure. Votes were not recorded then.
Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Sam Smith (R., Jefferson), was unaware of the amendment until a reporter contacted him. Miskin would not say where Smith stood on the lost-and-stolen amendment, but he expressed concern about the measure's language. He said the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, though not opposing the policy, was reluctant to support the strict penalties in the measure.
"Some members may support it, it depends on the language," Miskin said. "But the majority of our members oppose restrictions on the ability to purchase firearms."
The gun-control advocacy group CeaseFirePA has stepped up pressure on lawmakers ahead of the vote.
Joe Grace, CeaseFirePA executive director, said the group had lobbied all 203 House members and would hold a rally and news conference today. Hundreds of supporters are expected to turn out, among them 10 busloads of Philadelphians.
Last week, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh City Councils passed resolutions urging the legislature to pass a lost-and-stolen bill.
Law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Pennsylvania State Police, say such a mandatory requirement would help prevent straw purchasers of guns from using the excuse that their guns, later used in crimes, were lost or stolen.
A straw purchase occurs when a felon, barred by law from buying a firearm, recruits someone with no such restriction to buy guns. The felon usually illegally resells the guns, which often end up being used in crimes.
Police say they are often stymied because without information about a missing weapon, they cannot begin an investigation until after a crime has been committed.
"Instead of waiting for a shooting to occur before starting a straw-purchaser investigation, our investigators can become proactive, which would slow the flow of guns into the hands of criminals," Lt. Francis Healy, special adviser to the Philadelphia police commissioner, said before a House committee in December.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office supports the measure.
"We want this amendment," Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said. "Frequently we see reports of lost and stolen guns, many of them are false."
Rising gun violence in Philadelphia and elsewhere in the last two years have propelled lawmakers -- joined by mayors, police, prosecutors and Gov. Rendell -- to increase efforts to pass what they describe as "commonsense" handgun restrictions.
In December, after Rendell made an impassioned plea for tougher gun laws, the House Judiciary Committee considered three gun-control bills. In the end, the committee defeated one that would have limited handgun purchases to one a month and another that would have given municipalities the right to pass their own gun laws. The lost-and-stolen legislation, however, was tabled, leaving it open for future consideration.
Democrats, realizing the dim prospects of a stand-alone bill passing out of the House Judiciary Committee, moved last week to attach an amendment to a crime-code bill penalizing those who remove identification numbers on guns. The committee had already approved that bill, leading to today's floor vote.
The amendment states that if a lost or stolen handgun is recovered as part of a criminal investigation and the owner did not report it as lost or stolen within three days, the owner could be charged.
The NRA and other gun-advocacy groups have argued that would unfairly punish law-abiding citizens who fail to report their missing weapons. The NRA was unavailable for comment on the Democrats' attempt to pass this provision.
Abraham, who has testified numerous times on the issue over the last 15 years, called the NRA's rationale a "stupid excuse." She says law enforcement agencies are not interested in prosecuting law-abiding citizens who may not recognize that their weapon is missing; they are targeting criminals.
Contact staff writer Amy Worden at 717-783-2584 or [email protected].
