HARRISBURG -- Chambersburg Acting Mayor Bill McLaughlin joined Gov. Ed Rendell and other mayors from across the state at
a Tuesday rally urging lawmakers to enact tougher gun-control laws.
The Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities organized the Capitol rally and is backing six bills, including a "one gun a month" proposal to limit handgun buyers to one purchase per month.
"It''s very important to understand that gun violence isn''t just a Philadelphia or a Pittsburgh problem," Rendell said.
Besides McLaughlin and Philadelphia Mayor John Street, the Democratic governor was flanked by mayors from York, Carlisle, Lancaster, Reading, Allentown and Scranton.
The event was the latest shot in a renewed debate over gun laws following the Virginia Tech massacre and a recent uproar over a gun-registration bill in the state House.
Rep. Angel Cruz, D-Philadelphia, introduced the bill that would require most gun owners to register their
firearms each year. Cruz has since vowed to amend it to apply only to gun owners in Philadelphia, but it has few supporters and is not expected to pass either way.
Cruz''s bill is not among those backed by the league of cities.
Besides the one-gun-a-month bill, the league backs bills to require firearms to be securely locked and create stiff
penalties for not promptly reporting lost or stolen firearms. Others call for mandatory five-year jail terms for repeat offenses committed with a gun and new penalties for providing a firearm to someone who is legally ineligible to have one.
McLaughlin called it a common-sense package and a first step to stemming gun violence across the state.
"We have to stop being the masters of death on the East Coast and stop exporting firearms to our neighbors," McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin, a Republican, was the council president who became acting mayor after the death of Mayor John Redding Jr. on Monday. He had been invited to Tuesday''s rally before Redding''s unexpected death.
Top gun-rights lawmakers repeated their argument that a one-gun-a-month law would begin the erosion of Second Amendment rights.
House Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, called it "a feel good" piece of legislation that would accomplish nothing.
"I say enforce the laws and you''ll take crime off the street," Smith said.
Gun-control laws historically have languished in a Legislature that has always been friendly to gun-rights and hunting interests, but ralliers said it''s a big help to have Rendell leading the fight.
"Don''t underestimate the power of a governor who has made this part of his agenda," Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, said.
Anti-gun package
- Limit handgun buyers to one purchase per month.
- Require firearms to be in securely locked boxes or have trigger locks.
- Create a registry of stolen or lost guns, and stiff penalties for not reporting them promptly.
- New penalties for providing firearms to someone ineligible to have one.
- Mandatory five-year jail terms for repeat crimes committed with guns.
- Define criminal gang activity and create tougher penalties.