Pennsylvania lawmakers are demanding action on gun legislation following last weekend’s mass shootings.
Governor Tom Wolf and U.S. Senator Bob Casey were joined by CeaseFirePA and Moms Demand Action on Wednesday at the Capitol to call on federal and state lawmakers for legislation supporting universal background checks and “red flag” laws.
“Today is solemn one as across America, families are burying their loved ones,” Gov. Wolf said. “For those families, parents, children, siblings or spouses will not come home. And there is no undoing what has been done. We must tackle the use of gun violence. We must take guns out of the hands of people who will use them to kill. We must prevent people who want to kill from buying guns that are manufactured to allow them to kill at a more rapid pace. We must do everything we can to ensure people are not planning to kill before we sell them guns and we must restrict access to the weapons that are primarily used – time after time – for mass murder.”
Gov. Wolf has consistently urged lawmakers in Pennsylvania and D.C. to pass Extreme Risk Protection Order legislation, and the state’s General Assembly to mandate universal
background checks through the Pennsylvania State Police on all firearm purchases. He also called on our partners in the United States Senate to pass House Resolution 8 and close
background check loopholes at the federal level.
“These are three concrete, verifiable actions that legislators can take today to reduce the number of graves being dug for gun violence victims,” Gov. Wolf said.
“Far too often we come together to mourn the victims of gun violence and mass shootings in our communities, but enough is enough,” said U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). “We don’t have to live like this. Gun violence is a uniquely American problem and the first step to reducing gun violence is to pass universal background checks, limit the size of magazines and ban military-style assault weapons—among other measures. We must also confront white nationalist ideology and rhetoric that has inspired some of the domestic terrorist attacks that have happened in Pennsylvania and throughout the country. It’s time we hold accountable politicians who refuse to take action to reduce gun violence.”
“Gun violence is a multi-layered issue; whether the swift, disorienting blow of a mass shooting or the simmering, persistent public health crisis affecting cities all across this country,” said Julia Mallory, gun violence survivor. “Communities that wake up and never anticipate this magnitude of tragedy are not immune from tragedy. Now is the time for us to wake up and act. It will never be convenient or easy – as we know progress rarely is.”
