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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland |
  
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Kirkland plans resolution to honor anti-violence group
HARRISBURG, June 17 – State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, D-Delaware, said he plans to introduce a resolution that would honor Mothers in Charge, a Philadelphia anti- violence prevention organization that supports safe neighborhoods and works with state lawmakers on legislation that would curb gun violence in Pennsylvania.
Kirkland said he wants to commend Mothers in Charge for being an advocate for families affected by violence and for providing counseling and grief support services to families when a loved one has been murdered. The organization was founded by Dorothy Johnson-Speight.
Johnson-Speight's 24-year-old son was murdered over a parking space in December 2001.
"We can’t bring back our sons, daughters, mothers and fathers who have been victims of gun violence, but we can continue to work with advocacy groups to pass bills in the legislature that would stem the flow of handguns to our streets," Kirkland said. "We must hold handgun owners accountable for their actions."
Kirkland said the use of illegal handguns could be limited and regulated without interfering with the constitutional rights of legal gun owners.
"Sports enthusiasts would still be able to hunt and target shoot, "Kirkland said. "We want to take concrete and meaningful action to help prevent the senseless number of handgun killings in Pennsylvania."
Kirkland is chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.
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