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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Jay Purdy |
State Rep. John Myers |
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Landmark gun bill heads to governor’s desk
HARRISBURG, July 16 – The only thing standing between a landmark firearm tracing bill and the law books is the signature of Gov. Ed Rendell after the state House overwhelmingly voted Monday to agree with Senate amendments to the measure.
The governor is expected to sign the bill (S.B. 623).
The measure contains language first proposed by Rep. John Myers, D-Phila., in a separate bill (H.B. 24) that he amended into the Senate bill during its first round of action in the House. The Myers provisions would require police to trace the source of firearms illegally possessed by anyone under 21.
The illegally possessed guns confiscated by police would be traced through the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The approval of the bill is a legislative landmark, being the first time that the National Rifle Association has cooperated in advancing measures to specifically help curb urban violence. In the past, the NRA opposed any measure including the least bit of additional gun control put forth by legislators seeking more tools to curb rising urban gunfire based on the argument that it would endanger the right of law-abiding individuals to bear arms.
Myers said that by being able to trace illegal weapons, police could seek out the original source and shut it off, whether that be theft or through a legal “straw purchase” by someone who then turned the firearm over to an individual who could not make a legal purchase -- a tactic sometimes used by drug dealers who have sway over users with clean arrest records.
“I know that Harrisburg has been centered so much in the last couple weeks with the complexities and politics of the budget, but getting this bill to the governor’s desk was the number one topic for me,” Myers said. “It’s not going to stop the shootings, it’s not a cure-all, but it is a big first step, and not just rhetorically. This bill is going to begin to reduce the avenues for guns to hit the streets. Even if it is a drop in the bucket, lives will be saved.”
Myers said the big challenge now is to maintain the momentum for fighting gun violence.
“We finally got the NRA to be realistic,” Myers asserted. “We’re not trying to take away guns anyone has legally purchased for personal protection or sport, but we must have the means to aggressively pursue the weapons being used to terrorize our neighborhoods and kill our children. Perhaps the NRA is beginning to recognize that and I will continue to work to bring them along further."
Myers emphasized that without the unity of the Legislative Black Caucus, the gun-tracing measure would almost certainly still be back in the limbo of the committee process.
“I cannot say enough in praise of my colleagues in the Black Caucus who demanded tangible anti-gun violence action before we would vote on a budget,” Myers added. “And I sincerely appreciate the support we were given by the Democratic Caucus and a number of my Republican colleagues in bringing this progress about.”
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