For Immediate Release: February 1, 2010
Contact: Joe Grace, 215-964-7093

PA Governor Candidates Endorse Lost or Stolen Handgun Reporting Law
CeaseFirePA Unveils Plan to Make Gun Violence an Issue in Governor’s Race

HARRISBURG, February 1, 2010 -- Three of the four Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania governor say they support a law requiring that lost or stolen handguns be reported to the police - another large step forward for a commonsense reform attracting growing support across the state.
At a candidates’ forum Friday night in Harrisburg, Democratic gubernatorial candidates Joe Hoeffel, Dan Onorato and Chris Doherty all said they support lost or stolen handgun reporting and would sign such a bill into law if it comes to their desk as governor.

Although the fourth Democratic candidate, Jack Wagner, did not say he would specifically support lost or stolen handgun reporting, or any other particular reform, Wagner, the state Auditor General, did say illegal “guns in the hands of the wrong people” were a severe problem statewide that needed to be addressed. Republican candidates Tom Corbett and Sam Rohrer did not attend the forum.

The statements by the Democratic candidates for PA governor in support of stronger gun laws represent another significant step forward in the growing movement for such reforms led by CeaseFirePA. They also come just as CeaseFirePA announced plans today to make gun violence prevention and the passage of reforms to toughen PA gun laws an issue in the governor’s race.

Lost or stolen wasn’t the only gun violence prevention reform supported by the gubernatorial candidates at Friday’s forum, sponsored by Keystone Progress at the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit 2010. Onorato, Allegheny County Executive; Hoeffel, Montgomery County Commissioner; and Doherty, Mayor of Scranton, all also came out in favor of a child safety lock requirement for handguns, and for allowing Pennsylvania municipalities to enact gun laws specific to the needs of their own communities. Hoeffel and Doherty also backed proposals limiting purchase of handguns to one per month.

In the last year and a half, 25 Pennsylvania cities and towns have taken action and voted in support of lost or stolen handgun reporting. A coalition of Pennsylvania Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from a half-dozen mayors to a large, diverse, growing group of more than 150. Similar coalitions of Pennsylvania police chiefs and faith leaders now include nearly 100 chiefs and 275 faith leaders, respectively.

“Eight years ago, during the last primary for Pennsylvania governor in which no incumbent was on the ballot, none of the major party candidates showed a willingness to talk about gun violence and the need for stronger handgun safety laws – much less to endorse a specific reform,” said CeaseFirePA Executive Director Joe Grace. “The public statements by these candidates in support of lost or stolen handgun reporting and other reforms are another example of how much this issue is moving now in Pennsylvania.”

Today, CeaseFirePA sent to every major candidate for governor a detailed questionnaire that seeks to flush out each candidate’s views on gun violence in Pennsylvania and an array of policy proposals to prevent and reduce it.

“At CeaseFirePA, Pennsylvania’s largest gun violence prevention organization, we are working hard for both more efficient enforcement of current laws against illegal gun traffickers and for stronger, commonsense handgun safety laws,” the organization says in a letter to the gubernatorial candidates signed by Grace and by Phil Goldsmith, CeaseFirePA board president. “We aren't pro-gun or anti-gun. We are for safer communities and believe that tougher enforcement and closing loopholes in our gun laws are compatible solutions.”

The questionnaire, produced in consultation with policy experts on the issues of gun violence, illegal guns, and law enforcement, queries the candidates on a host of proposals designed to reduce gun violence and keep illegal guns away from criminals, including:
• Requiring the reporting of lost or stolen handguns to the police
• Allowing PA cities and towns to pass local gun laws to better protect their communities
• Expand a successful gun violence task force program to other PA cities
• Require background checks for gun dealer employees (similar to gaming industry workers)
• Prohibit gun dealers from operating near schools, playgrounds or parks
• Ban the sale or use of assault weapons (used to kill three PA police officers since 2008)
• Working with state and Federal officials to close the “terror gap” that allows suspected terrorists to buy guns

To see the full CeaseFirePA questionnaire, go to our website at www.CeaseFirePA.org.
Gun violence claims the lives of more than 1,200 Pennsylvanians each year, through homicides, suicides, and accident shootings. Twenty Pennsylvania police officers have been shot and killed in the line of duty since 2002 – most of them slain by criminals armed with illegal handguns. Gun violence costs the Commonwealth of PA more than $125 Million a year in uninsured medical costs for gunshot victims.

“Gun violence fueled by easy access to illegal guns is a significant issue in Pennsylvania that impacts our communities and our economy,” said Goldsmith. “We look forward to hearing from the gubernatorial candidates on how they plan to address this serious public policy issue if elected to the state's highest office.”

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CeaseFirePA is Pennsylvania’s largest gun violence prevention organization. CeaseFirePA is dedicated to reducing and preventing gun violence through education and advocacy in communities across Pennsylvania.
For more information, please visit www.CeaseFirePA.org.