CeaseFirePA Candidate Questionnaire 2010

Gun violence is a growing problem across Pennsylvania.

Gun violence is a statewide problem in Pennsylvania. 1,200 people on average die every year across the state in gun-related incidents, due in large measure to the use of illegally-obtained handguns. That includes homicides, accidental shootings, and suicides – a problem largely hidden from public view.

Gun violence is not just a big-city problem. In 2008, homicides caused by guns declined in Philadelphia, but increased sharply in Pittsburgh, by 30 percent. This past year, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital city, was gripped by a terrible gun violence problem: murders increased by 60percent over 2008. In York, a 9-year-old girl was caught in gang crossfire and killed – on Mother’s Day. According to police, the majority of these crimes involve illegally-obtained handguns.

Pennsylvania’s police officers are under deadly assault. As the threat posed by illegal guns and gun violence grows, our state’s police officers are repeatedly coming under deadly fire. Since 2002, 20 PA police officers have been shot and killed in the line of duty – most of them slain by criminals carrying guns illegally. Six PA officers were murdered in 2009 alone – four in Allegheny County, one in Philadelphia, and one, a Pennsylvania State Policeman, in the Poconos.

Gun violence is fueled by illegal trafficking that puts guns in criminals’ hands. The problem of rising gun violence is caused by illegal trafficking in guns – not by law-abiding citizens who maintain firearms to protect their homes or businesses, or to use them for hunting or sport. The critical issues are straw buying and trafficking guns to criminals, not law-abiding citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment.

Pennsylvanians want stronger gun laws, and will vote for candidates who support them. Numerous polls show Pennsylvanians want change on the gun issue – particularly handguns. A Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner survey conducted for CeaseFirePA showed two-thirds of Pennsylvania residents supported stronger handgun laws (65 percent support, 32 percent oppose). A few specific proposals stood out:

Requiring the reporting of lost or stolen handguns to the police draws overwhelming support. 96 percent supported a requirement that lost or stolen handguns be reported to the police. The pollster noted:

“It is rare to find a measure with such pervasive support, with nearly unanimous support from all parties (96%) and nearly nine in ten Republicans (88%), Democrats (89%), and Independents (91%) all strongly supporting the proposal. Even among gun owners, an overwhelming 92% favor this measure to enhance public safety”.

As more police are shot, voters want commonsense handgun safety laws passed to protect police. By a decisive margin (61 percent to 32 percent), voters responding to the CeaseFirePA survey said the shooting of police officers represented a crisis they wanted dealt with “immediately” and that “part of the solution is to pass common sense handgun safety laws to protect our police officers.” The pollster found:

“Pennsylvania voters are sending strong signals that the time to act is now. With the shooting of several police officers, voters support passing handgun safety laws immediately by a two-to-one margin and do not want to wait any longer.”

Since that poll finding was published, ten more Pennsylvania police officers have been shot and killed – and still, not a single legislative reform has been enacted in Harrisburg to protect police from the threat posed by illegal guns – particularly illegal handguns.

Voters’ desire for action now on stronger gun laws translates to the voting booth. By a greater than a four-to-one margin, voters prefer candidates who support handgun safety laws and will punish those elected officials who oppose these measures. (71 percent favor public officials who support tougher handgun safety laws, 17 percent favor public officials who oppose stronger gun laws). As the pollster noted:

“Public officials risk angering their constituents by not taking action. Voters clearly want their government to take the lead in providing a course of action against crime and handgun violence and voters want tougher handgun safety laws as part of the solution to protect police officers and the general public.”

CeaseFirePA is working every day to create a growing climate for reasonable reforms statewide, and now works with coalitions of more than 150 mayors, 100 police chiefs, and 250 faith leaders across Pennsylvania.

25 Pennsylvania cities and towns have taken action in support of a commonsense requirement that gun owners report lost or stolen handguns to the police, in order to encourage responsible practices by law- abiding gun owners and to help law enforcement crack down on criminals who traffic in illegal guns.
Communities that have already taken action on lost or stolen handgun reporting:

? Aliquippa
? Allentown
? Braddock
? Castle Shannon
? Clairton
? Duquesne
? Easton
? Erie
? Harrisburg
? Hatfield
? Heidelberg
? Homestead
? Lancaster
? Lincoln
? Munhall
? Norristown
? Oxford
? Philadelphia
? Pittsburgh
? Pottsville
? Reading
? West Homestead
? West Mifflin
? Wilkinsburg
? York

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CeaseFirePA Candidate Questionnaire 2010

CeaseFirePA is Pennsylvania’s leading gun violence prevention advocacy group. We seek commonsense legislative reforms to reduce the proliferation of illegal guns across the Commonwealth and help communities develop programs to reduce gun violence. CeaseFirePA works with mayors, police chiefs, city council members, and other elected officials, along with more than 10,000 citizen activists in cities and towns across Pennsylvania. For more information about the mission and accomplishments of CeaseFirePA, please visit www.ceasefirepa.org. You can also follow our work on Facebook.

To be considered for endorsement by CeaseFirePA, please complete the questionnaire and return to CeaseFirePA no later than February 26, 2010. Responses can be faxed to (215) 923 3385, emailed to info@CeaseFirePA.org, or mailed to 111 S. Independence Mall East, Suite 966, Phila., PA 19106.

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Candidate signature Date

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Candidate name (please print) Party

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Office Sought Email address

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Office phone Staff contact

Instructions:

Please select only one answer for each question.

Feel free to leave additional comments in the space provided or on additional sheets.

For more information on any of these issues, as you consider your position, please feel free to contact us.

When complete, please return to CeaseFirePA using the address above.

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PROSECUTING CRIMINALS

1. Reporting lost or stolen handguns to the police. CeaseFirePA supports a commonsense reform that would require the reporting of lost or stolen handguns to the police. A lost or stolen handgun reporting requirement would encourage accountability among handgun owners, alert negligent owners to the dangers of not reporting a missing handgun – and close a loophole used by criminals, who intentionally do not report a missing gun because of illegal activity such as straw purchasing. Straw purchasers often claim a gun recovered at a crime scene and then traced back to them had been “lost or stolen”, when in fact the gun was sold to a criminal. In addition, reporting lost or stolen handguns protects law-abiding owners by assisting in the recovery of stolen property and by protecting them from suspicion if a missing gun is later implicated in a crime. Lost or Stolen applies only to handguns, and only upon an owner’s discovery that his or her handgun is missing.

??I support legislation requiring that gun owners report lost or stolen handguns to the police
??I oppose legislation requiring that gun owners report lost or stolen handguns to the police

2. Strengthen the requirements governing how persons who become prohibited by law from possessing firearms surrender their weapons. With the exception of persons subject to a protection from abuse order, Pennsylvania law gives persons prohibited from possessing firearms a “reasonable period of time, not to exceed 60 days” from the date of the imposition of the prohibition, to sell or transfer their firearms to another eligible person. However, Pennsylvania has no law requiring persons who have become prohibited from possessing firearms to provide proof to a court that they have sold or transferred their firearms or ammunition.

For example, the Philadelphia Adult Probation and Parole unit gives anyone under its supervision 10 days to dispose of a firearm – to the police, by selling it to a licensed gun dealer, or by selling it to an eligible person. After the person sells or disposes of the firearm, they must provide their probation/parole officer with a receipt. Similarly, under PA law, if a person under a domestic abuse order transfers their firearms to a dealer or third party, the dealer or third party must provide a receipt, and the abuser must give the receipt to law enforcement.

Pennsylvania should extend these requirements to all persons required by law to surrender their firearms. Options to consider include: 1) requiring a person prohibited from possessing firearms to sell or transfer their ammunition as well; 2) shorten the time period during which the person must sell or transfer their weapons; 3) limit the persons to whom the person sell or transfer their firearms; and 4) require the person to provide proof to a court that they’ve transferred their firearms. Law enforcement could utilize the permanent record of handgun sales maintained by the PA State Police to ensure that persons who become prohibited from possessing guns surrender their weapons.

??I support strengthening the requirements governing how individuals who become prohibited by law from possessing firearms surrender their weapons
??I oppose strengthening the requirements governing how individuals who become prohibited by law from possessing firearms surrender their weapons

3. Require gun dealers to notify law enforcement when a potential customer fails a background check. Any time a handgun is transferred in Pennsylvania, a gun dealer (Federally Licensed Firearms dealer) is required to run a background check in National Instant Background Check System (NICS). When a prospective buyer fails a check, the firearm dealer should be required to report the results to local and state law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

??I support requiring firearm dealers to notify law enforcement when a background check is failed
??I oppose requiring firearm dealers to notify law enforcement when a background check is failed

4. Prohibit sale of ammunition to individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms. Certain categories of people are prohibited by state or federal law from possessing firearms. Pennsylvania may wish to prohibit possession of ammunition by these people, including people prohibited from possessing firearms because of their age. Currently, no federal or Pennsylvania law requires ammunition purchasers to demonstrate eligibility to own firearms or proof of age in order to purchase ammunition.

The simplest approach to ensuring that persons prohibited from possessing firearms do not purchase ammunition is to require a person who is purchasing ammunition to display a license authorizing that person to possess both firearms and ammunition for those firearms.

Even if Pennsylvania does not wish to require licenses for the purchase or transfer of ammunition, it may nevertheless wish to require purchasers of ammunition to undergo similar criminal background checks and to provide proof of age.

??I support prohibiting sale of ammunition to individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms
??I oppose prohibiting sale of ammunition to individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms

5. Stronger penalties for individuals found to be illegally in possession of handguns. Many crimes committed with handguns are committed by individuals who are prohibited from possessing handguns, including: individuals convicted of a felony, juveniles, people restricted under a protection from abuse order, or people suffering a mental illness. Too often, gun charges are dropped or not taken fully into account during sentencing. Stronger penalties for illegal possession of a handgun will discourage trafficking and illegal possession.

??I support strengthening penalties for individuals illegally possessing handguns
??I oppose strengthening penalties for individuals illegally possessing handguns

LOCAL INITIATIVES

6. Allow PA municipalities to set laws to reduce gun violence based on local needs. Local municipalities face the brunt of gun violence and are in the best position to know what type of additional legislation is needed to address gun violence in their communities. What works in a big city may not always be necessary in a smaller town. While commonsense, responsible statewide gun laws are essential to effectively protect public safety, cities and towns need the authority to enact specific, local gun violence prevention laws in order to suit local needs. These laws should only apply to the apprehension of criminals and illegal guns.

Pennsylvania could authorize certain, local jurisdictions within the state to regulate firearms and ammunition. Legislation pending in the Pennsylvania House would allow local PA municipalities to regulate firearms and ammunition if the specific measure proposed is first approved for the particular local jurisdiction by the state legislature and the local government shows a “compelling reason” for an exemption from the preemption statute.

??I support giving municipalities in Pennsylvania the authority to regulate firearms and ammunition
??I oppose giving municipalities in Pennsylvania the authority to regulate firearms and ammunition

7. Restore state funding to the Gun Violence Task Force, and expand the Task Force initiative to other Pennsylvania regions. In 2006, the PA Attorney General’s Office, working with the General Assembly, secured $5 million in funding to staff a Gun Violence Task Force in Philadelphia that focused on illegal gun trafficking and straw purchasers. Using existing state laws and aggressive investigations, the Gun Violence Task Force has been a success, and its work has led to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of hundreds of offenders for illegal straw purchasing and gun trafficking. This past year, budget woes led the state to cut funding for the Gun Violence Task Force by 40 percent – from $5 million down to $3 million, jeopardizing the unit’s growing success and work. Many law enforcement officials believe the Task Force’s operations should be expanded, including to other regions of Pennsylvania, instead of being cut back.

??I support restoring the funding to the Gun Violence Task Force, and expanding the Task Force program to other jurisdictions in PA experiencing a gun violence problem.
??I oppose restoring the funding to the Gun Violence Task Force, or expanding the Task Force program to other jurisdictions in PA experiencing a gun violence problem.

RESPONSIBLE TRANSFER

8. Require completion of a firearms safety training course before being permitted to purchase a firearm. Pennsylvania may want to enact a requirement that a potential firearms purchaser undergo safety training before being allowed to buy a gun. A number of states require firearms safety training or a safety exam prior to a person’s purchase of a gun. Such performance-based tests are intended to demonstrate whether a potential gun purchaser knows how to safely load, fire, and store a gun, and has knowledge of relevant firearms laws.

??I support requiring completion of a firearms safety course before an individual is permitted to purchase a firearm.
??I oppose requiring completion of a firearms safety course before an individual is permitted to purchase a firearm.

9. Require gun dealers to provide inventory reports to law enforcement. Neither federal nor Pennsylvania law requires dealers to provide inventory reports to law enforcement. Federal law requires firearms dealers to maintain records of the acquisition and sale of firearms, and to report the loss or theft of any firearm within 48 hours of discovery to ATF and local authorities. Pennsylvania law requires dealers to keep a record in triplicate of every firearm sold and retain the records for 20 years, and to report sales (but not acquisitions) of handguns to the PA State Police, which maintains a permanent database of handgun sales.

This piecemeal reporting of the inventory of firearms dealers makes the federal requirements that dealers report lost or stolen firearms, as well as the federal and state requirements of a background check, difficult to enforce. As a result, illegal trafficking by firearms dealers to persons ineligible to possess firearms is harder to detect. Pennsylvania should require firearms dealers to provide periodic inventory reports to law enforcement. A parallel under existing PA law involves pharmacies. Pennsylvania has a prescription drug monitoring program in which pharmacies are required to report transactions to the state Attorney General’s Office, to help law enforcement monitor and guard against illegal drug trafficking.

??I support requiring firearms dealers to provide periodic inventory reports to law enforcement to help deter illegal gun trafficking.
??I oppose requiring firearms dealers to provide periodic inventory reports to law enforcement to help deter illegal gun trafficking.

10. Require background checks for gun dealer employees. No federal or Pennsylvania law requires employees of gun dealers or ammunition sellers to undergo background checks – a requirement in a number of other states. By way of example, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board requires a thorough background check for every gaming employee applicant. This background investigation includes civil and criminal proceedings, as well as personal, family, military, education, past employment and a signed statement of truth.

Pending legislation in the PA House would require firearms dealers to perform employee background checks.

??I support requiring firearms dealers to perform employee background checks.
??I oppose requiring firearms dealers to perform employee background checks.

11. Prohibit firearms dealers from operating in residential neighborhoods or near schools, daycare centers, or parks. Pennsylvania may want to further strengthen its laws regarding firearms dealers by prohibiting dealers from operating in residential neighborhoods or near schools, daycare centers, or parks. There are 2,292 federally licensed firearms dealers in Pennsylvania. No federal or Pennsylvania law prohibits firearms dealers or ammunition sellers from operating in the areas mentioned above.

??I support prohibiting firearms dealers from operating in residential neighborhoods or near schools, daycare centers, or parks.
??I oppose prohibiting firearms dealers from operating in residential neighborhoods or near schools, daycare centers, or parks.

12. Require ammunition sellers to obtain a license. Pennsylvania should have a licensing requirement to allow law enforcement to police and enforce any other laws regulating the sale or transfer or ammunition, and to provide a vehicle for the prosecution of unlicensed persons selling ammunition to criminals. The requirement should also require ammunition sellers to conduct background checks on employees who have access to ammunition, and impose on ammunition sellers requirements similar to those on firearms dealers.

??I support requiring ammunition sellers to obtain a license, and background checks on employees.
??I oppose requiring ammunition sellers to obtain a license, and background checks on employees.

13. Limit the number of firearms an individual may purchase in a certain period of time. No federal or Pennsylvania law limits the number of firearms a person may purchase at one time. Laws restricting multiple purchases or sales of firearms are designed to reduce the number of guns entering the illegal market and to stem the flow of firearms between states. Interstate firearms trafficking flourishes, in part, because there is no federal limitation on the number of guns that an individual may purchase at any one time. Jurisdictions with weaker firearms laws attract gun traffickers who make multiple purchases and resell those guns in jurisdictions with stronger firearms laws.

One -gun-a-month laws prohibit the purchase of more than one handgun per person in any 30-day period. A study of Virginia’s one-gun-a-month law demonstrated that the law was effective in reducing the number of crime guns traced to Virginia dealers. Virginia initially adopted its law in 1993 after the state became recognized as a primary source of crime guns recovered in states in the northeastern U.S. After the law’s adoption, the odds of tracing a gun originally acquired in the Southeast to a Virginia gun dealer (as opposed to a dealer in a different southeastern state) dropped by 71% for guns recovered in New York, 72% for guns recovered in Massachusetts, and 66% for guns recovered in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts combined.

??I support limiting the number of firearms an individual may purchase in a certain period of time
??I oppose limiting the number of firearms an individual may purchase in a certain period of time

IMPROVING SAFETY

14. Strengthen standards for firearms locking devices, and require that they be used. Every year, firearms cause thousands of unintentional deaths and injuries. Children and young adults are the most frequent victims of such accidents. The presence of unlocked guns in the home increases the risk of intentional shootings as well. At least two studies have found that the risk of suicide increases in homes where guns are kept loaded and/or unlocked. On the other hand, the practices of keeping firearms locked, unloaded, and storing ammunition in a locked location separate from firearms assist in reducing youth suicide and unintentional injury in homes with children and teenagers where guns are stored.

Pennsylvania law prohibits a licensed dealer from transferring a handgun unless he or she provides the transferee with a locking device, the transferee purchases a locking device, or the design of the handgun incorporates a locking device. However, there is no law requiring that the provided locking device be used, or that a gun be stored in a secure location.

Pennsylvania should strengthen its law regarding locking devices by extending it to long guns, requiring testing and setting standards for locking devices, and/or requiring that all firearms be stored with a locking device in place. Several bills pending in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives would address these concerns.

??I support strengthening standards for firearms locking devices, and requiring that they be used
??I oppose strengthening standards for firearms locking devices, and requiring that they be used

15. Prohibit guns on college or university campuses. In compliance with the federal Gun-Free Schools Act, Pennsylvania law already prohibits anyone, even a concealed weapons permit holder, from possessing firearms in the buildings or on the grounds of any private or public elementary or high school. Pennsylvania law also requires each public or private institution of higher learning to publish a policy statement regarding the possession and use of weapons.

Allowing guns in colleges and universities poses a number of dangers, including more suicides and the use of guns by students under the influence of alcohol. One study found that two-thirds of gun-owning college students engage in binge drinking. Gun-owning students in particular are more likely than unarmed college students to drink “frequently and excessively” and then engage in risky activities, such as driving when under the influence of alcohol or vandalizing property. Firearms may also be accidentally discharged or misused at campus parties where large numbers of students are gathered or where alcohol or drugs are being consumed.

Recently the gun lobby has been pushing legislation in many states that prohibits colleges and universities from barring possession or use of firearms on campus. Despite the gun lobby’s efforts, 15 states currently have laws prohibiting the possession of firearms on the campuses of state colleges and universities. Eleven states also prohibit the possession of firearms on the campuses of private colleges and universities.

??I support prohibiting the possession of firearms and ammunition on PA college campuses
??I oppose prohibiting the possession of firearms and ammunition on PA college campuses

16. Strengthen PA’s reciprocity statute to ensure that Pennsylvanians must be licensed in Pennsylvania in order to carry a concealed firearm. Pennsylvania law states if an applicant for a license to carry a concealed firearm is a Pennsylvania resident, he must make that application with his local sheriff (or police chief in Philadelphia). This requirement ensures the home county can conduct the necessary background checks to ensure the safety screening elements of PA law are satisfied. However, under the current, flawed interpretation of PA’s reciprocity statute, thousands of Pennsylvania residents have been able to mail away to other states to obtain licenses to carry concealed firearms –avoiding the PA application requirement and the required safety screening by Pennsylvania law enforcement. As one example, licenses to carry firearms are now issued via mail to Pennsylvanians by the Florida Department of Agriculture, a body which cannot possibly perform the safety checks set forth under current PA law.

The flawed interpretation of the PA reciprocity statute also threatens the safety of Pennsylvania police officers – who come into contact with armed persons on the streets carrying concealed weapons with licenses issued out-of-state. The officer on the street has no way of immediately verifying the authenticity of an out-of-state license. This poses clear dangers to our police. Below are two actual cases in which persons who had their licenses to carry revoked in PA made a mockery of PA law and obtained licenses to carry from other states:

• AM is arrested in a rental car at a Pennsylvania airport with a loaded AK-47 in the car. AM had a PA license to carry which was subsequently revoked. While his case was pending, AM obtained a Florida license to carry – by mail. AM was subsequently stopped by Philadelphia police in a car with another loaded firearm. However, there was no arrest – even though his PA license to carry had been revoked – because AM now had a Florida license to carry.

• MV buys 7 handguns and obtains a Florida license to carry. MV is subsequently arrested in Pennsylvania in possession of one handgun and another handgun (not his own) in a car trunk, along with a half-pound of marijuana, numerous other drugs, and several thousand dollars in cash. MV produces a Florida license to carry, and is not charged on the gun violation.

The Pennsylvania legislature never intended to relinquish to other states Pennsylvania’s power to issue licenses to carry firearms to its own citizens. These actual cases (among many others provided by PA prosecutors) show the current interpretation of PA’s reciprocity statute is badly flawed and jeopardizes the public’s safety. The PA legislature no more intended to relinquish its power to issue licenses to carry firearms to Pennsylvanians than to allow other states to issue driver’s licenses to Pennsylvania residents.

??I support amending current Pennsylvania law to ensure that Pennsylvania retains the statutory authority to issue concealed carry licenses to Pennsylvania residents.
??I oppose amending the current Pennsylvania reciprocity statute.

ASSAULT WEAPONS

17. Ban the sale and possession of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines. Assault weapons are semi-automatic firearms designed with military features to allow rapid and accurate spray firing. They are not designed for sport; they are designed to kill humans quickly and efficiently. Features such as pistol grips and the ability to accept a detachable magazine clearly distinguish assault weapons from standard sporting firearms by enabling assault weapons to spray large amounts of fire quickly and accurately. A study analyzing FBI data shows that 20% of the law enforcement officers killed nationally in the line of duty from 1998 to 2001 were killed with an assault weapon. Pennsylvania is not immune from the threat to public safety posed by assault weapons. In December 2009, Penn Hills Police Officer Michael Crawshaw was murdered with an assault weapon. In April 2009, Pittsburgh Police Officer Eric Kelly was murdered with an assault weapon. In May 2008, Philadelphia Police Officer Stephen Liczbinski was murdered with an assault weapon.

Automatic and semi-automatic firearms often use a detachable magazine or feeding device to store cartridges (which hold ammunition). Magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition are generally considered to be “large capacity” magazines. Because of their ability to hold so many rounds of ammunition, large capacity magazines significantly increase the lethality of the automatic and semi-automatic firearms using them. The Nov. 2009 murders of 13 people at Fort Hood in by Nidal Malik Hasan and the July 2009 murders of three women by George Sodini at a fitness center near Pittsburgh, were all made possible by each killer’s use of high-capacity magazine firearms.

Governor Rendell has called for a renewal of the federal ban on assault weapons (like those used to murder Officers Liczbinski, Kelly, and Crawshaw) and high-capacity magazines (like those used by Hasan and Sodini), which Congress allowed to lapse under pressure from the NRA in 2004. Assault weapons are designed for combat use, have no place in traditional sporting activities, and nationally, have been linked to one in five murders of law enforcement officers, including the deaths of three Pennsylvania officers in less than two years.

(A) Renewing the federal ban on assault weapons

??I support renewing the Federal ban on the sale and possession of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines
??I oppose renewing the Federal ban on the sale and possession of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines

(B) Establishing a ban on assault weapons in Pennsylvania

??I support imposing a ban under Pennsylvania law on the sale and possession of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines
??I oppose imposing a ban under Pennsylvania law on the sale and possession of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines

TERRORISTS

18. Close the Terror Gap. Last November, U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas. Major Hasan was suspected of having terrorist links. The FBI had monitored Hasan, reviewing communications between Hasan and an al Qaeda recruiter who acted as a “spiritual advisor” to two of the 9/11 hijackers. Hasan passed the federal background check designed to prevent criminals and other dangerous persons from obtaining guns. FBI counterterrorism officials were not notified when Hasan bought a gun. Hasan used that gun to kill 13 people and injure more than 30 others.

Under Federal law, terror suspects who are barred from flying on planes can still buy guns. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, in the past five years people on the terrorist watch list successfully bought guns and explosives 865 times from licensed dealers.

Pennsylvania has identified this national issue as a matter for state concern as well. In 2005, the Governor’s Commission to Address Gun Violence identified the terror gap as an issue worthy of state attention and concluded the Commonwealth should takes steps to "disqualify identified terrorists from possessing a firearm." The terror gap remains an issue in Pennsylvania as well as the rest of the country.

??I support efforts to close the terror gap in Pennsylvania and across the country, and will use my powers as Governor to advocate for closing the terror gap through Federal legislation – a change supported by the Bush and Obama Administrations and the Justice Department, among many law enforcement agencies.
??I oppose efforts to take steps to close the terror gap in Pennsylvania or across the country.

Thank you! Please feel free to include additional comments when returning this form.