Capitol Beat

Wolf, lawmakers call for action on stalled gun law reforms

Republicans say some prosecutors in the state are failing to enforce current laws

Gov. Tom Wolf speaks at a rally on reducing gun violence

Gov. Tom Wolf speaks at a rally on reducing gun violence Justin Sweitzer

Undeterred by rain, Gov. Tom Wolf, lawmakers and advocates called on Republican leaders to hold votes on stalled gun-related legislation that has seen little movement in recent years. 

Wolf, now in the twilight of his second and final term, made yet another plea to the General Assembly to approve legislation that has eluded his desk, including a so-called red flag law and legislation to require reporting of lost and stolen firearms. 

“State leaders, all of us, need to step up and do more to stop violence before it starts. To do that, we have to pass common-sense gun safety legislation right here in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said. He criticized Republicans for advancing permitless carry legislation last year, which would have allowed Pennsylvanians to carry a gun, concealed or not, without a permit. Wolf vetoed that legislation after it was approved by both chambers of the legislature late last year. 

“Instead of taking action to protect our communities, to put these common-sense actions into place, Republicans instead chose to pass dangerous legislation that would make all of us even less safe,” Wolf said. “We’re here today to demand that the General Assembly stop pushing dangerous legislation and start protecting lives.”

Wolf has long advocated for red flag legislation, which would allow family members and law enforcement officers to petition the courts when they believe a person may be a threat to themselves or others. Courts would be able to temporarily ban the person in question from possessing a gun, though the court must schedule a full hearing within 10 days of issuing an order to consider evidence from the subject of the petition. Following the hearing, a court could issue a final extreme risk protection order for up to one year. 

State Rep. Todd Stephens, a Republican from Montgomery County, has sponsored red flag legislation in multiple legislative sessions, though his bill has never received a vote on the House floor. Stephens said at the rally today that a red flag law in Pennsylvania could reduce suicides in Pennsylvania, pointing to studies that have shown a decrease in gun-related suicides after red flag laws were passed. 

One study, published in 2018, found that gun suicide rates decreased in both Connecticut and Indiana after each state passed a red flag law, though Connecticut’s decrease was offset by an increase in suicides using other means. “We know they will reduce the number of suicides here in Pennsylvania,” Stephens said. “We just need to take the steps to adopt them here in the state Capitol – put them in place so that loved ones, family members, law enforcement – when they know someone’s in crisis, they can act.”

Republican leaders on the state House and Senate Judiciary committees have long been reluctant to advance red flag measures out of committee. A spokesperson for the House Republican Caucus touted the caucus’ efforts to address crime in the state and criticized certain local prosecutors for lax enforcement. 

“Presently, like the rest of the country, Pennsylvania does not have a problem with not having enough laws and penalties on the books; we have a problem with local leaders and political prosecutors not enforcing the laws we have,” said Jason Gottesman, a House GOP spokesperson. Gottesman said the caucus will be advancing legislation this week to “make Pennsylvania safer.”

One measure approved by House lawmakers on Tuesday would establish term limits on current and future Philadelphia district attorneys – a move that comes as Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner continues to face criticism over the rising number of murders in the city. 

Lawmakers were joined by advocates from CeaseFire PA, a statewide gun violence prevention organization, as well as relatives who have lost loved ones due to gun violence. In addition to red flag legislation, advocates called for state lawmakers to approve a measure that would require gun owners to report when their firearms are lost or stolen. 

The event also featured remarks from those who have experienced gun violence firsthand. Tahira Fortune, a Philadelphian who founded Voice By Choices after her son was murdered in 2017, urged lawmakers to take action to ease the suffering of people across the state. “I’m angry and I’m upset,” she said. “Something needs to be done. Something. Please help us.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.