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Pa. House rejects proposal requiring Lost/Stolen guns be reported
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| Pa. House rejects proposal requiring Lost/Stolen guns be reported
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| Mr. Hole |
http://www.nbc10.com/politics/15766...ss=phi&psp=news
Pa. House Shoots Down Requiring Lost, Stolen Handgun Reports
House Rejects Measure By 75-128 Vote
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A proposal to require handgun owners to report to police when their weapons are lost or stolen was defeated Tuesday in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
The 75-128 vote was a defeat for gun-control advocates who said it would have helped prevent criminals from using straw buyers to circumvent Pennsylvania's gun sales regulations.
"Seventy-five is great, on one hand," Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, said afterward. "The reality is, we want to have a law on the books."
Twenty Republicans voted for the measure -- all from Philadelphia or its suburbs -- and 81 were against it. Fifty-five Democrats supported it and 47 voted no.
The measure would have given owners 72 hours after they learned a weapon was missing to report it. Police who encountered an unreported lost or stolen handgun in a criminal investigation would have been able to charge a first-time offending owner with a summary offense.
A second offense would have been a misdemeanor, and a third offense would have constituted a felony.
Backers said it was needed to help reduce gun violence that has been particularly devastating in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and many of the state's other cities.
"Illegal handguns leave a trail of blood," said supporter Rep. Lisa Bennington, D-Allegheny. "Dying children are not identified as Democrat or Republican. They are not identified as urban or suburban dwellers. They are identified as missed by their families."
National Rifle Association spokesman John Hohenwarter, whose organization opposed the legislation, said it could have unfairly exposed law-abiding gun owners to criminal penalties. He said existing laws are adequate but need to be enforced more aggressively, a sentiment echoed on the floor by Minority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson.
"The problem is that judges are not taking the actions they should be taking against people who use guns as they commit crimes," Smith said.
Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, said the legislation raised similar issues to a 1968 U.S. Supreme Court case that applied protections against self-incrimination to a gun registration law.
"At best, this law as drafted will be ineffective," he said. "At worst, I believe that it will be unconstitutional."
Rep. Cherelle Parker, D-Philadelphia, said the recorded vote will be on voters' minds this year.
"Did my representative take into consideration the recommendations of law enforcement throughout Pennsylvania? Did my legislator take into consideration the recommendations of prosecutors throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania? Did my legislator take into consideration the polls?" Parker said.
It was unclear how many other states have similar laws. Supporters said seven other states have the law, but Hohenwarter said he knows of only two, New York and New Jersey.
The defeated proposal was an amendment to a bill to increase the criminal penalties for possessing guns with altered or obliterated serial numbers. Other amendments were approved with much wider margins. The bill requires a final vote on another day to make it out of the House to the Senate. |
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