Gun Violence Prevention Advocate, 

It was just another normal day in the Brewerytown neighborhood of Philadelphia, when a neighbor witnessed a woman run outside her home, carrying a bleeding child's body and screaming for help.¹

That 2-year-old girl soon after died from a gunshot wound to the head, unintentionally inflicted by her 14-year-old cousin with severe developmental disabilities, who was able to get his hands on an unsecured handgun. The toddler was the youngest of at least seven kids who have been unintentionally shot by an unsecured gun this year in Philadelphia alone.²

These cases are heartbreaking and all too common. But they’re also entirely preventable. 

Safe storage legislation would require firearm owners to securely store their weapons when not in use. It’s proven to prevent tragedies like this. 

We’ve launched a multi-part campaign to call on Senate Judiciary Chair Lisa Baker to schedule a hearing on gun violence prevention legislation, to finally get a vote on the 4 bills in our Common Agenda to End Gun Violence, which includes safe storage.³

Can you take just a minute today to take action and urge Sen. Baker to call a hearing on safe storage legislation?

We made historic progress by passing two gun safety bills out of the House with bipartisan support in May.⁴ Governor Shapiro said publicly he'd sign them into law. But now we need the Senate to do its part. 

We need the Senate to hold hearings on each of the four bills in our Common Agenda to End Gun Violence⁵ – bipartisan legislation based on the best evidence for preventing gun violence. This includes Extreme Risk Protection Orders⁶ and universal background checks⁷, which both passed the House with bipartisan support, as well as safe storage bills in the Senate⁸, and lost and stolen firearm reporting.⁹ 

A hearing would force the PA Senate to finally confront gun violence as a crisis in our Commonwealth – and to hear from survivors and the experts that are working to end the epidemic. 

Help us pass these life-saving bills. Send an email to Senator Lisa Baker, asking her to schedule a hearing on safe storage and the rest of our Common Agenda.

Sincerely,
Adam Garber
Executive Director
CeaseFirePA Action

¹ https://www.fox29.com/news/2-year-old-girl-fatally-shot-inside-brewerytown-residence-sources-say 

² https://www.inquirer.com/crime/brewerytown-philadelphia-toddler-shot-twanda-harmon-20230728.html

³ https://www.ceasefirepa.org/our-work/common-agenda/

⁴ https://www.ceasefirepa.org/general-interest/pa-house-passes-two-gun-safety-bills-with-bipartisan-support/

⁵ https://www.ceasefirepa.org/our-work/common-agenda/ 

⁶ H.B. 1018

⁷ H.B. 714

⁸ S.B. 427 & S.B. 431

⁹ S.B. 461