Today marks one year since the horrific Philadelphia mass shooting that killed four adults and wounded two children. 

Around 8 p.m. on July 3, 2023, a jarring barrage of shots rang out in Southwest Philly’s Kingsessing neighborhood, where the sound of gunfire is sadly commonplace. But this time, it was different. 

Witness Theo Jones, 25, told the New York Times, “The shots sounded like this was a military base here on the corner.”¹ The shooter was clad in armor and used an AR-style rifle and at least one ghost gun,² identifiable by its DIY components and striking lack of a serial number. 

It’s been a year since that tragic day – a year marked by both potent victories and jolting halts in progress. On March 27, the Pennsylvania House passed House Bill 777,³ banning ghost guns as we know them, requiring parts to be serialized and purchasers to pass a background check. But, infuriatingly, the PA Senate leadership still refuses to even consider this bipartisan, life-saving bill. Will you take a moment to contact Senate officers Kim Ward, Joe Pittman, and Lisa Baker and demand they stop their obstruction and immediately schedule a hearing and vote on House Bill 777?

A statewide ban on ghost guns could have drastically reduced the carnage in last year’s Kingsessing mass shooting, but it also would protect all Pennsylvanians from deadly, untraceable weapons. The PA House has done their job, and now we’re once again calling on the Senate to step up to the plate. 

As a Pennsylvanian, Senate leaders Ward, Pittman, and Baker work for you no matter where in the Commonwealth you reside. But they seem to have forgotten they were elected to serve our communities, not the whims of the gun lobby. Will you remind them of their duty to protect you and your family by demanding a hearing on House Bill 777 today?

For a Commonwealth free from gun violence,
Adam Garber
Executive Director
CeaseFirePA Action