Since we last spoke, there have been so many political developments. 

The Supreme Court of the United States announced a ruling that does not impact current Pennsylvania law, but does exude an ahistorical, extreme vision for gun policy in America. We’ll share our thoughts.

The Senate passed a bipartisan framework to address gun violence.

Harrisburg has been an incubator for distressing obstruction. We’ll give you a quick update on all the key bills and how to keep pushing them forward.

We still don’t have a director at the ATF, and we’re continuing to drive through calls to ensure that Senator Pat Toomey is a YES vote.

Welcome to the latest issue of Taking A Stand, the CeaseFirePA newsletter.

Do you believe that 18 year olds should be able to purchase an AR-15? We don’t, but unfortunately, Republican leadership thinks that’s a fantastic idea. When a bill was debated this week to simply raise the minimum wage for assault weapons from the age of 18 to the age of 21, that bill was gutted. The language was replaced with a proposal to give concealed permitless carry rights to anyone. These extreme antics have no place in the General Assembly.

Washington is finally getting some work done. We want to emphasize that the bipartisan Senate framework, created by 10 Senate Republicans and 10 Senate Democrats over the course of weeks, is a small first step. It won’t end this horrific gun violence crisis by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a first step toward progress.

Here’s what the proposal includes:

• Tougher background checks for gun buyers younger than 21
• $15 billion in mental healthcare funds and school security upgrades
• Funding to encourage states to implement extreme risk protection order laws at the state legislative level
• Blocking gun sales to those convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners, effectively a closure of the “boyfriend loophole”

Our Southeastern Coordinator, Carol Lastowka, penned an op/ed about her experience going to a gun show. As a gun owner and gun violence prevention advocate, she recounts what she witnessed as people purchased guns in Pennsylvania, a state with lax gun laws. 

We organized a coalition of 80 local elected leaders, faith leaders, law enforcement personnel, and policy experts, who signed onto a letter to Rep. Jerry Knowles. Knowles chairs the House Local Government Committee, where four key bills currently languish. These bills, which were originally referred to the House Judiciary Committee, were sent here to avoid public scrutiny of political obstruction on gun reform, and we will not allow this obstruction to be concealed.

Click here to read the letter.

The bills are extreme risk protection orders, ending firearm preemption, safe gun storage, and an assault weapons ban.

We still do not have a confirmed person to #LeadTheATF. President Biden’s nominee, Former US Attorney Steve Dettelbach, is waiting on a confirmation vote. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has lacked a Senate-confirmed leader since 2015, and it has been disastrous for our communities. We need a leader who will not only work to enforce the laws we have on the books for individuals, but also hold accountable bad acting gun sellers who abuse their power and inflict violence upon all of us to turn an illegal profit.

CLICK HERE TO TELL SENATOR TOOMEY TO VOTE YES FOR DETTELBACH.

READ THE BRADY REPORT ABOUT CRIME GUNS IN OUR REGION.

A horrific Supreme Court ruling, and what it means

The full text of the SCOTUS opinion, released Thursday, can be read here. It’s important to know that this ruling doesn’t impact Pennsylvania gun laws presently at all, but it evokes an inconsistent precedent that claims a Second Amendment right to carry a gun outside the home, a huge departure from previous rulings. The states directly impacted by these rulings, states that have sought to substantively regulate guns, currently have much lower rates of gun violence than we do, and that is about to change.

The antidote to this moment is what we’ve already been doing together - pushing every day for gun reforms Pennsylvanians deserve, at both the state and federal level. We’ll keep doing just that.

Pennsylvanians are united. We’re on the right side of history.

We’ll close with positive news, because we all need that at this moment. Another poll has been released, revealing what we know to be true. Pennsylvanians want and in fact, demand action to end gun violence. Across geographies, across political ideologies, from gun violence survivors to gun owners, Pennsylvanians want policy reform. 

“The poll found a vast majority support a variety of policies, including “Red Flag” laws (79.9% support), raising the age for buying an assault weapon (78.5%), and Universal Background Checks (89.1%). This support remained strong for Red Flag laws even after opponents’ arguments were provided. And the poll showed that voters would be more likely to support Senator Toomey, if he were to run again, for supporting those laws.”

Click here to read our full statement on this poll, and click here to read the full breakdown of this poll from the firm that commissioned it.

We know that we’re living through unbelievably stressful times. Keep up the hope, because our movement is absolutely powerful. If you'd like to become a sustaining donor of our organization, there’s a quick button for you below. We thank you sincerely for all that you do in this movement to fight for sensible gun laws.