AMGOA Staff
Pennsylvania


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A new gun safety coalition said Friday that requiring residents to obtain buyer's permits before going through with a sale would reduce firearm related violence in Pennsylvania, though it's a policy that will likely face a lukewarm reception, at best, in the conservative General Assembly.

"We've all been conditioned to believe that there's noting that works and thats there's nothing we can do to reduce gun violence," said Jennifer Clark, executive director of the Public Interest Law Center. "Our coalition is based on the idea that we can do something."

The Public Interest Law Center is one of eight steering members of the new PA Safety Alliance, a coalition of advocacy groups that prioritize reforms in public health, criminal justice and social welfare. More than a dozen other organizations, from teachers unions to district attorneys to physicians groups, have signed on as endorsing members.

"Polling shows that voters do support gun regulation," Clark said. "This is not about taking away guns. This is about implementing sensible gun policy."

The alliance prioritizes legislation that would require residents to apply for a permit before buying a gun. Clark said research connects licensing laws with decreases in firearm related homicides and suicides, with rates in Connecticut declining 40 percent and 15 percent, respectively, after lawmakers enacted a similar policy.

https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/new-gun-safety-coalition-advocates-permit-to-purchase-in-pennsylvania/article_69237d00-d35e-11ea-8ad2-ff08579adf60.html