City of Pittsburgh - File #: 2013-1681

• File #: 2013-1681
• Version: 1
• Type: Will of Council
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 7/2/2013
• In control: City Council
• Final action: 7/2/2013
• Enactment date: 7/2/2013
• Enactment #: 450
• Title: NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that it is the will of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh to urge our state legislators to act bravely and save our communities from gun violence by supporting or co-sponsoring HB 1010, HB 1479 and HB 1515; AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh urges our state legislators to vehemently oppose HB 805 and SB 876 as these bills stand in the way of law enforcement's ability to keep illegal guns off the street, and therefore directly hinders their ability to save lives; AND, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh calls on our state legislators to act heroically in the face of continuing carnage from gun violence in our cities and towns, and support sensible and life-saving legislation for the sake of our families and our children;
• Sponsors: Bruce A. Kraus, William Peduto
• Indexes: PROCLAMATION - MR. KRAUS, PROCLAMATION - MR. PEDUTO

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
7/2/2013	1	City Council	Adopted	Pass

Body
WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Pittsburgh recognizes that our nation has endured far too many senseless tragedies from Newtown to Aurora and our own Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic far too often, with the number of gun-related deaths that have occurred in the United States since Newtown now exceeding 5,300 deaths; and

WHEREAS, this Council does support President Obama's call for substantive action and for an honest and comprehensive national discourse to engage our fellow citizens, from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more deaths from gun violence; and

WHEREAS, we somberly acknowledge that the number of deaths projected to occur over the next four years due to gun violence within our nation's borders will be over 48,000, a number greater than those lost in the Vietnam War; and

WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh suffers tragic loss from gun violence each year, with 38 gun-related homicides alone in 2012; and

WHEREAS, this Council recognizes that there have been several proposed Bills introduced in our State House of Representatives-notably HB 1010, which will provide for background checks on the purchases of all firearms in Pennsylvania; HB 1479, which will place reasonable (15-round) limits on the size of ammunition magazine clips sold in Pennsylvania; and HB 1515, which will require all gun owners in Pennsylvania to report to local authorities the loss or theft of any firearm that was once in their possession-that will effectively reduce gun violence without infringing upon any rights guaranteed to citizens by either our federal or state Constitutions; and

WHEREAS, we also recognize that, if passed, two Bills introduced in our state legislature-HB 805 and SB 876-will undermine municipal efforts to reduce gun violence and attempt to bully municipalities like the City of Pittsburgh into repealing their “lost or stolen” laws by imposing financial penalties up...