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WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh on April 4th, 2009 suffered a great loss of three upstanding police officers to a senseless act of violence involving an assault rifle; and,
WHEREAS, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 was a federal ban on assault weapons, left to expire by a previous presidential administration on September 13th, 2004 ; and,
WHEREAS, The Governor, other elected officials and law enforcement officials from across Pennsylvania, last week in a press conference, voiced there support of a mandatory lost or stolen handgun reporting law and a renewed Assault Weapons Ban including Pittsburgh Police Chief Nathan Harper who asks, "How much blood has to be spilled in the streets of America before we say enough is enough?"; and,
WHEREAS, law enforcement officials view a lost or stolen reporting requirement as an important tool enabling investigators to track illegal handguns used in crimes back to their original owner as well as to create more accountability; and,
WHEREAS, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association and the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association along with the Pittsburgh Fraternal Order of Police are public advocates of a statewide lost or stolen handgun reporting law; and,
WHEREAS, seven states have already passed legislation to stem the rising tide of gun violence by stopping straw purchasers, making it mandatory for handgun owners to report their weapons lost or stolen to their local police department and five states have taken steps to mirror the Assault Weapons Ban; and,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Pittsburgh City Council calls upon the Pennsylvania State Legislature to support the efforts and follow the example of Governor Edward G. Rendell to enact multi-tiered legislation to protect our officers and communities including making lost or stolen handgun reporting mandatory in Pennsylvania, and to permit Pennsylvania ci...
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