We need your support NOW to push for passage of two very important bills aimed at reducing gun violence in instances where a person having a gun presents a real danger to him/herself or others, including domestic abusers. Right now, it appears that the NRA is effectively preventing these bills from moving.

HB 2060 would require persons subject to final protection-from-abuse orders to surrender all guns in their possession within 24 hours. It’s a goal domestic violence advocates have been pursuing for more than a decade. Primary sponsor Rep. Marguerite Quinn continues to push for passage, even after compromise that weakens the original bill, because, in her words, it “beats the heck out of what we have on the books right now in terms of protecting our victims.”[i]

This bill only needs a final vote in the House, when it can then go to the Senate for consideration. This needs to happen quickly, however, because there are limited days left in this session. If it does not pass this session, it will need to be reintroduced next year.

Send a message to your Representative now urging passage of HB 2060, then send a message to your Senator to support it if/when it comes before the Senate. Then consider following up with a call to your Representative—find contact information at http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/index.cfm#address. Message: Push House leadership for a final vote on HB 2060 to protect victims of domestic violence by removing guns from the hands of their abusers, then vote YES on the legislation.

HB 2227, Emergency Removal Protective Order (ERPO) legislation, would provide a mechanism to address situations where individuals demonstrate they are at extreme risk for harming themselves or others through possessing a gun. It would enable family and law enforcement to ask a Judge to temporarily prohibit such individuals from possessing firearms or ammunition. If an ERPO is issued, the individual will need to surrender firearms, and this information would be sent to the PA State Police to prevent firearm purchase until expiration of the Order.

This bill requires second consideration, then a final vote in the House before it can go to the Senator for consideration. As with HB 2060, if not passed soon, it will need to be reintroduced next year.

Send a message to your Representative urging passage of HB 2227, then send a message to your Senator to support it if/when it comes before the Senate. Then consider following up with a call to your Representative (see link above). Message: Push House leadership to bring SB 2227 back to the floor of the House for consideration because it would remove (at least temporarily) guns from individuals who present extreme risk to themselves or others, then vote YES on the legislation.

In case you need further convincing of the need for both pieces of legislation, here is a story about a shooting incident just yesterday (September 19) in Fayette County, PA:

Police kill gunman who shot 4 in Fayette County court lobby

Written by Claudia Lauer/The Associated Press | Sep 20, 2018 4:18 AM

(Masontown) — A gunman opened fire outside a crowded Fayette County courtroom Wednesday afternoon, shooting at police and others before an officer fired multiple shots at him, killing him.

Fayette County District Attorney Richard Bower says a German Township police officer shot and killed the gunman after he entered the lobby in Masontown with a handgun drawn and opened fire injuring four people. Bower declined to name the gunman, saying only that he was due in court on charges related to a recent domestic violence incident.

Read more at http://www.witf.org/news/2018/09/police-kill-gunman-who-shot-4-in-fayette-county-court-lobby.php.

Please contact your Representative–and feel free to add to the message or put it in your own words.

Then contact your Senator, and urge his/her support for this legislation.

[i] Pennsylvania gun owners win one more concession in domestic violence bill, https://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/06/pennsylvania_gun_owners_win_on.html.