Dear Neighbors: Most of you know that I am the Western PA Coordinator for CeaseFirePA a statewide group working to pass reasonable handgun restrictions to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. We have exciting news: Our Pittsburgh City Council is poised to pass a law requiring firearm owners to report lost or stolen guns to the police. FIRST, on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20 at 10:00 a.m., Council will hold a PUBLIC HEARING in Council Chambers, 5th floor, City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, downtown. PLEASE HELP US FILL COUNCIL CHAMBERS TO SHOW THAT WE CARE ABOUT THE ILLEGAL GUN MARKET AND THAT WE WANT OUR COUNCIL TO HELP DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF ILLEGAL GUNS ON OUR STREETS!! THIS IS A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO AFFECT CHANGE ON THE GUN VIOLENCE PROBLEM RIGHT NOW! SECOND, we need folks to call City Councilmen/women on Monday to voice our support for Council's lost or stolen firearm reporting ordinance. THE NRA – the chief obstacle to any reasonable reform of our gun laws in PA – has sent out an Action Alert urging its supporters to call Pittsburgh Council members and urge them to vote no on this bill. WE NEED TO COUNTER THE NRA'S EFFORTS QUICKLY AND NOW!! BELOW IS A LIST OF TALKING POINTS & CITY COUNCIL PHONE NUMBERS. PLEASE CALL AS MANY COUNCIL MEMBERS AS YOU CAN TODAY & MONDAY TO Urge them to pass this ordinance when it comes up for a vote in Council next Thursday, November 20th. Jana Talking Points: 1. This is a reasonable, simple reform that will help police crack down on straw purchasers: people who buy guns & sell them to criminals. We want to reduce the number of illegal guns on our streets and this ordinance will help do that. Law enforcement personnel fully support this measure, including our own Chief Harper and City of Pittsburgh officers and detectives. 2. This ordinance does NOT violate anyone's Second Amendment rights and it DOES NOT criminalize law-abiding gun owners. IN FACT, it will protect them from potential liability if their gun ends up at a crime scene because they already will have reported it to police. That a law-abiding gun owner might not notice his gun was lost or stolen is just not believable. 3. The lost or stolen ordinance complies with state law because it does not attempt to regulate legal firearms. The focus here is on ILLEGAL firearms and on preventing criminals from getting guns and that is why the state's pre-emption clause does not apply to this ordinance. 4. The PA General Assembly has failed to act responsibly by passing stronger handgun safety laws to protect all of Pennsylvania. As a result, many Mayors and City Councils across PA have passed (or are in the process of passing) lost or stolen firearm reporting laws. This reform has overwhelming statewide support and this group effort will send a message to the State Assembly that statewide action is needed. The following cities have passed lost or stolen ordinances: Philadelphia, Allentown, and Pottsville. The mayors and City Councils in Reading, Bethlehem, York, Lancaster, and Easton have introduced this common sense law and will vote on it soon. 5. We applaud the Pittsburgh City Council for taking leadership on this very important public safety issue. We want the shooting and killing to stop and our streets to be safer for ourselves and our children. Phone numbers: District 1 Councilwoman Darlene M. Harris 412-255-2135 District 2 Councilman Daniel J. Deasy 412-255-8963 District 3 Councilman Bruce A. Kraus 412-255-2130 District 4 Councilman Jim Motznik 412-255-2131 District 5 Councilman Doug Shields, President 412-255-8965 District 6 Councilwoman Tonya D. Payne 412-255-2134 District 7 Councilman Patrick Dowd 412-255-2140 District 8 Councilman Bill Peduto 412-255-2133 District 9 Reverend Ricky V. Burgess, President Pro Tem 412-255-2137 DON’T LET SPECIAL INTERESTS DEFEAT THIS COMMON SENSE REFORM TO GET ILLEGAL HANDGUNS OFF OUR STREETS. Call all Council members and urge them to vote YES on this bill next week for change we can all believe in!