„Ultimately, we know we can make our community safer by having some common sense gun laws,“ state Rep. Dan Frankel said Sunday.<\/b>
\nElected officials in Pennsylvania are signaling the need for action beyond thoughts and prayers in the wake of a massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 people dead.
Law enforcement officials were unable to say Sunday morning how suspected shooter Robert Bowers obtained the Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and three Glock handguns he allegedly used Saturday inside Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill.
But the use of a military-style weapon in yet another mass shooting has renewed calls by Democrats for stronger gun measures.
\u201cUltimately, we know we can make our community safer by having some common sense gun laws,\u201d state Rep. Dan Frankel, a Democrat who represents Squirrel Hill, said Sunday.
Frankel serves as co-chair of the House SAFE Caucus, which advocates for legislation like requiring background checks for all gun purchases and limiting access to firearms after involuntary mental health treatment.
\u201cI think we need to be talking about how we move forward with a legislative agenda that\u2019s going to address some of these challenges in front of us,\u201d he said.
That doesn\u2019t just include gun legislation. Frankel also noted the need for an improved and expanded hate crimes law in an era where \u201chatred is more unleashed than ever before because of the national dialogue.\u201d
House Bill 505, which Frankel co-sponsored, would extend protections under the existing statute to people based on \u201cactual or perceived ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.\u201d
It has been sitting in the Judiciary committee since its introduction in early 2017.
Frankel isn\u2019t alone in calling for stronger gun measures in the wake of the Squirrel Hill killings.
\u201cWe\u2019ll get past this, but it makes you wonder what has to happen in this country before we start to have some common sense about guns,\u201d U. S. Rep. Mike Doyle, a Democrat who represents Pittsburgh, said Saturday on CNN. \u201cI just don\u2019t understand why any civilian needs a military weapon. Those weapons are designed to do one thing: kill a lot of people quickly.\u201d
Doyle is running unopposed this November.
Gov. Tom Wolf, also a Democrat, said at a Saturday press conference that \u201cwe must take action to prevent these tragedies in the future. We simply cannot accept this violence as a normal part of American life.\u201d
Both Doyle and Wolf support banning military-style weapons and expanding background checks.
Wolf\u2019s opponent, Republican Scott Wagner, opposes a ban on assault-style firearms and implementing universal background checks. Instead, he\u2019s proposed a review of Pennsylvania\u2019s existing background check system and the hiring of armed guards for schools.
Wagner is endorsed by the NRA\u2019s political arm. He called Saturday\u2019s shooting \u201c sickening \u201d and suspended campaigning.
President Donald Trump, who said he plans to visit Pittsburgh, said shortly after the shooting that if there had been \u201csome kind of a protection\u201d inside the synagogue \u201c maybe it could have been a very much different situation. \u201d He said the shooting had \u201c little to do \u201d with gun laws.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto pushed back against the idea of arming guards inside places of worship and schools at a press conference Sunday.
\u201cWe\u2019re dealing with irrational behavior. There is no way that you can rationalize a person walking into a synagogue during services and taking the lives of 11 people,\u201d he said.
\u201cI think the approach that we need to be looking at it is how we take the guns \u2014 which is the common denominator of every mass shooting in America \u2014 out of the hands of those who are looking to express hatred through murder.\u201d
Frankel does see reason to hope that new gun measures could pass in the General Assembly.
He pointed to the passage of House Bill 2060, which mandated the relinquishment of firearms when a final Protection from Abuse order is in place. Frankel called it the first \u201cmeaningful\u201d gun measure to pass in his 20 years in the state House.
At one point this summer, the bill appeared to be stalled. The grassroots group Moms Demand Action, alongside Democratic and Republican supporters, rallied in September to put pressure on lawmakers and push the legislation over the finish line. After some heated debate, it passed with bipartisan support and was signed by the governor.
Frankel said there needs to be \u201cconstant, intense advocacy\u201d around this issue. He added that passing legislation like HB 2060 wouldn\u2019t have been possible even two years ago.
\u201cI sense some movement,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe there is a path forward.\u201d
Then there are the midterm elections, which are just over a week away.
Frankel said \u201cthe gun issue isn\u2019t going to change dramatically until politicians believe that there are consequences\u201d \u2014 like getting voted out of office.
While lawmakers who talk about guns in the wake of massacres like this one are accused of politicizing tragedy, that doesn\u2019t appear to be a concern for the Squirrel Hill community.
At the end of a vigil to honor the victims Saturday night, those gathered chanted, \u201cVote! Vote! Vote!\u201d<\/p>\n

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