Says PA legislature should follow his lead

Harrisburg, Jan. 5, 2016 – State Sen. Vincent Hughes, one of Pennsylvania’s leading advocates for common sense gun reform, today applauded President Barack Obama for issuing executive orders designed to better control the flow of firearms in America.

“The president is to be commended for passionately stepping up in the face of continued Congressional opposition to begin providing the protection that Americans need to live a life of liberty,” Hughes said.

“Gun advocates have been wrong for a long time about common sense proposals for reforming state and federal gun laws. No one is proposing to take away any gun from any gun owner.

“We are working to make it next to impossible for criminals and terrorists to get the weapons they need to wipeout unsuspecting – and innocent – groups of people, whether they be Pennsylvanians or residents of any other state.”

Sen. Hughes proposed a measure in December (Senate Bill 1049) that would bring universal background checks for the sale of all firearms in Pennsylvania, including those sold at gun shows.

Other Hughes’ proposals would expand the list of criminal convictions that disqualify a person from possessing, using, manufacturing, controlling, selling or transferring a firearm (Senate Bill 312), require an individual to complete a firearms safety or training course as a condition of receiving a concealed carry permit (SB 311), and would impose strict civil and criminal liability on any person, licensed importer, licensed dealer or licensed manufacturer who knowingly and intentionally sells, delivers or transfers a firearm that is used in a crime.

“Poll after public opinion poll supports what President Obama is ordering today and what I and many other Pennsylvania lawmakers have proposed,” Hughes, the Democratic Appropriations Committee chairman, said.

Two Quinnipiac University polls in December found that a majority of Americans think it is too easy for someone to buy a gun, and that nearly 90 percent support expanded background checks.

“People going to church, buying a movie ticket or going to work should not ever expect to have their lives shattered or end by gunmen who arm themselves with illegal weapons,” Sen. Hughes said. “The time to act is now.”

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