CeaseFirePA comes to SWPA

The advocacy group CeaseFirePA is upping its efforts in southwestern Pennsylvania by enlisting the support of doctors at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh police department and local residents to put pressure on lawmakers to pass tighter gun control legislation. Specifically the group would like to see laws adopted that limit the number of guns and individual can purchase in a month and force gun owners to report all lost or stolen guns. Mike Tracy is a sergeant in the Pittsburgh police department’s gun unit. He says police often trace guns used in crimes back to the original owners who either tell them they did not known the gun was missing or simply did not bother to report them stolen. Tracy says when police trace several guns back to one owner and none of them have been reported lost or stolen they will begin to investigate. Local CeaseFirePA member Jana Finder says she is tired of hearing that there is nothing she can do to stop gun violence and she is going to push hard for tighter laws by calling on everyone to write letters and vote. Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper says right now gun laws mostly deal with gun violence after it has already happened and the state needs laws that will help prevent gun violence.