Today, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a ruling in the Crawford v. Commonwealth case, siding with the Commonwealth. Adam Garber, CeaseFirePA Executive Director, issued the following statement in response:
“Gun violence remains the leading cause of death among Black men and youth in Pennsylvania. We are deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s decision to leave local governments handcuffed, preventing them from enacting proven policies that will save the lives of their residents. While this decision is a setback, we will continue to explore any avenue to save lives because the memories of those who will not be sitting around the holiday table this year demand nothing less from us.
We urge the Supreme Court to consider other pathways to right size the scope of firearm prevention laws, including Philadelphia’s effort to enforce lost & stolen reporting laws (Armstrong).
It is clear the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s refusal to act and tying the hands of local officials has exacerbated this public health crisis. It’s past time for the General Assembly to change course, before more lives are lost.”
