While Many Details Remain Unknown About the Assassination Attempt, One Thing is Clear: Stronger PA Gun Laws Could Stop Future Mass Shootings
This past Saturday, a gunman from Pittsburgh’s South Hills armed with an AR-style rifle attempted to assassinate and wounded former President Trump, also killing one and injuring two other innocent bystanders. It was the 19th mass shooting in Pennsylvania in 2024, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass shootings as incidents where four or more people are injured or killed, not including the shooter.
Adam Garber, Executive Director of CeaseFirePA, the Commonwealth’s leading gun violence prevention organization, issued the following statement in response:
“This weekend’s bone-chilling assassination attempt of former President Trump in Butler, PA harkens back to dark eras in our history where violence, not words or votes, were used to settle political differences. Violence is never the solution. It has no place anywhere in Pennsylvania. I am glad that former President Trump is okay and I grieve for those killed and injured, as we do for every victim and survivor of gun violence.
“This unacceptable political violence is also yet another example of the gun violence that has sadly become the norm in our Commonwealth. It was Pennsylvania’s 19th mass shooting of 2024, its first at a political event.
“We are clear-eyed that if gun violence can strike one of the most protected people in the world, surrounded by some of the most highly-trained armed guards in the world, it’s clear that more guns will not make us safer.
“What will make us safer and prevent the next mass shooting? Stronger laws that prevent guns from getting into the shooter’s hands in the first place. While we are still learning more about the circumstances of this particular incident, the undeniable truth is that the more avenues we close off for guns to get into the wrong hands, the fewer mass shootings we will have to suffer.
“The lesson from this weekend should be clear. We need new gun safety laws like banning assault weapons, raising the age to purchase all long guns or assault rifles from 18 to 21, strengthening PA’s background check system, requiring safe storage of firearms in the home, and allowing for Extreme Risk Protection Orders (often called a “red flag law”).
“The time is now to take a step back from the precipice – for us to commit as a nation and a Commonwealth to not only renounce political violence, but to put ourselves on a path toward protecting our families, our communities, and our very democracy, from the poison that is gun violence. There is a better, safer future out there, if only we can muster the will to build toward it, together.”
More details on CeaseFirePA’s gun violence prevention policy recommendations to stop mass shootings in Pennsylvania:
1. Ban assault weapons. One of the facts we do know is that the shooter on Saturday used an AR-style assault rifle. These weapons were banned federally from 1994-2004. Pennsylvania is not among the nine states that have banned assault rifles. Since Congress let the federal ban expire, AR-15 style assault rifles have become the weapon of choice for mass shooters, tens of millions of AR-15s have been sold, and mass shooting deaths have tripled. House Bill 336 advanced through the PA House Judiciary Committee in January of this year.
2. Raise the age to purchase all long guns or assault-style rifles from 18 to 21. Saturday’s shooter was 20 years old. In Pennsylvania, one can legally purchase long guns like AR-15s at age 18, but cannot purchase handguns until age 21. Incomplete brain development gives young adults weaker impulse control, helping to explain why young people disproportionately commit gun homicides. 18-20-year olds comprise just 4% of the US population, but account for 17% of known homicide offenders. They should not be able to easily buy a weapon of war. CeaseFirePA supports House Bill 898/Senate Bill 672.
3. Strengthen PA’s background check system. Long guns like the type used on Saturday can be sold by an unlicensed individual without being required to conduct a background check on the buyer. This gap in state law can allow weapons of war to be easily obtained by individuals prohibited from having firearms. House Bill 714 to institute universal background checks in Pennsylvania passed the PA House of Representatives with bipartisan support in May, 2023, but has languished without action in the PA Senate. A fact sheet is available here.
4. Require safe storage of firearms in the home. Another fact we know is that the gun used by the Butler shooter was legally purchased by his father. Pennsylvania is among the minority of states that has no legal duty for gun owners to secure their weapons in the home. Safe storage laws can help stop school shootings; 80% of school shooters under age 18 obtained the gun from their home or that of a family member or friend. House Bill 1629 advanced through the PA House Judiciary Committee in January of this year. A fact sheet is available here.
5. Allow for Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs – often called “red flag laws”). ERPOs allow for the temporary removal of someone’s firearms if a judge deems them to be an imminent threat to themselves or others. More than half of all mass shooters (88% of those under age 18) hint at their intentions beforehand, creating an opportunity to use an ERPO to disarm them. House Bill 1018 to create ERPOs in Pennsylvania passed the PA House of Representatives with bipartisan support in May, 2023, but has languished without further action in the PA Senate. A fact sheet is available here.
More information can be found at: CeaseFirePA.org. More fact sheets on gun violence are available here. CeaseFirePA staff are available to provide interviews and additional expert information on Pennsylvania gun laws.
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As the Commonwealth’s leading gun violence prevention organization, CeaseFirePA organizes communities closest to the issue, holds those in power accountable, and maximizes the strengths of every member in its broad coalition.
