Many Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers seem to care more about appeasing a minority of their base than protecting their own constituents’ lives. Republicans have persistently blocked and obstructed any legislation or even debate on gun safety bills in Harrisburg. Afraid of a small but vocal portion of their party, they pander to this fringe minority while gun deaths continue to mount.
Recently, the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee stalled four commonsense safety bills. They also butchered bills that would ban anyone under 21 from purchasing assault rifles, turning them into permitless concealed carry bills that the governor has already vetoed.
In the Senate, Republicans have blocked legislation to create red flag laws and universal background checks. This GOP continues to reject these policies despite their popularity among Pennsylvanians. According to recent polling following the school shooting in Uvalde, 89.1% support universal background checks, 79.9% support red flag laws and 78.5% support age restrictions for assault rifle purchases.
This is not a partisan issue: It’s a matter of our public safety.
These lawmakers fail their communities and their fundamental responsibility to protect us. Gun violence, including suicides, is destroying rural and urban communities alike. We need our elected officials to act now—to prioritize our interests, each other’s lives, instead of bowing to the outlandish demands of a fractional and reactionary segment of the electorate. Republicans have defaulted on their constitutional obligations to voters. We can no longer afford to foot the bill.
Ed Massarsky
Collier