By Chris Ullery, Bucks Courier-Times
In the wake of mass shootings in New York, Texas, Philadelphia, and elsewhere, state Sen. Steve Santarsiero on Thursday announced legislation that would ban military-style assault weapons in Pennsylvania.
Santarsiero, D-10, of Lower Makefield, said the measure is modeled after a 2013 Connecticut law targeting more than 150 gun models, banning high-capacity magazines, and providing a voluntary buy-back program for gun owners.
The Connecticut bill Santarsiero used in crafting his legislation passed that state’s legislature a few months after the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, where Adam Lanza used an assault-style weapon to kill 20 children and six adults.
“I’m here to tell you today, we’ve had enough … after these most recent incidents in Buffalo and Uvalde, it’s time we stand up with a single voice and say, ‘Enough. Enough. No one needs to have a military-style assault weapon,’” Santarsiero said during a press conference at the Lower Makefield Township Municipal Building.
Gun control legislation doesn’t get far in the GOP-dominated Pennsylvania General Assembly
May 25, 2022 –Harrisburg An effort by Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania to ban owning, selling or making high-capacity, semi-automatic firearms went nowhere Wednesday as state House Republicans again displayed their firm opposition to gun restriction proposals.
The state House of Representatives voted 111-87 against the effort by Democratic Rep. Danielle Friel Otten of Chester County to take up the bill after Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff argued it should have to go through a committee first.
The bill has spent more than a year in the Judiciary Committee, where Chairman Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin, has bottled up most proposals to regulate or restrict firearms.
Other gun-control news
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House passes tough new gun measures hours after wrenching testimony
