Pa. delegation's views on gun law

LAST MONTH, former Gov. Ed Rendell challenged Pennsylvania's U.S. lawmakers in these pages to answer a series of questions on gun-control measures making their way through Congress. We have published responses from Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Chaka Fattah, and today publish responses from the rest of the members of Congress.

Rep. Bob Brady

1. Will you support mandatory universal background checks? "Absolutely."

2. Will you support stronger laws to stop straw purchase gun-traffickers? "Absolutely."

3. Will you support mandates to strengthen our mental-health reporting system? "Yes."

4. Will you support limiting the legal sale of magazine clips to those that can hold no more than 10 bullets? "Yes."

5. Will you support re-instituting the assault-weapons ban, or legislation that's even stronger? "Yes. I would even make it stronger."

6. Congress members: If the House leadership refuses to bring these issues to the floor for a vote, would you sign a discharge petition that would force them to do so? "Yes."

"One of the records that I'm most proud of," Brady said, "is I have a minus zero and an F rating from the NRA."

Rep. Allyson Schwartz

The majority of Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support these measures, and I stand with them. I am committed to working with my colleagues to see that we pass the necessary federal legislation to better ensure the safety and security all of us deserve. I am a member of the Democratic Task Force on Gun Violence and have not only signed on as a co-sponsor of appropriate legislation, but have taken the lead on several efforts.

Specifically, here are the answers to your questions:

1. Yes. With 40 percent of gun sales now excluded from background checks, the first and most important federal action we can take is to require that universal background checks be mandatory for all gun sales. I am a co-sponsor of legislation to require universal background checks, Fix Gun Checks Act.

2. Yes. "Straw purchasing," the act of buying guns legally with the intent of selling those guns illegally, is already against the law in some states, including Pennsylvania. We must first enforce this law in Pennsylvania. And, as co-sponsor of the bipartisan Gun Trafficking Prevention Act, I look forward to seeing strong federal law and cooperation between federal and local law enforcement to eliminate illegal sales in our state and our nation.

3. Yes. We must do more to strengthen the mental-health system to offer better treatment for those with mental illness, including those who may do harm to themselves and others. More research should be done to identify and improve ways to prevent violent acts. The Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health and the United States Health and Human Services Department are all now prohibited from funding research and sharing or disseminating information on gun violence. I have led on the effort to end this prohibition and enable our researchers, mental-health professionals and public-health officials to seek and obtain information on the best practices to reduce gun violence.

4. and 5. Yes. There are reasons for exceptions for law-enforcement personnel in their professional capacity to have high-capacity magazines, but there is no rationale for high-capacity magazines or military-style assault weapons to be available for civilian use. It is time to stop the death, destruction and pain caused by such weapons.

6. Yes. The House of Representatives leadership has neither offered any legislation nor made any commitment to bring legislation to the floor for a vote. I, too, call on the speaker and Republican leadership to allow a vote on reasonable gun-safety legislation. After the mass shootings of Newtown, Aurora, Tucson, and Virginia Tech; the daily violence inflicted on citizens in cities across our nation; as well as the constant threat to police officers who put themselves in harm's way to keep us safe, we, as Americans, deserve a vote on measures to reduce gun violence.

Rep. Rob Andrews

1. Will you support mandatory universal background checks? "Yes."

2. Will you support stronger laws to stop "straw purchase" gun-traffickers? "Yes. Certainly there are constitutional and legitimate rights to buy a gun. Knowingly selling that gun to a criminal is not one of them."

3. Will you support mandates to strengthen our mental-health reporting system? "Yes."

4. Will you support limiting the legal sale of magazine clips to those that can hold no more than 10 bullets? "Yes. My reason is that the Second Amendment, I believe, protects the right to bear arms for the purpose of defending yourself, defending your family. I don't think one needs a magazine capable of carrying more than 10 bullets to do any of those things. I think it's evident in those mass shootings . . . that the more times the shooter has to reload, the fewer fatalities there are."

5. Will you support re-instituting the assault-weapons ban, or legislation that's even stronger? "Yes."

6. Congress members: If the House leadership refuses to bring these issues to the floor for a vote, would you sign a discharge petition that would force them to do so? "Yes."

Sen. Pat Toomey

He declined to answer our specific questions. "Sen. Toomey is thinking about these issues and listening to his constituents. But there isn't a bill in the Senate yet. So he is not going to participate," said spokeswoman Elizabeth Anderson.

Rep. Pat Meehan

He declined to answer our specific questions. But an aide provided the following statement: "Congressman Meehan supports common-sense gun legislation that protects the rights of law-abiding Americans and effectively keeps guns out of the hands of criminals. Rep. Meehan supports strengthening background checks, including the closure of the gun-show loophole. He also believes that improving our mental-health-care system is an important part of protecting American families from violence."

Rep. Jim Gerlach

He declined to answer our specific questions, but provided this statement: "The House Judiciary Committee has indicated it will consider various proposals, and I look forward to seeing the end product of the committee's work. There may be some sensible solutions to effectively stop guns from getting into the hands of criminals and those who lack the mental capacity to safely and responsibly own and use firearms without unreasonably restricting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens."

Rep. Charlie Dent

He declined to answer our specific questions, but provided this statement: "I will continue to take reasonable actions to keep firearms out of the hands of felons and those with serious mental illness. There are three main actions that can be taken:

1. Expanding background checks in a manner similar or consistent with the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS) as it relates to private firearms sales.

2. Changing our mental-health laws to ensure that individuals with mental-health issues serious enough to keep them from possessing a firearm are entered into the appropriate background check databases.

3. Putting real teeth into the sentence faced by any individual who illegally transfers a firearm to anyone who is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm."

Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick He declined to answer our specific questions, but provided this statement: "I am willing to consider any policy that can be proven effective at keeping our communities safe. What we can't afford to do is be lulled into complacency by thinking that banning certain things will keep us safe when really we need to focus on prohibiting some people from obtaining any weapon . . . I have introduced legislation, called the Strengthening Background Checks Act (H.R. 329), which would provide states with the tools they need to improve reporting to the national mental-health database to prevent those people already banned from owning firearms under current laws from doing so. I also support legislation, called the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2013 (H.R. 452), making firearms trafficking a federal crime, and imposing stronger penalties for "straw purchasers."

- Compiled by Holly Otterbein