Philadelphia’s finally going after straw gun buyers. It’s about time. | Editorial

For a decade, Philadelphia has had a law on the books that could have slowed down the flow of illegally obtained guns and put a dent in the city’s escalating epidemic of gun violence. But it wasn’t enforced, and straw buyers sold guns to felons — barred by their prior convictions from possessing firearms — with impunity.

But this week, District Attorney Larry Krasner, the police, and city Law Department announced that they will start enforcing the ordinance to slow down the underground gun trade that helped fuel 351 homicides and more than 1,200 shootings last year.

There are innumerable theories on why the ordinance hasn’t been enforced, ranging from a Police Department so overwhelmed it didn’t have the time to go after small-time gun traffickers (also known as straw buyers) to a former district attorney who was afraid of the National Rifle Association.

The 2009 ordinance, sponsored by Council President Darrell L. Clarke, doesn’t regulate guns. It rightly requires gun owners to report when their weapons are lost or stolen, and penalizes them when they don’t. The first time gun owners are caught failing to report a missing weapon, they would be fined $2,000. Future offenses carry criminal charges and can result in 90 days in jail.

The city has given gun owners 30 days, starting Jan. 23, to report their lost and stolen guns. After that, when a crime gun is traced back to an owner who has failed to report a missing weapon, the owner will be charged.

And, they should be.

When police trace the ownership of a crime gun, they often hit a dead end when the owners of record say their guns were lost or stolen. Krasner and others say they’re just lying, and are often selling those guns to felons who use them in crimes. They say responsible gun owners do tell police when their weapons are lost or stolen. Philadelphia officials say more than half of the guns used in crimes are in the hands of someone other than the original buyer. The actual number isn’t known for sure because Philadelphia does not release its gun trace statistics to the public. Chicago, which does release gun trace data, reports that 95 percent of its crime guns are traced back to someone other than the original purchaser.

Like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh is bearing the brunt of violence and doing something about it. Following the October massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue, Pittsburgh’s City Council introduced a package of bills banning assault weapons, armor piercing bullets, and kits that can be used to convert guns into automatic weapons. Members plan to vote on the bills next month.

Other Pennsylvania towns should rally around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as they step up to protect residents from rampant gun violence. Both cities expect gun manufacturers and gun rights groups to fight back in the courts and exploit the state’s weak gun laws. Every community that cares about public safety should pressure the legislature to protest us from gun violence by toughening Pennsylvania’s gun laws.