Letter to the editor: We'll all be safer when stolen guns must be reported

The article “3 charged with receiving stolen property after guns reported missing from Adamsburg home” (Oct. 18, TribLIVE) demonstrates how the simple act of reporting lost or stolen firearms can help police to get these illegal weapons off the streets. Unfortunately, reporting missing weapons is not required under state law, making it difficult to enforce existing straw purchasing and gun trafficking laws. Legislation in Harrisburg could change that and make our communities safer.

In the Adamsburg case, reporting of the stolen firearms proved critical. As a result, the police were able to investigate, recover the cache of stolen guns, remove them from potentially dangerous hands and hold people accountable.

Between 2012 and 2017, an estimated 43,768 firearms were lost or stolen in Pennsylvania. These weapons appeal to criminals who cannot pass a background check. Legislation requiring the reporting of lost and stolen firearms — House Bill 980 and Senate Bill 217 — will encourage responsible gun ownership and provide more data to police, helping them to better identify patterns of gun trafficking. One study showed that these laws reduce the movement of illegal guns by 46%.

Join me in contacting your state lawmakers to support this legislation, which will save lives without infringing one bit on Pennsylvanians’ ability to responsibly own firearms.

Vivienne Selia

Murrysville