Thursday, August 15, 2019

Gov. Wolf signs executive order on gun violence

On Wednesday, a man in a North Philadelphia neighborhood opened fire on police attempting to serve a warrant, WHYY and Billy Penn report. Six officers were shot; all have been released from local hospitals, reported the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. 
The incident provided a grim backdrop to the announcement that Gov. Tom Wolf will sign a "sweeping" executive order "to better target the public health crisis of gun violence."
“We simply are not doing enough to stop people from dying and to give communities the peace of mind that they deserve," Wolf said in a statement. "This order will make sure the executive branch is doing more and focusing on gun violence as both a public safety problem and public health crisis."
In a release, Wolf's office said the initiatives and reforms will include: 
  • New oversight and data sharing
  • Reducing community gun violence
  • Combating mass shootings 
  • Addressing the rising number of gun-related domestic incidents and self-inflicted shootings, including suicides by gun      
Wolf also renewed his call for the Legislature to pass universal background checks and a red flag law that would allow courts to temporarily seize firearms from a person deemed a risk to himself or others.
Democratic lawmakers from Philadelphia reacted to the shooting with calls for action.

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