A coalition of Pennsylvania mayors is at odds with the National Rifle Association after they urged municipalities to enact their own gun-control ordinances, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Frustrated by state legislators’ failure to enact what they described as “commonsense gun laws,” the mayors pledged to follow Philadelphia and push for local laws requiring owners to report lost or stolen guns.
On Tuesday, Lancaster became the eighth municipality to pass such an ordinance, joining Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Reading, Easton, Pottsville, and Wilkinsburg. The NRA has followed through on its vow to sue Pennsylvania cities that approve what it called illegal gun laws. The law, which can vary by community, aims to curb illegal gun sales, or so-called straw purchases, by not allowing legal buyers who sell guns to felons to claim that their guns were lost or stolen when the firearms turn up at crime scenes.