Gun violence is a crisis in Philadelphia. That crisis is fueled by easily available handguns on the black market. Last year, the city began enforcing a law requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen guns within 24 hours. The first defendant charged under this law has asked the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to block the City from enforcing the ordinance against him or anyone else.  Now, we are representing two mothers who have lost sons to gun violence to fight back in court to defend this law, which will keep illegal guns off the street. 

 

Mothers Kim Burrell and Freda Hill are joined in their petition to intervene, filed on January 16, by CeaseFirePA, the Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence Network, and Mothers in Charge. We are joined by pro bono co-counsel from Saul Ewing. Straw purchasers--those who buy guns in order to resell them on the black market--are a major source of illegal handguns. When guns used in crimes are traced back to straw purchasers, too often they dodge liability by falsely claiming that the guns were lost or stolen. Philadelphia's ordinance removes this convenient excuse, by subjecting those who would deploy it to fines or jail time. "This ordinance would make it harder for people who sell guns on the black market to dodge consequences when the gun they sold is used in a crime," said our attorney Ben Geffen. "The people most affected by gun violence know this, and that's why they're taking action to make sure this law will remain in effect."

 

The Philadelphia Inquirer highlighted our efforts in a January 22 editorial supporting the ordinance. "Reporting of lost and stolen firearms to prevent straw purchases would save lives without infringing on anyone's Second Amendment rights." 

 

Visions of Equality: The views of diverse Philadelphia activists (1984)

Last year, as we prepared to move from our old space in the United Way Building to our new office at Two Penn Center, we came across a box of old two-inch video reels. These were the master tapes for "Visions of Equality," a documentary we commissioned in 1984 featuring dozens of interviews with citizen activists for equality in Philadelphia--housewives, factory workers, police officers, and more. Now, with assistance from Professor Charles Hardy of West Chester University, this short film is digitized and available online for the first time. 

"Their issues range from job discrimination to architectural barriers, clean air to effective schools," reads Professor Hardy in his introduction. "But as diverse as they are, they all concern...equal respect, equal participation, and a decent share in the common wealth--in a phrase, equal citizenship." We are happy to share their voices and this piece of history 35 years later. It is a testament to how far we have come, and how far we have yet to go. View the full documentary on our YouTube channel.