Gun Violence

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has been asked to participate in a national discussion as part of President Obama's efforts to address gun violence in the aftermath of the school shootings in Newtown, Conn. On Wednesday, Obama named Vice President Biden to lead a group expected to come up with recommendations and proposals in the next few weeks. Ramsey will travel to Washington on Thursday to offer his input, as will other law enforcement leaders from around the country and federal officials.

They might not have hit the million mark, but the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who showed up in Washington for the Mother's Day gun-control march were impressive by any historical or political standard. In decades of pushing and pulling between gun controllers and gun promoters, there has been nothing like this event. It was possible, for a day, to feel that everything had changed, that gun control's political moment had arrived. And some things really have changed.

By Pamela Lampitt Most New Jerseyans agree: It is absolutely critical to keep individuals suffering from serious mental illness from purchasing firearms. Stopping individuals with potentially dangerous mental illness from obtaining weapons is not just common sense; it is indispensable to protecting our communities from gun violence. But a glaring loophole in state law permits people with serious mental illnesses to easily pass through the background-check system and purchase firearms.

Gun violence has reached crisis proportions throughout the United States. Once a problem thought to be confined to large urban centers, gun violence now has spread to smaller, historically safer cities, such as Milwaukee, Wis., and Charlotte, N.C., both of which will set firearms fatality records in 1991. Even small towns in rural America are not immune from this violence, as the recent massacre of 23 people by a crazed gunman in Killeen, Texas, has horribly demonstrated. This year, firearms violence is expected to account for 33,000 deaths and more than 250,000 injuries.

Stacie Dawson has a chance to become a first in Pennsylvania criminal history. Under the new "Brad Fox Law," named for a fallen Plymouth Township police officer, the 21-year-old Chester woman could end up spending the next five years behind bars. The law, which went into effect in the fall, is aimed at toughening penalties for those who purchase guns for convicted felons. Dawson, charged Thursday, could become the first sentenced. In September, Fox was killed in the line of duty while pursuing a hit-and-run suspect who had illegally purchased guns from another individual.

TRENTON - Gov. Christie will get his first chance to change state gun laws after the Senate granted final approval Monday to several bills. A handful of measures aimed at reducing gun violence passed both Democratic chambers with bipartisan support, including a bill that requires state authorities to report certain mental-health records to the federal background-check database. That bill passed the Senate, 36-1, Monday. State and federal laws already ban gun ownership for those who have been involuntarily committed for mental-health treatment.

HARRISBURG - A bill fast-tracking through the General Assembly aims to send a tough message to local governments in Pennsylvania: Pass gun-control measures at your own financial peril. The legislation would penalize municipalities - including Philadelphia and 29 others - that have enacted laws to curb illegal gun sales by requiring them to pay damages and penalties to plaintiffs who challenge those laws in the courts. The bill is being applauded by the National Rifle Association and condemned by such local officials as Lancaster's mayor and Philadelphia's district attorney.

IT SHOULD TAKE Vice President Joe Biden about three minutes to round up a list of ideas to present the president for proposals to reduce gun violence. Many ideas - like banning assault weapons and restricting high-capacity gun magazines - have been around for years. Biden would also do well to consult the list of federal legislation being pushed by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. These include a fix to the gun-checks act that would update the database of people barred from owning handguns, and close the loophole that allows people to buy guns at gun shows without background checks.

In recent weeks, lively Philadelphia nightclubs have been hit by deadly gun violence. A gun battle erupted among club-goers leaving Dreemz Ultra Lounge in Old City last month, leaving one man dead and another critically wounded. A man fired a gun outside Koko Bongo in University City on Oct. 28, striking a police officer in the leg and grazing a bystander. Police shot and killed the gunman. Police from the University of Pennsylvania killed a man inside Club Wizzards at 38th and Chestnut Streets on Nov. 26 after he shot and critically injured the club's DJ. As the city struggles with a proliferation of illegal guns while trying to promote a thriving night scene, fun has turned into mayhem in neighborhoods otherwise considered safe.

Gov. Rendell signed an executive order yesterday establishing a 21-person commission to investigate the recent surge in gun violence throughout the state. The commission's report, due by May 16, is expected to suggest changes to the law and how money can best be used to curb the bloodshed. Rendell also said he would assign 20 state troopers to a federal task force that deals with interstate gun trafficking. In the last month, incidents in Philadelphia, York and Pittsburgh have brought the issue of gun violence to the forefront.

Legacy of Penn State plight As an interested Penn Stater, I take issue with assertions made by Penn State trustee Keith Eckel ("At Penn State, many changes," June 5). Eckel reports that there is a constituency that has resorted "to personal attacks and misinformation to cloud the issues and distort reality. " The reality is that this board of trustees badly mishandled the response to the Jerry Sandusky molestation scandal and refuses to repair the resulting damage. Behind closed doors, a select few board members allowed the NCAA to issue heavy sanctions and waived their own right to a proper investigation.

By Pamela Lampitt Most New Jerseyans agree: It is absolutely critical to keep individuals suffering from serious mental illness from purchasing firearms. Stopping individuals with potentially dangerous mental illness from obtaining weapons is not just common sense; it is indispensable to protecting our communities from gun violence. But a glaring loophole in state law permits people with serious mental illnesses to easily pass through the background-check system and purchase firearms.

Stacie Dawson has a chance to become a first in Pennsylvania criminal history. Under the new "Brad Fox Law," named for a fallen Plymouth Township police officer, the 21-year-old Chester woman could end up spending the next five years behind bars. The law, which went into effect in the fall, is aimed at toughening penalties for those who purchase guns for convicted felons. Dawson, charged Thursday, could become the first sentenced. In September, Fox was killed in the line of duty while pursuing a hit-and-run suspect who had illegally purchased guns from another individual.

TRENTON - New Jersey has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, and they are likely to get tougher still. The state Senate on Thursday gave final passage to a bill banning the sale of .50-caliber rifles, high-powered weapons that are accurate to more than one mile and popular with some firearms enthusiasts. The measure was included in a package of gun measures crafted by Senate Democrats after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14. It passed largely along party lines.

Essam "Sam" Rabadi had worked only a few years for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms in the 1990s when he caught a made-for-TV kind of case. Four teens had shot and paralyzed a Brooklyn jeweler in a $200,000 smash-and-grab heist. But they were sloppy, leaving a gun in a car blocks from the scene. Rabadi and a New York City detective traced the gun to its buyer, a McDonald's manager in Baltimore. After hours of questioning, the manager caved and gave up David Gregory, to whom he had passed the gun. Gregory, investigators learned, was a criminal maestro, recruiting teens in Baltimore and New York and dispatching them to commit robberies in the two cities, then trading the loot for heroin.

Raul Ortiz is going to be honest: When he wrote a letter to the vice president of the United States about gun violence, he didn't expect a response. "He has a lot of things to do," Raul, 9, said. But on Friday, Raul and his third-grade classmates at Julia deBurgos School in Fairhill found themselves having their frank, poignant, well-crafted missives become a subject of the White House audio series "Being Biden. " In the series, available online at www.whitehouse.gov/being-biden , Vice President Biden uses photos and audio to describe "where he was, why it matters to him, and how the experience fits into the broader narrative of this administration.

I HAD a very good Mother's Day weekend. I got some unexpected presents and spent time with my husband and kids, my parents and my grandmother. But I also spent important time with some mothers who are not as lucky, who no longer have their kids to celebrate with. I stood with these mothers, who lost their children to gun violence, as well as with survivors of gun violence, and called for change that will spare others the tragedies they have suffered. Together we sent a clear message: We are not going away; we are here for the long haul.

TRENTON - Gov. Christie will get his first chance to change state gun laws after the Senate granted final approval Monday to several bills. A handful of measures aimed at reducing gun violence passed both Democratic chambers with bipartisan support, including a bill that requires state authorities to report certain mental-health records to the federal background-check database. That bill passed the Senate, 36-1, Monday. State and federal laws already ban gun ownership for those who have been involuntarily committed for mental-health treatment.