By Don Spatz
Reading Eagle

12/23/2008

 -  City Council voted 4-3 Monday to adopt an ordinance that requires Reading handgun owners to notify police within 24 hours of discovering that their weapon was lost or stolen.

For several months council debated the measure, which some members questioned but Mayor Tom McMahon strongly supported.

He has called the move a means of fighting trafficking in illegal guns.

He also formed a coalition of nine Pennsylvania mayors who were trying to get local gun-theft ordinances in place because the state Legislature won't pass a similar law.

Five of those cities - Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Pottsville and York - have passed the measure.

Facing a possible rejection of the measure by council, McMahon made a passionate plea at the televised council session.

"I'm going to ask council to make the city safer for our citizens, to make it safer for our police officers not to be shot by stolen guns, to make it safer for our children," he said.

The ordinance requires handgun owners to notify police within 24 hours of discovering the loss or theft of their weapon. Failing to do so could result in a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail.

McMahon said too often people who can buy guns legally sell them to people who are not allowed to own guns, such as felons. When those guns turn up in a crime, the so-called straw buyers claim they were stolen.

McMahon said a poll by Ceasefire PA found 96 percent of state residents and 92 percent of gun owners support the bill.

He also cited statistics claiming that Pennsylvania is a recognized exporter of illegal guns, and that states with no reporting laws have three times the illegal-gun exporting rate as states with reporting laws.

"It's not the total answer (to gun trafficking), but it's something that would contribute to a safer environment," McMahon said.

But Councilman Stephen P. Fuhs said McMahon never answered his request for statistics showing how effective the reporting is in decreasing gun trafficking. Fuhs said he also doesn't like the city being used to pressure the Legislature on a bill that won't affect crime.

Councilman Jeffrey S. Waltman Sr. said the law must be acted on by the state because it won't be effective if only a few cities pass it.

"If the state Legislature can't get on the good side of the statistics, that's on them," Waltman said.

Councilman Stratton P. Marmarou said he also would rather wait for the state to act.

"Then you're going to wait 50 years," McMahon said, adding that state legislators are intimidated by the National Rifle Association, which opposes the bill. "You'd need to believe in reincarnation if you want to see the state pass it."

Councilwoman Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz said the city must put its interests first.

"Whether or not it would pass at the state (level), we need to do what we need to do for the city of Reading," she said.

In the end, only Fuhs, Councilwoman Maria R. Baez and council President Vaughn D. Spencer voted against the ordinance.