Phil Goldsmith
Chairman, CeaseFirePA

CeaseFire PA and Moms Against Guns share a common vision:
We seek communities that are safe for our children and grandchildren and free from the onslaught of illegal guns.

The cause of violence is complex and demands multi-prong solutions. We need better education, more jobs, less disparity between the haves and have-nots, less violence depicted in the media, a stronger culture of respect for each other and better parenting. And we also need less availability to guns.

CeaseFirePA, a statewide organization, is committed to strengthening Pennsylvania's lax guns laws. Our laws pale in significance to even neighboring states like New Jersey and New York. Even a common sense proposal to require handgun owners to inform the police when their guns have been lost or stolen runs into a stone wall in the General Assembly in Harrisburg, even though many local communities have gotten the message and are now imposing such a responsibility—Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Allentown, Pottsville, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Wilkinsburg.

There are two very divergent and stark views on the issue of guns: Those, like the NRA, who believe that the unfettered access to guns—whether it be in homes, schools, city streets or parks—will make us a safer nation. And those like CeaseFirePA and Moms Against Guns, who believe that fewer guns in limited places will make our communities safer.

The truth is apparent when you look at gun fatality rates among industrialized countries. The United States, which has far more guns and weaker gun laws than anywhere else in the world, has far more fatalities per capita than anywhere else.

This fight—and make no mistake about it, it is a fight—between those who seek common sense laws and those who want no laws—will be won by whichever side can activate its supporters.

In all candor, the NRA has done a better job up to now. But public opinion is on our side. It's time for those who agree with us to let their views be known to their law makers. That's how democracy works.

Please join us: It's a matter of life and death.

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