Philly needs to enact its own gun laws. We sued Harrisburg to let that happen.

“When a child cannot leave his home to walk to the corner of his street without risking the prospect of being caught in a crossfire, we are denying him the most fundamental right, that of life and liberty.”

That statement, from Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter of Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court on Feb. 14, has never been more true in Philadelphia than it is today.

More than 180 of our children have been shot so far this year. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for young Black men and youth in Philadelphia, and this violence is concentrated in communities that have faced decades of disinvestment and segregation.

Philadelphia’s gun violence is both a public health emergency and a civil rights issue.

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In the face of this crisis, state legislative leaders in Harrisburg have handcuffed local governments, forbidding Philadelphia from adopting or enforcing citywide policies that will save lives, all while refusing to enact statewide gun safety laws. By doing so, the legislature is denying the right to life and liberty guaranteed in the Pennsylvania Constitution in communities that disproportionately face gun violence.

We are suing to change that. And we aren’t giving up.

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On Sept. 30, we filed an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, after our case was dismissed in a 3-2 vote by the Commonwealth Court.

Our clients are family members who have lost their loved ones to Philadelphia’s and Pittsburgh’s gun violence, as well as the nonprofit organization CeaseFirePA. We’re joined by the City of Philadelphia and cocounsel at Hogan Lovells.

We’re going to court because, for years, Philadelphia has passed local laws that would save lives, only to be blocked by the General Assembly in Harrisburg.

» READ MORE: The shooting at Roxborough High and the absurd state law that limits local gun safety measures | Editorial

In 2007, Philadelphia last passed a law requiring a local permit to purchase a handgun. It makes sense — having to interact with an independent licensing agent, and not just a firearm dealer, curbs impulsive purchases of handguns and creates a barrier for purchasers who buy guns for illegal resale.

A review of the effect of firearm laws in 136 large, urban U.S. counties found that permit-to-purchase laws are associated with a 14% reduction in firearm homicides. After Missouri repealed its statewide permit-to-purchase requirement, its firearm homicide rates increased by 25%, while rates in neighboring states and nationwide remained flat.

But Philadelphia’s local permit-to-purchase was blocked by the Commonwealth Court under the state firearm preemption law.

Philadelphia passed local laws limiting the number of guns that can be purchased per month in 2007 and 2008; guns purchased in bulk are 64% more likely to be recovered by police investigating crimes than guns purchased individually. These laws were also blocked by the state firearm preemption laws.

This wouldn’t be so egregious if the state were passing its own gun safety laws. But attempts to do so often do not even get a hearing.

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A 2015 bill introduced by State Sen. Art Haywood sought to enact a permit-to-purchase requirement statewide, something a 2021 poll found was favored by 73% of Pennsylvanians, including 65% of gun owners. The bill wasn’t even given a vote in committee.

“Philadelphians are demanding that their local officials take action to keep guns off the street.”

Although no single state or local policy on its own will end the crisis of gun violence in Philadelphia, there are many steps we can take to reduce the problem. Ordinary Philadelphians, currently without the power to make or enforce local laws themselves, are working every day in their communities to stem the tide of gun violence, and they need help. Our clients — like Stanley Crawford, who cofounded the Black Male Community Council of Philadelphia after his son William was shot and killed — are already on the front lines of these efforts. They joined this case because they know we need every tool in the toolbox.

Philadelphians are moving mountains to keep their families and neighbors safe, and Philadelphians are demanding that their local officials take action to keep guns off the street.

» READ MORE: The Roxborough school shooting should provoke change in gun culture. It won’t.

For legislative leaders in Harrisburg to step in and say that a whole category of local solutions — most regulations on guns — are absolutely off the table, thus hamstringing local leaders at the behest of gun industry lobbyists, is unconscionable. And to deny Pennsylvanians who experience gun violence both the power to enact overwhelmingly popular local solutions and a fair hearing in the state capitol is to deny their most basic rights as citizens in a democracy.

Ben Geffen is a senior attorney and Mimi McKenzie is the legal director at the Public Interest Law Center.