Conn. mother seeks to close Pa. gun loophole

[onehandle]

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

HARRISBURG - On a scorching summer morning in a state known for its staunch defense of the Second Amendment, the mother of one of the victims in last year's shooting at a Connecticut school came to the Capitol to talk about gun laws.

Francine Lobis Wheeler, whose 6-year-old son was among 20 first graders killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown in December, said she came not as an expert on policy or law, but as a mother with a credential no parent wants: "I have lost a child to gun violence."

When her testimony ended, there was not a dry eye in the room.

Wheeler, who grew up in Bucks County, asked legislators to end an exemption in Pennsylvania law that lets someone buy a rifle in a private sale - say, online - without undergoing a background check.



Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130718_Newtown_mother_makes_Pa__pitch.html

[mbperrin]

1. These private sales with no documentation are really quite insane.

Testifies to the power of money in the hands of the criminal element.

[onehandle]

2. Which then testifies to the irresponsibility of gun manufacturers and their sales lobby, the NRA. nt

[AlinPA]

3. "When her testimony ended, there was not a dry eye in the room." I doubt the republicans were

touched in a way that would cause any teary eyes.