Harrisburg, PA – September 18, 2019 – Governor Tom Wolf this week appointed Senator Anthony H. Williams (D-Philadelphia) to serve as a member of the Special Council on Gun Violence.
The Special Council was established by the Governor’s Executive Order 2019-6, signed this past August.
“I am so honored to be a member of this important group, and I’m fired up to do what’s right and necessary to end gun violence in Pennsylvania,” said Senator Williams. “For too long, we’ve let tragedies unfold again and again. The majority party refuses to seriously consider gun reform legislation that we desperately need, but I’m hoping the Governor’s executive order and this Council is the push we all need to change things here.”
Special Council on Gun Violence will be:
- Housed at the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), the Special Council on Gun Violence will consist of representatives from the following:
- One representative from each of PCCD’s existing advisory committees, including the Children’s Advocacy Center Advisory Committee, Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, the Mental Health and Justice Advisory Committee, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee, the Victims’ Services Advisory Committee, the School Safety and Security Committee, and the Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Education and Training Board;
- One representative from each of the four legislative caucuses of the General Assembly or their designees;
- The Secretaries of Education, Health, and Human Services, the State Police Commissioner, the Executive Director of PCCD, and the Director of the Office of Homeland Security;
- Any other ex-officio member as designated by the Governor.
- The Council will meet within 60 days of the signing of the Executive Order and will be responsible for the following:
- Adopting a public health and community engagement strategy that includes gun owners, health care professionals, and victims of gun-related incidents,
- Reviewing current background check processes for firearms purchasers and making recommendations for improvement,
- Reviewing best practices and making recommendations that keep weapons from dangerous individuals,
- Identifying and defining strategies across Commonwealth agencies to align resources to reduce gun violence, and
- Providing PCCD and the Senior Advisor with recommendations to reduce incidents of community violence, mass shootings, and domestic violence, suicide, and accidental shootings within 180 days of the initial meeting of the Council.
For more information on the Senate Democratic Caucus’ work in the field of gun reform, please visit www.pasenate.com/guns
###