HARRISBURG -- The state House yesterday defeated a measure that would have required handgun owners to tell police within 72 hours if their weapon was lost or stolen.

The measure was defeated with 75 yes votes to 128 no votes.

The reporting requirement, proposed by Rep. David Levdansky, D-Forward, got support from many legislators from larger urban areas, such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where handgun violence is more common.

But it was opposed by lawmakers from smaller towns and rural areas, where many constituents are target shooters, hunters and sportsmen. Opponents considered the measure unnecessary government interference with "law-abiding gun owners."

Supporters said the reporting requirement wouldn't apply to rifles or shotguns, the weapons most often used by hunters. Supporters of the measure said criminals often use "straw purchasers" to buy handguns for them, because people with criminal records aren't allowed to buy handguns.

When police find a handgun used in a crime and then trace it to the buyer, that person often says the weapon was "lost or stolen" weeks or months ago and he or she had no idea where it was. This makes it harder for police to find the person who used the gun to commit a crime, supporters of the bill said.

"This is a reasonable gun restriction," said Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill. Even a person's right to free speech "isn't unfettered," he said.

"We can't use the right to free speech to incite a riot. We have responsibility with free speech and we should have similar responsibility regarding the right to bear arms. This measure will help police do their jobs."

He said seven other states have such a reporting law and none of them has been challenged in court.

Rep. Sam Rohrer, R-Berks, disagreed, saying the measure could interfere with gun owners' rights under the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms.

Other opponents said law-abiding gun owners shouldn't be burdened with such over-regulation. They said a better way to deal with criminals who use guns to commit crimes is for prosecutors to seek long jail terms -- not settling for mere probation -- and for judges to impose long terms.

"This could harm law-abiding citizens who own firearms" if they didn't realize their handgun had been stolen, said Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry.