HARRISBURG -- Philadelphia's new mayor, Michael Nutter, is joining with two Allegheny County legislators to push for new statewide laws aimed at reducing gun violence on Pennsylvania streets.

But with the political power that sportsmen, hunters and the National Rifle Association have with the General Assembly, everyone admits it won't be easy to enact gun-control bills.

Mr. Nutter, a Democrat who took office in January, spoke to the Pennsylvania Press Club here today, advocating bills sponsored by two Pittsburgh-area Democrats, state Reps. Dan Frankel of Squirrel Hill and David Levdansky of Forward.

Mr. Frankel wants to ban the sale of assault weapons in Pennsylvania -- a state law that would make up for the expiration in 2004 of a federal ban on selling such weapons. He says there is no reason why any law-abiding gun owner needs an assault weapon.

Mr. Levdansky wants to require gun owners to report any lost or stolen handguns within 72 hours of noticing the loss. Such weapons often wind up in the hands of criminals and are used in crimes of violence, and police say it would help them to know when the gun disappeared. Gun owners who "lose'' their weapons sometimes sell them to criminals in exchange for illegal drugs, police say.

One gun, from a home in Perry County, outside Harrisburg, recently ended up in the hands of one of three men charged with killing a Philadelphia police officer in early May. Mr. Nutter, along with Gov. Ed Rendell, a former Philadelphia mayor and other Philadelphia officials are still upset about that.

Mr. Nutter said there is no reason why machine guns and assault weapons like the SKS paramilitary carbine that killed the Philadelphia policeman should be sold in Pennsylvania.

"This isn't just a Philadelphia or Allegheny County issue,'' he said. "It affects many towns and cities in the state.''

In Philadelphia, which has seen about 400 gun-related deaths in each of the past two years, City Council recently approved five municipal gun-control bills. Mr. Nutter signed them, but they may not survive a court challenge. Pro-gun groups have taken the city to Common Pleas Court, contending that that only the state Legislature, not individual cities, towns or counties, has the power to enact gun-control laws.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.