CeaseFirePA, an organization that works to reduce gun violence, gathered with residents, local law enforcement and victims of gun violence yesterday at UPMC Children's Hospital to urge revival of legislation that it said could help take illegal guns off the streets.

One bill, which would have prohibited purchasing more than one handgun a month, was defeated in the state House Judiciary Committee.

Another, tabled in the Judiciary Committee, would give gun owners 24 hours after their guns are stolen or go missing to report the missing weapons to police or face a $500 fine, according to CeaseFirePA.

"Law enforcement, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association [and] the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association all support this common-sense reform," said Joe Grace, executive director of CeaseFirePA. "But the Legislature thus far has refused to act."

Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper said the legislation that would require reporting missing or stolen handguns would force gun owners to be more responsible.

"Not reporting the theft or loss of a firearm means that there is a greater potential for that firearm to be used in a crime or to take a life unnecessarily," he said.

Detective Jill Rustin of the Pittsburgh police Firearms Tracking Unit said in an interview after the news conference that gun owners frequently hesitate to report their guns missing or stolen because they are taken by friends or relatives who have criminal backgrounds or use the guns to buy drugs.

"They don't want to incriminate a friend or family members," she said.

Chief Harper said both pieces of legislation could cut down on "straw purchases," which are guns purchased legally and then sold to people who have criminal records.

Legal gun purchasers that turn around and sell their guns to criminals often claim the guns were stolen or went missing if a gun used in a crime is traced back to them.

First Published: February 27, 2008, 10:00 a.m.