Gun Violence Executive Order Signed In PA: Here's What It Does

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf on Friday signed an executive order making "unprecedented sweeping changes" to combat gun violence across the state.

The order makes changes to executive branch agencies and programs, including the creation of a new Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Charles Ramsey, chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, is the senior advisor who will coordinate and facilitate the effort to reduce gun violence. Ramsey will lead the new Office of Gun Violence Prevention; that office will contain a Special Council on Gun Violence.

The council will meet within 60 days to formulate its plan to reduce gun violence across the state.

In addition to the new office and Special Council on Gun Violence, the order institutes various measures to reduce gun violence by mass shootings, suicide, domestic violence, accidental shootings and more.

As part of the order, data sharing will be increased and the Pennsylvania State Police will be expanding monitoring of hate groups, white nationalists, and other fringe organizations.

Gun buyback programs will be expanded and Pennsylvania will enroll in the “States for Gun Safety” coalition, a multi-state partnership that shares information for the nation’s first regional Gun Violence Research Consortium.

The action comes less than two weeks after two mass shootings occurred in the United States in a single weekend, killing more than 30 people. The shootings happened at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas and outside a bar in Dayton, Ohio.

“We need to fix our weak gun laws and pass reforms focused on increasing safety and reducing danger to our citizens.” Gov. Wolf said during an event Friday.

Wolf is also urging state lawmakers to pass safe storage legislation to reduce the number of accidental shootings, as well mandate universal background checks by the Pennsylvania State Police on all gun purchases.

According to the Governor's office, the Executive Order will immediately implement the following:

1. Special Council on Gun Violence

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 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.

2. New Oversight and Data Sharing

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention within PCCD and the Division of Violence Prevention will be established within the Department of Health’s Bureau of Health Promotion and Risk Reduction. Charles Ramsey, Chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, will serve as senior advisor to the Governor, leading the commonwealth’s efforts on gun reform.

• The Office of Gun Violence Prevention will be charged with coordinating a system of focused police deterrence in neighborhoods and cities where violence is most extreme; work with other Commonwealth agencies and stakeholders on community gun violence prevention; and lost and stolen firearms reporting requirements for law enforcement.
• PCCD will staff the new Special Council on Gun Violence, which will meet within 60 days of the executive order signing to begin developing a comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence.
• Direct all departments to engage in a statewide effort at combatting the systemic causes of violence, namely poverty, economic opportunities, mental and behavioral health supports, and hopelessness.
• Establish a Violence Data Dashboard to provide a better understanding of the scope, frequency, geography, and populations affected by violence, including counts, rates, and factors contributing to violence.

3. Reducing Community Gun Violence

The following measures will address reducing community gun violence:

• Expand and support gun buyback programs through the Pennsylvania State Police and municipal police departments.
• Direct Pennsylvania State Police and the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC) to develop training on community gun violence prevention and focused deterrence.
• Increase data sharing among jurisdictions to ensure broad geographical data is represented and tracked at the state level.
• Partner with the courts to grow awareness and utilization of evidence-based juvenile justice programs that are proven to reduce violent crimes.
• Expand Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS), a proactive approach to improving school safety and promoting positive behavior, in schools statewide.

4. Combating Mass Shootings

The following measures will aim to combat mass shootings:

• Pennsylvania State Police will be expanding monitoring of hate groups, white nationalists, and other fringe organizations and individuals, and conducting investigations, online and in communities, related to any threats of violence by these groups or individuals.
• Expand the “See Something/Send Something” program to receive reports of suspicions of mass shootings by text and use a campaign to raise awareness of the ability to contact police by text.
• Coordinate PSP and MPOTEC with local first responders to develop training on how to facilitate and handle warnings of suspicions of potential mass shootings. PSP and PA Capitol Police will coordinate with agency secretaries to offer active shooter/incident management training to all employees, not just management.
• Enroll Pennsylvania in the “States for Gun Safety” coalition, a multi-state partnership charged with combatting the gun violence by sharing information and establishing the nation’s first regional Gun Violence Research Consortium.
• Direct the Office of Homeland Security to launch an awareness campaign regarding the local, state, and federal resources on safety planning and preparedness.

5. Halting Domestic Violence-Related and Self-Inflicted Shootings

The following measures will address reducing self-inflicted shootings and domestic violence:

• Direct the Suicide Prevention Task Force to make immediate recommendations on steps to reduce suicides by gun.
• Build on current Mental Health Stigma campaigns that provide families and communities with real stories and statistics as well as information about how to access resources.
• Develop a multidisciplinary Suicide Death Review Team to increase data collection and inform preventions efforts and policy decisions.
• Increase awareness of and strengthen services within the Student Assistance Program, which allow school districts to provide mental health referrals, across the commonwealth by providing technical assistance.

View the full executive order here.