WASHINGTON VOWS TO PUSH ONE-GUN-A-MONTH LEGISLATION

            HARRISBURG, November 19 — State Sen. LeAnna M. Washington (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) said today she is “thrilled” to see Gov. Edward Rendell step up aggressively to fight for one-gun-a-month legislation and vowed to “fight for the passage of the legislation when it gets to the Senate, all the way to the governor’s office.

“I have been leading a long, and lonely battle in the Senate to get one-gun-a-month legislation passed,” Washington said.  “But I can assure you, if the governor is successful in getting one-gun a month legislation out of the House, I will fight to do whatever it takes to get it passed in the Senate.

“I believe in this legislation and I still believe it is the right answer to get guns off the street,” Washington continued.  “I tried to compromise, to do whatever is necessary, and to move my legislation but it remains stalled in the Senate.  What I do know is that we must do something now to end the carnage and bloodletting on our streets.”

Washington reintroduced her one-gun-a-month legislation in the Senate after it died without any action being taken during the last legislative session.  Senate bill 1042 provides for a limit of one handgun a month across the Commonwealth.  A companion piece of legislation, Senate Bill 1043, provides for one-gun-a-month legislation for cities of the first class with an "opt-in" option for other municipalities.