Joined by Lance Haver and 300 Supporters

At noon on Tuesday, October 16, survivors of gunfire violence who were treated at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital—some of which are now wheelchair users—will make their way from the Hospital (16th and Race) to the State Office Building (Broad and Spring Garden) to rally against illegal handguns being on the streets.

The rally, and press conference at the State Office Building at 12:45, comes out of frustration these victims feel as the number of murders and injuries—many of them from gunshots—continue to rise in the City and throughout the Commonwealth.

And they are not alone.

Joining them in their demonstration will be Lance Haver, longtime city official whose son, Daren Dieter, was shot and left paralyzed just days ago, and roughly three hundred representatives from: ADA, Congreso, Neighborhood Networks, PCCY’s Network, Million Moms, Men United, Mothers in Charge, Chinatown Leadership, Asian Beverage Assoc., Parents United for Public Education, SEIU, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Quakers, MCCP, JCRC, DFA, Youth United for Change, MLK Center.

Ultimately, the goal behind the walk and press conference is to reduce gun violence through the enactment of state legislation to:

• Require the reporting of lost or stolen handguns
• Create serious consequences to the ‘straw purchasing’ of handguns that fuels the illegal gun trade
• Limit individuals to the purchase of one handgun a month
• Reduce illegal handgun trafficking by dramatically increasing its cost and risk.