More than 40 congregants from Swarthmore Presbyterian, Swarthmore United Methodist, Refuge in Christ, Chester Eastside Ministries, Sacred Heart of Manoa, Temple Shalom, Ohev Shalom, Beth Israel, Chester Friends' Meeting, Marcus Hook Baptist Church, and Chester House of Restoration met today at Refuge in Christ Church, Chester, this afternoon, to form a Delaware County Chapter of Heeding God's Call.
Bryan Miller spoke about how guns reach the street. Almost all the guns traced from crime scenes are from straw purchases. US law requires that gun purchasers be checked against an FBI database to be sure they have not committed a felony or domestic violence misdemeanor, that they have not been committed to a mental institution. PA requires that gun purchasers be at least 18. Gun stores need maintain records of all gun purchases for at least 20 years.
However, there is considerable demand for guns from people who couldn't pass a background check. In a straw purchase, an entrepreneur (usually a man) who wouldn't be able to pass the background check pays another person (usually a woman) to accompany him to a gun store and to purchase guns on his behalf. Once they leave the store, he has a car full of guns that can't be traced to him. Like any entrepreneur, a gun trafficker depends on volume for a profitable business. (A few states, including NJ, limit handgun sales to one a month, but PA is not among them).
If (as often happens) these guns are used to commit a crime and are traced through store records to the straw purchaser, she will say it was stolen or lost. (A few states, including NJ, require gun owners to report lost or stolen guns, but PA is not among them).
PA's relatively lax gun laws are a major reason Philadelphia closed 2011 with the highest per-capita murder rate in the US.
Most gun stores won't sell to straw buyers, but a few will. Heeding God's Call aims to peacefully persuade those few stores to adhere to a code of conduct (pioneered by Walmart: videotaping all gun purchases, employee training, software that flags purchasers to whom guns used in crimes have been traced). Faith leaders of the various congregations meet with gun store owners to explain the code of conduct. Where a gun store refuses to comply, Heeding God's Call members hold weekly or bi-monthly prayer vigils (always with police permits).
Many chapters also hold prayer vigils at sites of homicides.
We formed a committee to work toward a Call to Action in 2-3 months: identifying which gun stores are sources of trafficked guns, raising awareness in the community. A Call to Action is typically held in a church, would bring together representatives of the many faith communities in Chester and surrounding towns.
Bryan came to gun violence prevention after his brother, Michael Miller, an FBI agent, was shot and killed in 1994, a few days before Thanksgiving.
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