Crowd on Centre Square Calls for Stronger Gun Laws

By Christina Georgiou

Today was "National Day to Demand Action", and Easton's Centre Square was one of about 100 locations around the country where elected officials and citizens gathered to demand federal officials strengthen gun laws, simultaneously as President Barack Obama also called upon Congress to vote in favor of tighter measures, to help prevent future firearms deaths and mass shootings like the massacre that took place last December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

"Violence in our country is unacceptable, and we must act now," said Gloria McVeigh, of the Hellertown/Lower Saucon Obama Volunteers.

That group, along with Lehigh Valley members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), whose membership includes Easton Mayor Sal Panto, Wilson Borough Mayor David Perruso, along with a number of other mayors in the region, organized the press conference and rally, which drew a crowd of about 50 people to the square.


Gloria McVeigh, of the Hellertown/Lower
Saucon Obama Volunteers.

McVeigh praised President Barack Obama for signing an executive endorsement calling for tighter federal gun laws, adding, "None of the executive orders infringe on law abiding citizens' rights to own guns."

Panto, who is not only a member of of MAIG, but was recently featured in a television ad for the group, said he supports the rights of law-abiding citizens to own firearms and noted that he is a gun owner.

"I've made it clear it's about illegal guns," Panto said. "The fact is, we're not about reducing gun ownership for law-abiding citizens."

But loopholes in purchasing laws and a lack of consequences for straw purchases need to be rectified, he said.

"Last year, 6.6 million guns were sold without a background check," Panto said. "Eighty percent of criminals surveyed got their guns illegally. We're asking for the only way we know to stop criminals and domestic abusers. We're asking for commonsense legislation."

Panto said the consequences for buying a gun for someone who can't pass a background check need to be ramped up and federally enforced, as well.

"The law is the same for gun trafficking as for selling illegal live stock. Imagine a cluck-cluck versus a bang-bang," the mayor said. "That straw purchaser needs to be held accountable. When you realize your gun is stolen or lost, you need to report it. That's all we're asking for."

Like MAIG, Panto also supports limiting high-capacity ammunition clips and automatic weapons.
"Tell me why anone needs a clip that's more than 10 rounds," he said. "I don't know the last time someone shot a Bambi with an automatic weapon."

Panto said stronger state and federal laws need to be passed, as municipalities aren't allowed to enact ordinances that effect such changes.

"We don't have the ability to pass a stolen gun law (at the city level)," he said. "We're  asking Congress and the federal government to act. We're here today to demand they take the vote.

"Call your senator. Call your Congressman," Panto urged the crowd. "This is an affluent issue, not just a city issue."


Wilson Borough Mayor David Perruso, center, sits with
Northampton Borough Mayor Tom Rhinehart while
elected officials from Easton and other Lehigh
Valley municipalities speak to the crowd. Left, former
Forks Township Supervisor C. David Howell holds
a "Demand Action" sign in support of stricter gun
laws.

Easton Vice Mayor Ken Brown also urged action towards tighter gun controls.

"We're tired of picking up the paper and finding out another life has been taken by gun violence," he said. "We together are one voice. Thank you for coming out today and speaking with one voice."

Easton Area School Board member Frank Pintabone also supports new legislation, he said.

"It's not about eliminating rights, but expanding responsibility," Pintabone said. "It is our responsibility...to protect each other."

J. William Reynolds, a Bethlehem councilman currently running for mayor in the neighboring city, said, "It's not about taking away gun rights, it's about common sense."

"None of us are here for the photo op. We do this because we feel strongly about it, and we want to protect our young children," said Fountain Hill Borough Mayor Jose Rosado, adding that he promised to protect gun ownership rights. "We have to realize and limit the risk of gun violence to our children. If we don't take action to enact appropriate gun laws, it's not a question of if but when. We're saying it's time to enact responsible gun laws."

The speakers urged the gathered crowd, a number of whom had brought their children to the event, to reach out to elected officials in Washington DC to make their opinions known.

"All of you could speak from the heart about gun violence since those horrible images from Connecticut," McVeigh said, as volunteers passed out petitions for crowd members to circulate in their communities.

The petitions need to be returned to the Hellertown/Lower Saucon Obama Volunteers and/or MAIG by April 4, so they can be sent to Senate members before expected votes on gun reform measures soon after Congress returns from its Easter break on April 8.

"Don't be afraid to call that elite 100," Panto added. "They still answer to you every six Novembers."



Kristen Bruck, of Coopersburg, prepares to talk with
a TV news crew after the rally. She attended with her
children, Dana, 4, and Drew, 8.

More about Mayors Against Illegal Guns can be found on the group's website, www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org

More about the MAIG campaign, Demand Action to End Gun Violence, is at www.demandaction.org

A TV ad in which mayor members of MAIG, including Easton Mayor Sal Panto and Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, call upon state officials in key states to support new federal legislation intended to help curb illegal gun ownership, is here.

Easton City Council Committee Discusses Violence Prevention

By Christina Georgiou

While crime in the City of Easton overall was down last year, six homicides combined with national headline news of shootings, especially the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, have local officials hoping to head off future violent incidents before they happen.

The Easton City Council public safety committee meeting Tuesday evening brought together police, local school officials, social agencies and others to discuss ways to make the city a more peaceful and better place for all, starting with resident youth.

Easton Councilman Jeff Warren, who heads the committee, said there are many factors involved in local violent incidents that have occured, including drug abuse, gangs, transplanted social values coming from outside the area, lack of education, mental health issues, to name but a few. He also praised the work the city's local service agencies do as having positive benefits to offset problems that plague some city neighborhoods.

"I think we need to not reevaluate the programs, but some of our strategies for reaching youth," Warren said. "I agree with what the mayor has said--we can't arrest our way out of this problem."

When it comes to school safety, in the wake of the Connecticut shooting deaths, police in Easton, as well as Forks and Palmer townships, are focusing on stopping by the schools more often, at varied times, and patrolling hallways. They're also talking with school staff, especially at the elementary schools, said Easton Area School District security coordinator and school police chief Louis Coxe.

More school safety measures are likely in coming weeks and months too, Coxe said.

"We're considering (more) cameras, entrances and exits, swipe cards," he said. "We don't want to waste any money. (All three local police departments and the school district) are going to put our heads together and do what we think is best to protect our children."

Mayor Sal Panto said he plans to hold a forum on community safety issues sometime in March at EAHS, likely on a Saturday. He added that the discussion is likely to include a wide variety of viewpoints from around the community, in addition to school personnel and law enforcement.

But curbing violent incidents and improving overall public safety in the city is not just about keeping kids safe in school, Warren noted.

"(It's) not only so (students) don't become victims of crimes, but so they don't become perpetrators as well," Warren said.

Easton Weed and Seed Director Laura Accetta, whose agency works with some of the most disadvantaged individuals and families in the city, agreed.

"Problems don't start in the schools. They start at home, and then the schools have to deal with it," she said.

Accetta estimated that of the 4,000 or so inmates at Northampton County Prison, some 2,600 of them take medication for mental illnesses. She added too that a large number of those released on supervised probation are also parents.

Added stresses, such as lack of employment and education, constant financial pressures, lack of food security, and sometimes substance abuse are also factors that lead to difficulties for children that contribute to neighborhood issues.

"This is normal to these children," she said.

Easton Area Community Center Director Anita Mitchell agreed, adding that children that attend the center often don't immediately see alternatives to violence because they haven't been taught otherwise.

"The don't realize that this isn't the world they see on TV," Mitchell said. "It takes so long for talking--to explain we can solve this with words, not our fists."

Panto noted that violence isn't just an urban issue.

"Everyone is having an issue with the culture of violence," he said, noting that recent mass shooting incidents have all happened in more affluent suburbs. "There's a vast amount of violence out there. The kind of violence that happens in the city is different from in the suburbs, but they all have problems."

He added that he thinks the amount of violence on TV and in video games, to some, makes it socially acceptable.

Easton Area Middle School Principal Charlene Symia said that positive reinforcement for children is something she's found to be more effective than negative punishments.

"We have some disconnected children that are facing things no one should face," she said.

The school district is working on "the Medici Group", a parent-suggested program that will help connect those kids with community leaders and other role models so they can share stories and positive messages of encouragement to succeed.

"We're going to work with these children to give them that message of hope," she said. "We teach, we model, and we reinforce positive behavior. We're expanding on it now."

Mitchell agreed a multi-faceted approach is needed to improve the current situation.

"I think it's really important that the agencies and the school districts start working closely together," she said. "Some kids feel they really don't have anybody."

Accetta agreed.

"The teachers have a hard enough time just teaching their classes. We can't expect them to be social workers too," she said. "But if there was someone to send them to..."

Those present seemed to agree that people working through their various agencies working together would provide the best outcome, though nothing was formally decided Tuesday evening. All said the meeting was a precursor to the larger community forum planned for March.

For his part, Panto also said the city plans to buy some houses to sell to working families to help them build equity.

"Many neighborhoods don't have role models," he said. "If we can bring in working families that can be role models...It takes more than parks and sidewalks. It takes houses."

Warren noted that while solutions won't be easily found to problems the community faces, talking about the issues is a good start.

"Even though we're just discussing, from discussions come solutions," he said.

Updated on Thursday, January 24 at 11:31 a.m. to correct the last name of EACC Director Anita Mitchell.