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Mayor Rick Gray said the law, unanimously passed Tuesday by City Council, does not regulate a person's right to own firearms, but simply asks gun owners to "advise us when a gun has been lost or stolen."
It also is aimed at cracking down on so-called "straw" sales, when a person buys a firearm legally and sells it to someone not allowed to legally own a gun.
"The reason this is being passed is to eliminate the excuse for the person who buys the gun legally, and then sells it illegally," Gray said.
Gray said he has heard concerns that people whose guns may be stolen while they are away and do not know about the theft, will be in violation. That, he said, is not true.
"If you're away and your gun is stolen and you don't know it, you won't be prosecuted under this," Gray said.
Violation of the law carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and/or 90 days in jail.
During the meeting, Pastor Kevin Brown of Ray's Temple Church of God and a group of children from the church spoke in favor of the bill.
Citing data collected by Brown, the children — Jonathan Millan, Deshaun Brown, Victorsha Thomas and India Folk — said 30,806 Americans were killed by guns in 2006, of which 44 percent were people under age 25.
After the unanimous vote, Brown said, "Handguns and the illegal use of guns has been responsible for an exorbitant amount of crime and of young people being killed in the community. The media is full of incidents where guns are involved and people have lost their lives, especially youths. So we thought that, since our city was considering passing this legislation to make gun owners more accountable, it was important for our young people to speak."
Joe Grace, executive director of the Philadelphia-based CeaseFirePa, commended Council for its action, calling it "another step forward for sanity in terms of a simple handgun safety reform."
"This is not about the lawful possession of a gun," Grace said. "This is about reporting a stolen gun to the police. It's a simple question of responsibility."
Grace said 13 police officers have been shot and killed in Pennsylvania in the last four years by criminals using illegal guns, with the most recent being state Trooper Joshua Miller, who died in a gun fight near Easton on Sunday.
Lisa Armellino spoke against the bill, saying it violates the state's laws on gun registration and ownership. She also worried that "many law-abiding gun owners, if they are victims of theft, will be forced to prove their innocence."
Matt Holden, a Republican candidate for City Council, said the law is "well intentioned" but that Council "is acting outside of the authority that's granted to them."
"We're excited to see movement toward limiting or decreasing or even eliminating gun violence in the city," Holden said. "But just because we have an idea doesn't mean we're allowed to do it."
With passage of the new bill, Lancaster becomes the eighth Pennsylvania municipality to enact the law. The others are Allentown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Pottsville, Harrisburg, and most recently, Wilkensburg.
The law has been challenged in Commonwealth Court in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh by the National Rifle Association or individuals supported by the NRA.
At issue is whether ordinances enacted at local levels preempt — or supersede — state gun laws. The state law includes a pre-emption clause prohibiting local governments from creating their own gun laws.
Last September, a state court rejected a claim by Philadelphia City Council that gun-control measures it passed in 2007 were not pre-empted by the state Uniform Firearms Act.
Gray said if the city is sued, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, D.C., will provide free legal counsel.
E-mail: lalexander@lnpnews.com
