Title
Amending Chapter 10-800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Safety," by adding a new Section 10-834, entitled "Responsibility to Avoid Possession and Discharge of Firearms by Children" to prohibit adults from allowing children to have unsupervised access to firearms; all under certain terms and conditions.
Body
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 10-800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Safety" is amended by adding a new Section 10-834 to read as follows:
ยง10-834. Responsibility to Avoid Possession and Discharge of Firearms by Children.
(a) Legislative Findings
The Council of the City of Philadelphia finds that:
1. The unintentional firearm-related death rate for children 0-14 years old is nine times higher in the U.S. than in the 25 other industrialized countries combined;
2. In 2003, there were 130 firearm deaths of children and teens in Pennsylvania, including 41 suicides and 4 accidents;
3. During the past year the following Philadelphia children have killed themselves and others in accidental shootings after finding loaded and unlocked firearms in their homes:
a. 3 year old Talib Bailey-Hankerson, who shot himself in the face with a firearm he found at the home of his mother's boyfriend
b. 13-year-old Jevon Chestnut who shot himself while playing with a gun inside his house in North Philadelphia
c. 12 year old Marquette Cooper who was killed with his father's loaded handgun that he found in his home
d. An unidentified 15 year old boy killed and a 16 year old girl shot after playing with a loaded handgun in his home in Northeast Philadelphia;
4. The American Academy of Pediatrics has adopted a policy on firearms that states that loaded firearms and unlocked firearms and ammunition represent a serious danger to children and adolescents and encourages legislation mandating trigger locks, lock boxes, and other safe storage of firearms until guns are fully removed from the e...
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