by MegAnne Liebsch

Despite the physical distance between Philadelphia and Orlando, the Philadelphia area has been emotionally impacted by the mass shooting that killed 49 people and injured 53 at an Orlando nightclub.

Philadelphia native Akyra Murray, 18, was killed during the shooting. She was a recent graduate of West Catholic High School and a star basketball player who was committed to play for Mercyhurst University in the fall.

Some 2000 people gathered at City Hall in Philadelphia to mourn the victims of the shooting, including Murray, last Monday evening. A performance of a contemporary ‘Requiem’ at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Chestnut Hill honored all victims of mass murders in recent years. While in Ambler, members of the activist group Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence held a peace rally and walk to honor the dead and to call for stricter gun legislation.

Bryan Miller, a member of that group, noted that, despite the massacre in Orlando, a time of stricter gun legislation is still far off, saying, “It's not likely yet that we'll see this horrific event cause the U.S. Congress or the Pennsylvania General Assembly pass meaningful measures to prevent gun violence … It may not be now that we'll succeed in wresting the state from the gun industry and lobby, but the time is coming.”

State Rep. Madeleine Dean, of Montgomery County’s 153^rd District, responded to the Orlando massacre by supporting measures that would ban assault rifles, require background checks to purchase guns, require people to report stolen guns and enabling gun restraining orders for those who are a danger to themselves or others.

Miller added that, in addition to stricter licensing and limiting assault weapons, Heeding God’s Call would like to see, “a limitation on purchases by individuals to no more than one handgun in any 30-day period and a requirement that individuals with domestic violence complaints or convictions be prohibited from buying or possessing guns and transfer any they possess to law enforcement.”

Meanwhile in the Washington, D.C., U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., of Pennsylvania,  participated in a 15-hour filibuster on the Senate floor demanding that Democrats be allowed to vote on stricter gun law amendments on the upcoming appropriations bill.

The vote was on four bill amendments – two Republican-sponsored and two Democrat-sponsored that would tighten up gun licensing and sales – and was scheduled for Monday. To overpower a Republican filibuster, the amendments needed 60 votes in their favor.

All four amendments were voted down, largely on party lines. Although Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins has introduced a more moderate fifth amendment to be voted on, it has little hope of passing, according to many political analysts.

On Wednesday, House Democrats staged a sit-in on the floor of the House, calling for a vote on the gun legislation that was struck down in the house. The protest lasted until 3 a.m. when the House finally adjourned. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan told CNN he will not schedule a vote on the amendments.

Despite the fact that 83 percent of registered voters (and 80 percent of gun-owning households) support gun legislation that would prevent suspected terrorists from buying guns, according to a Quinnipiac University poll, the anti-gun law constituency continues to strike down such legislation.

On Monday, the executive director of the NRA, Chris Cox, released a statement, saying, “We all agree that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms. We should all agree that law-abiding Americans who are wrongly put on a secret government list should not be denied their constitutional right to due process. Unfortunately, Senator Collins and others are focusing their efforts on unconstitutional proposals that would not have prevented the Orlando terrorist attack.

“We look forward to working with those interested in real solutions to keep the American people safe, including their right to defend themselves in the face of government failure.”

Miller heartily disagreed with the NRA stance that favors the Second and Fourth amendments over gun legislation.

“It is absurd and dangerous to claim that the Second Amendment completely trumps public health and safety,” Miller said, “Only a rigid and fearful zealot would believe so.”

But he also explained that the only opinion that truly matters is that of the U.S. Supreme Court. “According to the Supreme Court, federal, state and other authorities have the power to regulate many aspects of gun sales, transfers, possession and use,” Miller said.

Despite government inaction on gun control, Miller remains optimistic about the future. He said he believed that the creation of smart guns that will only fire for authorized users will result in fewer suicides, fewer accidents and decrease illegal gun distribution. Miller hopes that smart guns will help reduce the number of gun deaths in America.

“I am completely confident, for a number of empirical and experiential reasons, that positive, life-saving change is coming during the next ten years,” Miller said.