Lt. Gov. Davis says legislation needed to address gun violence, current approach isn’t enough

What this episode covers

On today’s episode of The Confluence: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average 1,600 people die from gun violence in Pennsylvania each year. Here in Pittsburgh, there were 71 homicides in 2022, a 39% jump from 2021. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, a McKeesport native, is looking to explore what community-based initiatives are addressing gun violence. He started his “Safer Communities Tour” last week in Pittsburgh and concluded it in Erie yesterday. The state budget also includes $40 million for violence intervention grants. The budget has been passed first by the Senate and then by the House, but not sent to the governor for his signature. Davis says it’s being held up by the GOP-led Senate, which is not scheduled to reconvene until September. “I think, quite frankly, Senate Republicans are playing politics and trying to shift the blame away from their inability to work with House Democrats,” says Davis. (0:00 - 13:48) Legislation that could open a two-year window in the statute of limitations for survivors of sexual abuse in the state of Pennsylvania is also in limbo. The expansion of a window has been proposed as a constitutional amendment, and as a bill, and both are stalled. Marci Hamilton, founder and CEO of Child USA — a nonprofit working to end child abuse and neglect — says she would like to see Pennsylvania be more like other states that have opened an even broader window for survivors. (13:49 - 22:30)