Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Contact 90.5 WESA with a story idea or news tip: news@wesa.fm

Attorney General Announces Partnership To Fight Gun Violence

Katie Blackley
/
90.5 WESA

The Pennsylvania Attorney General has announced a partnership that will target straw purchases of guns in Philadelphia and educate women about the dangers of the illegal practice.

A straw purchase is when someone without a criminal record buys a gun for someone who cannot legally purchase one. Nationwide, women make up to 80% of such purchases.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Thursday his office is giving a $123,000 grant to a Boston-based nonprofit offering education and awareness campaigns to help women say no to straw-purchased guns.

Operation LIPSTICK says their work has helped reduce gun crimes by women in Boston. The nonprofit will partner with local violence prevention group Mothers in Charge.

Shapiro says Philadelphia's gun violence task force opens an average of 25 straw purchasing cases a month.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.