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Could Pittsburgh’s proposed gun control bills disproportionately impact Black residents?

  • Courier Newsroom
As new gun control legislation is under consideration by Pittsburgh City Council, Rev. De Neice Welch, vice president of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network, is concerned about over-policing of Pittsburgh's black residents. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)
As new gun control legislation is under consideration by Pittsburgh City Council, Rev. De Neice Welch, president of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network, is concerned about over-policing of Pittsburgh’s Black residents. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)

Since Pittsburgh’s leaders vowed to pass gun control legislation after the Tree of Life shooting, local debate has largely focused on friction between pro-gun groups and officials hoping to ban assault-style weapons, bump stocks and armor piercing bullets.
But as the bills near a vote at Pittsburgh City Council, Rev. De Neice Welch, president of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network, explains a far different concern.“Any ordinance like this… always lands on the backs of young African-Americans,” Welch said broadly about gun control laws. “Always.”
She generally supports gun control measures after the Oct. 27 mass shooting that left 11 people dead in a Squirrel Hill synagogue. Welch’s concerns about over-policing are based on scenarios where police across the country overreact when a Black resident is seen holding a cell phone or raising a fist.
“The phrase, ‘I’m in fear for my life,’ has literally given [officers] permission to fire at will,” Welch said.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE AT:
https://www.publicsource.org/could-pittsburghs-proposed-gun-control-bills-disproportionately-impact-black-residents/

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