Allegheny County's top prosecutor will represent Pennsylvania at an emergency meeting of district attorneys in Washington, D.C. this week to discuss gun violence legislation.
District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. will join 24 other district attorneys at the two-day summit that began Monday morning. The meeting is among members of the national group Prosecutors Against Gun Violence.
An unspecified number of law enforcement officers are also slated to attend.
The non-partisan group was started in September 2014 as a response to a number of high-profile shootings and mass shootings by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer. The group's membership includes attorneys from Seattle, Miami, Houston and Milwaukee, among others.
The initial aim of the group was to focus on issues such as gang violence, domestic violence involving weapons and gun trafficking, according to a USA Today article from the time.
The emergency meeting this week, however, will focus on specific gun legislation making recent headlines, including the Gun Violence Prevention Order Act and the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.
The latter bill, backed by the National Rifle Association, would allow anyone who can legally carry a concealed firearm in their home state to carry one in any state.
The Gun Violence Prevention Order Act would allow states to use federal funding to establish a court process that would allow family members of a mentally ill person to petition the court to temporarily block that person from purchasing a weapon from a licensed dealer.
The bill would also urge states to develop a process that would allow family members to petition a court for a gun violence prevention warrant ? a warrant that would allow police to temporarily remove weapons from individuals with mental illness who are deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Originally introduced by former California Sen. Barbara Boxer, the bill was reintroduced in May by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
