Outreach & Justice

MCCLV's Current Outreaches include:

• Monthly outreach with the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter 
• Monthly outreach with Phoebe Nursing Home
• Yearly participation in the Lehigh Valley Pride Festival
• Yearly participation in the 10-mile Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage
• Yearly park cleanup around Earth Day
• Additional outreaches include a grocery store gift card program and advocacy on a variety of issues: LGBT equality, racial justice, immigration, reproductive justice, environment, prison reform, education and working to end gun violence

All are warmly welcome to join in these outreaches

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Pennsylvania United for Background Checks

MCCLV's Board of Directors recently affirmed the church signing on to the "Declaration of Principles" of the Pennsylvanians United for Background Checks organization:

Declaration of Principles
Pennsylvania United for Background Checks is a campaign comprised of organizations and community partners across the Commonwealth that share the goal of expanding, strengthening and improving the background check system for firearms purchases. Whereas: 

• Reducing gun violence is a responsibility we all share; 
  
  
• The most effective way to reduce gun violence is to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them; 
  
  
• Federal and Pennsylvania law in combination prohibit the sale to or possession of firearms by certain dangerous "Prohibited Purchasers" including convicted felons, domestic abusers, and people with specific kinds of mental health histories; 
  
  
• Background checks are a commonsense and effective measure that require sellers to first ascertain whether a buyer is listed on a database of Prohibited Purchasers before completing a firearms transfer; 
  
  
• Federal law only pertains to federally licensed firearms dealers whose business is selling firearms, who must conduct background checks for all of their firearm sales; 
  
  
• It is left to States to regulate sales of firearms by Private or Unlicensed Sellers, and Pennsylvania law only requires background checks for handgun sales by such sellers; 
  
  
• This creates a dangerous loophole in Pennsylvania whereby Private Sellers may legally sell long guns, including shotguns, rifles, and semi-automatic assault-type weapons without conducting a background check; 
  
  
• Private sales represent a large number of firearms sales and occur through many venues including gun shows, yard sales, and private arrangements made through the internet; 
  
  
• Long guns have been used in 50% of the fatal shootings of PA law enforcement officers since 208, are used disproportionately in the killing of women by their domestic partners, and account for at least 10% of crime guns;
  
  
• Background checks are effective and have already prevented over 2.4 million firearms sales to Prohibited Purchasers nationwide; 
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• Background checks are convenient and fast and do not infringe the constitutional rights of law abiding gun owners. We the undersigned therefore support closing Pennsylvania's private sale loophole for long guns by requiring background checks for all firearms transfers. [PA law allows the transfer of firearms between close family members (spouses, parent to child, grandparent to grandchild). PA United is not seeking to change that].