Cleveland NAACP calls for stricter gun laws in wake of Solon shooting attributed to PTSD
Published on Cleveland.com by Evan MacDonald
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland NAACP is calling for stricter gun laws in the wake of a Twinsburg woman’s shooting death.
The organization is asking Congress to pass a law that would expand criminal background checks for anyone buying a gun. It is also asking the National Rifle Association to drop its opposition to the proposal, Cleveland NAACP president Michael L. Nelson said in a statement.
The statement points to Deborah Pearl, who died Saturday after Matthew Desha shot her with a rifle in a busy intersection in Solon. The shooting happened moments after Desha’s Jeep crashed into the 53-year-old woman’s car.
Desha is charged with murder and remains in custody on $1 million bond.
“The death of Ms. Pearl was as much the responsibility of the NRA and its weak-kneed allies in Congress as it was the killer,” Nelson said in the statement. “It is highly probable that Ms. Pearl would still be alive if Congress had acted responsibly. “
