The shooting of a 9-year-old Lancaster girl Sunday in York has prompted Mayor Rick Gray to press on with a city gun ordinance proposed last year.

The proposed ordinance, which was tabled by City Council in October, would require gun owners to notify authorities of lost or stolen handguns within 72 hours.

It was officially put back on the table Tuesday night at Gray's request and will be on the agenda for a first reading at council's May 26 meeting. Council will vote on the ordinance June 9.

Gray said he spoke to York Mayor John Brenner by phone Sunday about the shooting of Ciara Savage and said both were "distraught and concerned" about the killing.

Savage, a third-grader at Ross Elementary School, was a bystander killed in a gang-related shooting while playing outside her aunt's house in York on Sunday.

Gray said he and Brenner agreed they would be remiss if they didn't take whatever action they could to get guns out of the hands of criminals.

"I couldn't sleep Sunday night," Gray said after the meeting. "The whole thing really upset me. It's really all I've thought about."

The proposed ordinance was developed to target "straw" purchases, which occur when a person who can legally purchase a gun buys one for someone who is not permitted to own a firearm. When police track guns back to straw purchasers, the latter often claim they "lost" the firearm, and police cannot prove otherwise.

Violation of the ordinance would carry a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and/or 90 days in jail.

The proposed ordinance was tabled in October at Gray's request after he pointed out that similar ordinances passed in other cities are being challenged in Commonwealth Court.

At issue is whether ordinances enacted at local levels pre-empted or superseded state gun laws. The state constitution includes a pre-emption clause prohibiting local governments from creating their own gun laws.

But Gray said Tuesday that despite the legal concerns the need for stricter gun laws is undeniable.

"There is still the question of pre-emption, but until the state comes through with stricter gun laws, we have to do what we can," Gray said. "This was a 9-year-old girl who was an innocent bystander. There's nothing acceptable about that."

E-mail: jtodd@lnpnews.com