by KYW’s Tony Romeo

A group of nearly two dozen Democrats in the Pennsylvania House has served notice on leadership that they will not put up votes on certain ‘social’ issues, including gun control.
 
The letter to state House Democratic leaders -- signed by 22 Democratic members, many from western Pennsylvania -- underscores the challenge faced by advocates of gun control legislation. The missive is on the letterhead of Representative Nick Kotik of Allegheny County:
 
“Emergency contraception, gun control -- there’s a lot of different social issues that are supposedly going to be considered, and I just don’t think at this point in time, these are not priorities with me and they’re not priorities with a lot of my colleagues.”
 
Kotik says the Democrat-controlled House should be focusing on issues such as property tax reform and health care. Kotik says he and the other members who signed the letter should not be asked to put up votes on social issues he believes are likely to go nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate.