A long, cold state budget impasse marks the long, hot summer at the state Capitol.

Lawmakers will beat the heat by taking off the rest of the summer — the Senate will return Sept. 18; the House, Sept. 26. The legislators should use the long recess to reconsider a foolhardy decision that they included in the budget regarding gun violence. (Though the budget has passed, it can’t be implemented without related legislation.)

One of the most pressing problems left on the table is gun violence. There is scant hope that the Legislature will take needed action outside the budget to diminish gun violence — measures such as a “red flag” law by which courts temporarily could remove weapons from people known to be dangers to themselves or others, mandatory reporting of lost or stolen guns, limits on monthly gun purchases to thwart weapons distribution to criminals, and allowing local governments to enact stricter laws than the state’s lax standards.

But it is remarkable that lawmakers have agreed, in the budget awaiting implementation, to reduce funding for community violence prevention programs.

For the fiscal year that ended June 30, the state added $75 million of federal pandemic relief money to a grant program for community organizations to fight gun violence, bringing the total to $105 million.

The new budget includes $40 million for the grants — a $10 million state increase but a net reduction of $65 million.

As of Friday, 201 people in Philadelphia have died by gun violence and 776 others have been wounded. That’s a heavy toll but it reflects progress, a 21% decline in homicides and a 28% overall decrease in shootings from the same period of 2022.

The decline cannot be attributed solely to community antiviolence programs. But grants that increased the availability of safe after-school programs, improved the quality of and access to athletic facilities, and otherwise focused on community intervention, undoubtedly contributed to the momentum.

Even if they are unwilling to tackle gun violence directly, lawmakers should ensure that communities have the ability to do so indirectly by restoring the full grant program.

— The Citizens’ Voice, Wilkes-Barre via TNS