Sometimes, even in campaigns, you hear it: a straight answer.

Yesterday, Democratic mayoral candidate John Street said he will do what Mayor Rendell hasn't and sue the nation's firearm manufacturers for gun violence in the city's streets.

"I think we need to be very aggressive in this," Street said at a news conference yesterday announcing his gun violence plan. "Often these cases get settled. But you can't settle a case that's never been filed."

Not coincidentally, Republican Sam Katz released a statement on gun violence yesterday, promising he would file suit unless he sees "clear and convincing evidence against such a suit."

Mayor Rendell initiated legal research on a gun lawsuit more than two years ago, but has held off filing. He has cited concerns about the slow pace of litigation and doubts about a successful outcome.

Although 28 other cities have sued gun-makers, Rendell has pursued a course of negotiating with manufacturers for voluntary restrictions. So far, the effort is unsuccessful.

Street said yesterday he would continue to pursue other measures, such as giving away gun locks and expanding the Gun Bounty program that offers cash for handguns.

"We also have to make sure that we try the courts, too," Street said. "It's difficult to know what the outcome will be, but sometimes in the context of a lawsuit, you can get people to do things you could never get them to do voluntarily."

Street also seemed to regain his political footing yesterday, standing with state Rep. Dwight Evans, a former opponent in the Democratic mayoral primary.

Last week, Democrat John White said Street had lost his endorsement because Street had not discussed issues that were important to him. Though Street dismissed the criticism and said White had simply struck a deal with Katz, yesterday he enthusiastically embraced Evans' campaign theme of guns.

And he got a strong show of support from Evans.

"I applaud him for the leadership he's shown," Evans said of Street. "His willingness to take on this issue clearly shows he is on the side of the people of this city.

"Sam Katz is in a party that from Tom Ridge to George Bush clearly doesn't understand the need to reduce gun violence," Evans added.

In his statement released yesterday, Katz praised Evans' crusade on gun violence and adopted several of his positions. He said he would support the one-gun-a-month limit on handgun purchases and seek mandatory locks on guns.

And he promised that as mayor he would immediately review all the legal groundwork prepared by the city on a gun lawsuit. "Absent clear and convincing evidence against such a lawsuit," Katz's statement read, "I will reverse Mayor Rendell's position and have Philadelphia join the lawsuit."

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