Pennsylvania: Castle Doctrine Passes out of Judiciary Committee

Please Contact Your State Representative Today!

On Tuesday, May 25, the House Judiciary Committee successfully passed HB40, Castle Doctrine legislation, which will now head to the House floor for consideration.  The committee also defeated three anti-gun bills (HB1043, HB1044 and HB1045). 

House Bill 40, sponsored by State Representative Scott Perry (R-92), would permit law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against an attacker in their homes and any places outside of their home where they have a legal right to be.  It is clearly stated that there would be no “duty to retreat” from an attacker, allowing law-abiding citizens to stand their ground to protect themselves and their family.  HB40 would also protect individuals from civil lawsuits by the attacker or the attacker’s family when force is used. 

House Bill 1043 would have created a new Bureau of Illegal Firearms Trafficking or a “Firearm Trafficking Czar” in the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General.  Passage of this bill had the potential to establish yet another anti-gun biased bureaucratic agency within the state government. 

House Bill 1044 would have gutted Pennsylvania’s firearm preemption statute which currently allows only the State Legislature to enact laws pertaining to firearms.  Without a state preemption law, the result would have been a complex patchwork of restrictions that change from one local jurisdiction to the next. 
 
House Bill 1045 would have brought California-style gun-control to the Keystone State and ultimately banned many semi-automatic firearms commonly owned by Pennsylvanians.  

Please contact your State Representative and respectfully urge him or her to support House Bill 40 when it comes up on the floor.  Contact information can be found by clicking here.

On this edition of the ILA Report, Cam Edwards speaks to NRA-ILA Pennsylvania State Liaison John Hohenwater about Pennsylvania Castle Doctrine legislation.