On Monday, September 22, at 11:00 a.m., the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up a full slate of gun control bills. The timing of this package is yet more proof that their legislative agenda is politically motivated. These anti-gun politicians continue to blame inanimate objects like firearms instead of holding criminals accountable for their actions. Now, Pennsylvania’s law-abiding gun owners are going to pay the price for someone else’s criminal act. This is an opportunity to tell Harrisburg’s anti-gun politicians that enough is enough. The time to act is now. If the committee passes these bills next week, the package could move to the House floor for a vote as soon as the week of September 29. Please use the Take Action button to urge your representative to oppose HB 1593, HB 1859, HB 1866, HB 837, and HB 1099 today!
The following anti-gun bills are on next week’s agenda:
HB 1593 would mandate so-called "universal" background checks. Every dealer transaction in the country must already pass a background check. This legislation is ineffective and unenforceable. Instead, it results in more costly, bureaucratic red tape. The Commonwealth’s PICS check is notorious for lengthy delays, denying purchasers who have an urgent need for self-defense.
HB 1859 creates emergency protection orders. These so-called “red flag” laws are susceptible to abuse and have no repercussions for making false accusations. The orders can be granted ex parte with little to no due process.
HB 1866 would ban “machine gun conversion” devices. These devices are already illegal under both federal and state law. This bill is especially problematic due to discrepancies in definitions with existing federal law, making otherwise law-abiding gun owners susceptible to violations. HB 1866 uses imprecise “rate of fire” language, which could potentially ban legal, commonly owned hardware, such as competition triggers.
HB 837 creates a gun rationing scheme, limiting the ability to purchase more than one handgun a month. This legislation is ineffective at reducing violent crime, as criminals will circumvent this law just as they do with others, acquiring firearms through illicit means.
HB 1099 is labeled as “ghost gun” legislation, however, this bill is not that. Rather, it attempts to create state law mirroring federal “undetectable” firearms law, but it fails and creates additional issues. This bill is problematic because it would adopt a state statute with language differing from federal law potentially creating problems with interpretation and misapplied enforcement. HB 1099 also lacks the exceptions present in federal law leaving law-abiding citizens vulnerable to prosecution.
Stay tuned to your inbox and www.nraila.org for further updates on this and other critical Second Amendment issues.
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