How Easy Is It To Buy A Gun In Pennsylvania?

PENNSYLVANIA — Recent mass shootings with high death tolls have renewed the gun debate in Pennsylvania.

Whether to regulate assault-style weapons, the type used in the spate of deadly mass shootings, has been the focus of congressional inquiries and a proposed ban that has passed the U.S. House of Representatives in July.

The House passed legislation that would restore the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban that was allowed to expire in 2004, making it illegal to sell, manufacture, transfer, posses or import assault weapons or large-capacity ammunition feeding devices.

It has been referred to the Senate, where 10 Republicans would have to join Democrats to overcome a filibuster.

Laws in California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York prohibit assault weapons. Both Minnesota and Virginia have some restrictions.

In Pennsylvania, however, there is no law pertaining to assault weapons.

As of Aug. 1, a total of 1.53 million Pennsylvania individuals have permits to carry a weapon, and 8,122 have sportsman permits.

According to the Pennsylvania law:

• Anyone who is over 21 can by law apply for a gun permit in the sheriff’s office of the county where you reside. In Philadelphia, applications are submitted to the police chief.
• A person who is 18 years of age can apply for a sportsman permit to hunt, fish or trap. The permit is valid for five years.
• In Pennsylvania, to carry a firearm one must live in the state or live in a state that has the same procedures as Pennsylvania for carrying a weapon.

State lawmakers have proposed laws to restrict assault weapons. State Rep Melissa Shusterman, a Chester County Democrat, introduced three bills to restrict assault weapons. They are:

• Requiring a semi-automatic assault rifle safety certification course and completion before purchasing an assault rifle.
• Prohibiting the sale of semi-automatic assault rifles of holding more than five rounds of ammunition for anyone under age 21.
• Ban 3D printed guns in Pennsylvania. These ghost guns came be bought without a background check and assembled at home. They are untraceable.

Despite the focus of the proposed federal ban on assault weapons, handguns are much more often used in gun violence.

FBI Crime data for 2020, when gun violence spiked to a 20-year high showed handguns were involved in 59% of the 13,620 U.S. gun murders and non-negligent manslaughters.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows 19,384 U.S. gun homicides in 2020, based on death certificate information provided by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Rifles, which include those classified as assault weapons, were used in just 3 % of firearm murders — not quite as often as hands, feet and fists — and shotguns were used in 1% of murders. The type of firearm wasn’t specified in 36% of of gun murders.

The FBI data isn’t complete because it is based on information voluntarily submitted by law enforcement agencies around the country. In 2020, 15,875 of the 18,623 law enforcement agencies completed reports.

It's likely that total number of gun homicides is likely much higher.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows there were 19,384 U.S. gun homicides in 2020. The CDC data is based on death certificate information provided by the National Center for Human Statistics.

According to that CDC data, there were 788 gun deaths in Pennsylvania in 2020.