PA Background Checks For Guns At Record Volume 3 Quarters Running

PENNSYLVANIA — For a third quarter running, firearm background checks in Pennsylvania are setting records and growing.

Pennsylvania State Police announced this week that the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS) set another record for activity in the first quarter of 2021. It was the third straight quarter to experience record-breaking volume.

The department also released the number of firearms purchase denials, subsequent investigations, and arrests resulting from such investigations for the period of Jan. 1 through March 31, 2021.

Background checks are the first step in obtaining a license to carry a firearm in Pennsylvania. PICS has since 1998 been used by county sheriffs, police chiefs in first-classification cities, and licensed firearms dealers in Pennsylvania to determine an applicant's legal ability to acquire the license to carry firearms or to obtain a firearm through a purchase or transfer.

In the first quarter of 2021, PICS completed 427,450 background checks.

That number grew from the previous two quarters reported by PICS. In the fourth quarter of 2020, 420,581 background checks were reported, and in the third quarter of 2020, PICS reported 406,151 background checks.

In Pennsylvania, residents 21 or older may apply for a license to carry firearms by applying to their county's sheriff's office, or if a resident of a city, with the chief of police of that city. The sheriff has 45 days to investigate and determine an individual's eligibility for a license, which is valid for five years if granted.

Licenses to carry firearms that expired amid the coronavirus pandemic were granted extensions to the end of March. Gov. Tom Wolf granted an additional extension; permits expiring on March 19 or later are now valid through June 30, 2021.

The extension of license to carry permit expiration dates was necessary due to the closure of some county courthouses and sheriff's offices, as well as other ongoing COVID-19 mitigation efforts, a Pennsylvania State Police statement said.

The extension, the pandemic backlogs, and an apparent rush to obtain firearms permits mean the background check system is running full tilt. State police released instant check statistics for the first quarter of 2020 for comparison alongside those of the first quarter of 2021.

The total number of PICS checks for the first quarter of 2020 was 304,876. In the first quarter of 2021, it was 427,450.

The number of people who were denied firearms permits in the first quarter of 2020 was 4,866. In the first quarter of 2021, 6,444 were denied permits.

The number of people who were denied firearms permits and referred to law enforcement agencies in the first quarter of 2020 was 1,226. In the first quarter of 2021, 1,325 were denied permits and referred to law enforcement.

In Pennsylvania, a person commits a felony of the third degree if they make a false oral or written statement on any federal or state agency form or willfully presents false identification that is likely to deceive a firearm seller, licensed dealer, or licensed manufacturer.

In the first quarter of 2020, 357 firearms permit applications were referred to Pennsylvania State Police, and in the first quarter of 2021, 296 applications were referred to state police.

In the first quarter of 2020, 859 firearms permit applications were referred to local law enforcement, and in the first quarter of 2021, 1,001 applications were referred to local law enforcement.

In the first quarter of 2020, 10 firearms permit applications were referred to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), and in the first quarter of 2021, 28 applications were referred to ATF, which is part of the Department of Justice.

In the first quarter of 2020, 59 people were arrested for a warrant at the point of purchase of a firearm. In the first quarter of 2021, 52 persons were arrested at the point of purchase.

Pennsylvania Instant Check System Annual Reports can be viewed by the public.