Pennsylvania: Semi-Auto Ban Legislation to
be Introduced
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2018
This week, Senator Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny) started circulating
a co-sponsorship memorandum soliciting members of the Pennsylvania state Senate
to support a proposal to ban commonly owned semi-automatic firearms and
standard capacity magazines in Pennsylvania. Please contact your state
Senator urging them to OPPOSE this misguided legislation. Click the
“Take Action” button below to contact your state Senator.
Senator Fontana boasts that his proposed legislation would broaden
the scope of what Pennsylvania considers an “assault weapon,” including a ban
of more than 150 commonly owned firearms. This legislation would also ban
the sale of standard capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of
ammunition. Senator Fontana declared that this ban would mirror a law
enacted in Connecticut, which is considered to be one of the worst
infringements upon Second Amendment rights in the nation.
This legislation attempts to brand many common semi-automatic
firearms as “assault weapons” to drum up unnecessary fear of their ownership.
In reality, these firearms are only being defined by aesthetic features that in
no way affect the functionality of the rifle. Semi-automatic firearms
only fire one shot per action of the trigger, and such technology, along with
standard capacity ammunition magazines, have been available to American
consumers for over a century. Semi-automatic rifles and standard capacity
magazines are commonly owned by law-abiding citizens for various purposes such
as self-defense, recreation, competition, and hunting.
The congressionally-mandated study on the federal “assault weapon
ban” of 1994-2004 found that the ban had little, if any, impact on crime, in
part because “the banned guns were never used in more than a modest fraction”
of firearm related crime.
This legislation is nothing more than another attempt at
infringing on our Second Amendment rights with policy that has been proven to
do nothing to stop crime. Please contact your state Senator and urge them to oppose this
misguided legislation.
Recently,
club member and RRGC's Allegheny County Sportsmen's League Delegate, George Carr and several of the club’s board members attended a
local meeting of the Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League. George sent along a follow-up request from
ACSL 2nd VP, Klint Macro:
“Folks please, if you can, link this on your
club’s websites and spread this information to your members. Here is the Link:”
https://youtu.be/hR4fIgfFi_4
Allegheny
County Sportsmen’s League (ACSL)
"RESPONSIBLY
EXERCISING OUR RIGHTS THROUGH THE SAFE AND ETHICAL TRAINING OF OUR FELLOW
CITIZENS"
Click on the link above to check out the "Trigger Pressers Union" website.
Monthly Trap Shoot - In Need of Participants
Looking for members interested in joining fellow members to make use of the recently inaugurated trap house. George Carr and Mike Dulaney have initiated a monthly Member-Trapshoot-Event. Every 3rd Sunday of the month, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM you can join George, Mike and other members who would like to learn (or teach others) how to shoot clay pigeons. Just bring your shotgun, ammo and competitive spirit, the club provides the clays. Please email me (rbeltz@rentonrodandgunclub.org) with any questions and I'll get back to you as quickly as possible.
Game Commission Expands CWD Rules
Ohio has been added to the list of states from which high-risk deer and elk
parts – including the head and backbone – cannot be imported into Pennsylvania.
The action is in response to chronic wasting disease (CWD) being detected in
Ohio for the first time.
In addition, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has banned the import of parts
from the entire states of Maryland, New York, Virginia and West Virginia.
Previously, the prohibition applied only to portions of those states. The
expanded ban provides the best protection possible to the Commonwealth’s deer
and elk herds by preventing CWD from spreading.
There are a total of 22 states and two Canadian provinces from which high-risk
cervid (deer) parts cannot be imported into Pennsylvania.
To date, no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans has been reported,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the disease is
always fatal to the cervids (deer) it infects. Learn more here.
Previous information courtesy of:
Pennsylvania, like most states requires people to have permit to carry a concealed firearm as regulated by the following statute:
- (a) Offense defined.--Any person who carries a firearm in any vehicle or any person who carries a firearm concealed on or about his person, except in his place of abode or fixed place of business, without a valid and lawfully issued license under this chapter commits a felony of the third degree.
- ...
This license can be in the form of Pennsylvania's "License To Carry Firearms" (LTCF) or a permit issued by another state that Pennsylvania recognizes as valid through a reciprocity agreement.
OBTAINING A PENNSYLVANIA LTCF
The process for obtaining an LTCF in Pennsylvania is excellent due to the fact that the process is very thorough in making sure that permits are not granted to people that may be irresponsible or pose a danger to others (minors, convicted felons, domestic abusers, etc.) while making it very simple for trustworthy, law-abiding people to obtain one quickly and cheaply.
Pennsylvania LTCF's are available to both residents and non-residents and are valid for 5 years. For residents, the applications are handled by their county sheriff's office, with the exception of Philadelphia where they are handled by the Gun Permits & Tracking Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department. It should be noted that permits issued by one county must be honored by all counties including Philadelphia regardless of rumors to the contrary.
The actual application process itself is very simple and consists of acquiring an application, and a passport-sized photo, filling it out, paying the fee (which can vary from county to county) and submitting it. In some counties (such as Philadelphia) the application must be submitted in person and they may do a quick and basic interview. Once the application is received the entity responsible for handling it will do a background check on you and generally verify who you are. They may contact the references you have provided on the application although many times it will not be necessary. Pennsylvania is a "shall-issue" state in regards to LTCF's, meaning the entity processing your application is required to approve it unless they can prove you are disqualified based on the law. This is very important to prevent localities from simply denying people based on political, or prejudicial biases. Additionally by state law the application must be approved or denied in 45 days (although some offices will use "business days"). Again, this is done to prevent localities from claiming they issue permits, but never actually processing them for political or prejudicial reasons.