PA Bill Number: SB1198
Title: In plants and plant products, providing for plant and pollinator protection; conferring powers and duties on the Department of Agriculture and ...
Description: In plants and plant products, providing for plant and pollinator protection; conferring powers and duties on the Department of Agriculture and .. ...
Last Action: Referred to AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Last Action Date: May 17, 2024
Anti-Gunners: Here is why we shouldn't scrap Pa's gun background check system :: 05/31/2016
It is difficult to find a more contentious issue in the United States than firearm laws. Two things that both sides can agree upon, however, is that guns should be kept out of the hands of criminals, and that criminals who illegally carry, or try to purchase a firearm, should be prosecuted.
Gun rights advocates such as Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump argue that we should "enforce the laws on the books." On this--and perhaps only this--I agree with Trump.
When the Legislature reconvenes this week, the House Judiciary Committee, of which I am a member, is scheduled to vote on a number of gun-related bills.
Some of this legislation is aimed at stronger penalties for gun possession violations. Other bills address increasing mental health records reporting to the federal government. These are measures I support.
Unfortunately, it also appears that we will vote on legislation sponsored state House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, which would make it more difficult for law enforcement to achieve those goals.
Turzai's proposal would eliminate Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS), which the state now uses to perform background checks on those seeking to purchase a firearm or apply for a concealed-carry permit.
The average automated search on this system takes less than a minute to conduct.
A similar proposal is now pending in the state Senate. Both bills are a bad idea for a number of reasons
MORE: Read the full text of Rep. Turzai's sponsorship memo.
MORE: Sign our petition to help fight gun violence.
MORE: Read PennLive's full coverage of Pa's gun violence problem.
Turzai's proposal would also remove the requirement of gun sellers to retain signed records of gun sales.
Advocates for the Turzai bill (and the matching Senate proposal) argue that PICS just duplicates NICS.
If this were so, I might support the legislation--but it is not.
The state system became active in 1998 and is used in conjunction with the National Instant Check System.
The Pennsylvania system has proven to be a more comprehensive search tool--keeping guns out of the hands of criminals who would have otherwise been able to purchase them.
At a recent hearing on background checks, Maj. Scott Price, Director of the Pennsylvania State Police's Bureau of Records and Identification, said the "Legislature exhibited foresight in its initial crafting of the enabling statute by providing more protection to Pennsylvania citizens than that of the national model."
Here are some examples of how the state checks system offers more protections for gun sellers and for Pennsylvanians:
First, if a state relies solely on the national check system and it fails to properly identify a person's eligibility to purchase a firearm.
For example, if there is a record of arrest, but there is no information on whether or not they were convicted, the system defaults to allow a seller to proceed with the sale if there is no resolution after three days.
This was the scenario that enabled Dylann Roof to purchase the firearm he later used to murder 9 people at Emmanuel AME church in Charleston last June.
With the Pennsylvania system, however, the state has 10 days to investigate a person's eligibility. And, if after 10 days it cannot be determined, the system instead defaults to denying the purchase. The buyer may of course appeal.
Thus, if the Pennsylvania checks system is eliminated, the state will become susceptible to this tragic Charleston loophole.
Second, the state system screens more thoroughly than its national equivalent, which is reliant on the FBI's Interstate Identification Index. This index excludes many state criminal records due to insufficient fingerprint quality.
The state checks system, however, does not exclude these records during its search.
Thus, if we eliminate PICS, then many prohibited persons will be able to pass a background check and purchase a gun without raising a red flag.
Third, by having a state enforcement agency, the State Police, involved in the clearance process, it also enables a more local response to illegal firearm purchase attempts.
The numbers are impressive.
Last year, PICS processed more than15,000 denials to firearm purchases or license to carry permits, were instrumental in 2,312 arrests, and 1,019 convictions.
Beyond arrests for attempting to illegally purchase a firearm, 153 fugitives were apprehended as a result of a PICS search by a seller.
These investigations and arrests would likely never have happened had the state relied on the national system; NICS lacks the State Police's proximity and relationship with local authorities to lend the expediency needed to apprehend criminals.
It is also worth noting that this legislation will be considered alongside bills to increase penalties for illegal firearm possession.
Ironically however, it will be harder to catch, and therefore harder to penalize, offenders without PICS and without requiring sellers to keep detailed records.
Gun advocates say to enforce the laws on the books.
Well, talking with State Police and others, I say that we are.
Yet it is also true that we could enforce them better. And to enforce them better, we shouldn't eliminate PICS, as the Turzai bill would do, but rather build on the good work that the State Police are doing using this powerful and effective tool.
For the past four years, State police have been able to increase the number of investigations and arrests using PICS.
If PICS is eliminated and we rely solely upon the national system.
And the fact is that more criminals will be able to slip through the cracks and purchase firearms, or at the very least, try without consequence.
State Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat, represents the Montgomery County-based 153rd House District. She is a co-chair of the House Firearms Safety Caucus. Readers may email her at RepDean@PAHouse.net.
http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2016/05/heres_why_we_shouldnt_scrap_pa.html
