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
Pennsylvania: Anti-Gunners-Commentary: Dont undermine Pa effective gun laws :: 05/25/2016
It is difficult to find a more contentious issue in the United States than gun laws. Two things that both sides can agree on, 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 like 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 returns after the holiday, the House Judiciary Committee, of which I am a member, is scheduled to vote on a number of gun-related bills - some that require stronger penalties for gun-possession violations, others to increase mental-health-records reporting to the federal government. These are measures I support.
Unfortunately, the promise of those measures could go unfulfilled because we will also be considering House Bill 921, offered by Speaker Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny). H.B. 921 would eliminate the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS), which the state relies on to perform background checks on individuals seeking to purchase a firearm or apply for a concealed-carry permit. Under this system, the average automated search takes less than one minute to conduct.
The bill would also remove the requirement that gun sellers retain signed records of gun sales.
Advocates of H.B. 921 argue that PICS just duplicates the national system. If this were so, I might support the legislation - but it is not. PICS, which became active in 1998 and is used in conjunction with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, has proven to be a comprehensive search tool that keeps guns out of the hands of criminals.
At a recent hearing on background checks, Maj. Scott Price, director of the state police Bureau of Records and Identification, said of PICS, "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 those added protections for citizens and gun sellers:
First, if a state relies solely on the national system and it fails to properly identify a person's eligibility to purchase a firearm (if, for example, there is a record of arrest but no information on whether the person was convicted), the default is to allow the sale to proceed after three days. This was the scenario that enabled Dylann Roof to purchase the firearm that was later used to murder nine people at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston last June.
Under PICS, however, the state has 10 days to investigate a person's eligibility. If, after 10 days, the person's status cannot be determined, the system default is to deny the purchase. (The buyer may, of course, appeal.)
Thus, if PICS is eliminated, Pennsylvania could become susceptible to this tragic Charleston loophole.
Second, PICS screens more thoroughly than the national system. The latter relies on the FBI's Interstate Identification Index, which excludes many state criminal records due to insufficient fingerprint quality. PICS does not exclude these records. Thus, if we eliminate PICS, many people who should not pass a background check will be able to purchase a gun without raising a red flag.
Third, having the state police involved in the clearance process also enables a more local response to illegal firearm purchase attempts. The numbers are impressive. Last year, PICS processed more than 15,000 denials of purchases or carry permits and was instrumental in 2,312 arrests and 1,019 convictions.
In addition, 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. The state police's proximity to and relationship with local authorities helps expedite the apprehension of these criminals.
It is also worth noting that H.B. 921 is being considered alongside bills that would increase penalties for illegal firearm possession. 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 that we should enforce the laws on the books. Having talked to the state police and others, I say that we are. Yet there is always room for improvement. To enhance our enforcement efforts, we shouldn't eliminate PICS, as H.B. 921 would do, but rather build on the good work that the state police are doing with the help of this powerful and effective tool.
For the past four years, the state police have increased the number of investigations and arrests using PICS. If this system is eliminated and the commonwealth relies solely upon the national system, more criminals will slip through the cracks and purchase firearms or, at the very least, try without suffering any consequences.
State Rep. Madeleine Dean (D., Montgomery) represents the 153rd District and is chair of the advocacy group PA Safe. RepDean@PAHouse.net
