BUTLER TWP — More than 100 people attended a concealed carry seminar hosted by state Rep. Brian Ellis on Thursday night, providing information to the public about the state’s concealed carry laws and legislation known as the Castle Doctrine.

The event included brief presentations from District Attorney Richard Goldinger and Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe, followed by a question-and-answer session.

In Pennsylvania, residents do not need a permit to buy or open carry firearms, according to Slupe, and Pennsylvania is an open carry state, meaning it is legal to carry any firearm less than 26 inches with the exception of Philadelphia, Goldinger said.

“You have the right to (open carry),” Goldinger said. “But we don’t necessarily recommend that because ... when people see that, they get alarmed.”

In fact, it is up to any business to ask an individual who is open carrying to leave, Goldinger said. If the person carrying refuses, that then becomes trespassing, he said.

“As a business-owner, they’re allowed to do that,” Goldinger said.

However, to carry a concealed firearm, a person must be licensed in the state, Slupe said. This includes carrying a firearm in a vehicle as well.

No license is needed to keep a firearm in your home or at your “fixed” place of business, according to Goldinger.

Regardless of if a person is licensed to concealed carry, guns cannot be taken into post offices, federal property, school property, a court facility, casinos, prisons or major professional sports stadiums. In Pennsylvania state parks, open carry is prohibited, but concealed carry is not.

Goldinger also stressed that there are certain people who are ineligible to receive licenses to carry, including convicted felons, certain drug offenders, those who are the subject of a Protection from Abuse order and individuals who have had three charges of driving under the influence in five years.

To apply for a license, an individual must go to the sheriff’s office in the Butler County Government Center or fill out and return the application found on the county’s website, www.co.butler.pa.us.

Applications include a background check of the individual’s juvenile records, criminal records, mental health records and Protection From Abuse order, according to Slupe.

“Our process is very easy,” he said.

But the concealed carry license in Pennsylvania is only recognized by 31 other states, not nationally.

“There’s too many rules on guns,” Slupe said. “ ... You need to know the laws. There’s a lot of really ridiculous rules you need to know.”

Because laws change state to state, Slupe said anyone traveling outside of the Commonwealth needs to do their research. In some states, leaving guns loaded or having certain bullets are against the law, he said.

Another topic covered at the seminar was the Castle Doctrine, which Ellis said was Act 10, passed in 2011 under Gov. Tom Corbett.

The doctrine allows individuals with firearms to protect themselves against possible harm, especially when intruders enter the home.

“You have the right to protect yourself and your property by using force,” Goldinger said. “You have no duty to retreat ... You can presume in Pennsylvania that (the intruder) is in there to harm you, harm a family member, steal your property, commit damage, and you have the right to use force to stop that person.”

A person is justified in using possibly deadly force if an attacker or intruder breaks into a home or vehicle or if they are attempting to remove someone from the home or vehicle. However, the doctrine doesn’t apply if the supposed intruder has a right to be in the home or is a member of the law enforcement. Additionally, the doctrine doesn’t apply if it is related to criminal activity occurring inside the home.

Goldinger stressed that the Castle Doctrine does not allow an individual to shoot an intruder who is leaving the home or fleeing since that no longer poses a threat.

“A lot of things can change that (right to protect the home),” Goldinger said. “You can’t shoot somebody trying to run out of the house because that threat is gone, so you could be charged in that circumstance.”

The principal of the Castle Doctrine also follows a person, Goldinger said.

“The Castle Doctrine goes with you wherever you go,” he said. “In your vehicle, on the street, as you’re lawfully there and not breaking the law. If you’re confronted with force, you’re allowed to defend yourself.”