Gun serial number bill passes Pa. House
HARRISBURG— A bill to increase criminal penalties for possessing a firearm with an altered serial number passed the state House unanimously Monday, hours after a raucous gun-rights rally in the Capitol Rotunda.
The bill's prime sponsor, Rep. John Sabatina, D-Philadelphia, promoted it as the first meaningful legislation restricting illegal firearms to pass the House in decades.
The bill also would make more serious the crime of falsely reporting a stolen gun, restrict the seizure of guns and bullets by the government during emergencies and establish a voluntary registry of lost or stolen firearms run by the state police.
An attempt last week to amend the bill by making it a criminal offense for gun owners to fail to report a lost or stolen handgun was defeated by a 128-75 vote. That provision was designed to combat the use of straw purchasers to help criminals circumvent restrictions on who may buy a gun.
An amendment that did pass would allow people who fear for their safety to obtain a three-month emergency license to carry a concealed firearm, bypassing current law's waiting period. That amendment was sponsored by state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th. The person would first have to pass a computerized background check, including a review of any mental health records.
The 90-day life of the permit would give the person enough time to apply for a regular license.
"As citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania we do not need the U.S. Supreme Court, the United Nations or even the governor to reaffirm our God-given rights to defend our lives, loved ones and property," Metcalfe said.
People who work to reduce domestic violence oppose such an expedited permit process, said Rep. Kathy Manderino, D-Philadelphia.
"I think most of what is in this bill is good, but I know there are concerns about this provision," she said.
The vote was 200-0.
Joe Grace, executive director of the gun control advocacy group CeaseFirePA, said the bill would help law enforcement combat gun violence but his organization is disappointed by the defeat of the lost-and-stolen reporting mandate.
"We remain very focused on that reform, we think it's a common sense reform," Grace said.
The bill was sent to the state Senate, where Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi signaled it would receive a friendly reception. "On the surface, the provisions appear to be such that they would get broad support in the Senate, but we'll wait and get details of the actual language," said Pileggi, R-Delaware.
Earlier Monday, more than 200 demonstrators protested legislative efforts to stiffen the state's gun-control laws and applauded a speech by conservative commentator Alan Keyes.
Keyes, who flirted with a bid for the Republican presidential nomination this year, said the right to bear arms is essential to citizens' ability to defend themselves.
"You cannot defend life if you give up the means of that defense," he said.
Metcalfe, an organizer of the rally, vowed to fight gun-control measures advocated by Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell "and the rest of his gun-confiscating conspirators."
