HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania House panel stamped its approval today on proposed mandatory prison terms for felons who possess firearms, while an annual gun-rights rally at the Capitol drew a smaller-than-usual crowd.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 21-3 to send to the House floor a bill to set a minimum five-year prison term for felons caught possessing firearms and to impose minimums of up to 25 years for repeat violent offenders under the state’s “three strikes” law. There is currently no mandatory minimum sentence.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Todd Stephens, shrugged off one panelist’s concerns about minimum sentences exacerbating the problem of prison crowding. By definition, he said, the people covered by the bill are repeat offenders.

“These are the guys that we build prisons for,” said Stephens, a former Montgomery County prosecutor.

The legislation is supported by the gun-violence prevention group CeaseFirePA, which calls it “a step in the right direction,” as well as Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, one of the Legislature’s most outspoken gun-rights advocates.

“If a criminal uses a gun, they ought to have the hammer of justice brought down on their head pretty severely,” said Metcalfe, R-Butler, who helped organize Tuesday’s Capitol rally.

Only about 150 people attended the relatively low-key event.