Posted: | December 8, 2021 12:10 PM |
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From: | Representative Mike Zabel |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Requiring a License to Open Carry a Firearm |
In Pennsylvania, openly carrying a firearm in public is permitted everywhere except Philadelphia. This ability is not granted by any specific law, but rather is the result of omissions throughout our legal statutes. Due to these omissions, there are currently no laws pertaining to the open carry of firearms outside of Philadelphia. With rates of firearm violence rising around the state, it is time that we remedy this oversight and take action to ensure that anyone who carries a firearm in public, whether open or concealed, has been properly vetted by Pennsylvania law enforcement. To do so, I intend to introduce legislation which would require individuals to hold a License to Carry a Firearm to openly carry a firearm in Pennsylvania. Numerous studies have shown that the uncontrolled presence of firearms in public makes our communities more dangerous, not safer. A license to open carry is a reasonable safeguard which serves to keep our communities safer by finally regulating open carry. As legislators, we must always put the interests and wellbeing of our communities first. Please join me in co-sponsoring this overdue legislation. |
Introduced as HB2518