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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 13, 2023 02:17 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Amen Brown |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Requiring Identification to Enter Gun Shows |
“Ghost guns” have become a very real problem in Pennsylvania. These guns often begin as DIY gun kits that can be legally purchased without a background check, feature no serial number, and when constructed, produce fully functioning firearms. Unsurprisingly, these untraceable and easily accessible guns are becoming a favorite of criminals and, in turn, driving Pennsylvania’s gun violence epidemic. Nowhere is the ghost gun crisis more apparent than Philadelphia. One of the weapons used during the South Street mass shooting on June 4th was a ghost gun, and the number of ghost guns in the city continues to rise at a disturbing rate. In 2019, the first year the city began tracking ghost guns, 95 ghost guns were seized and recovered. By 2021, that number exploded to 571. Having seen firsthand how easy it is to purchase a ghost gun kit at a gun show, I recognize that we must take legislative action to keep these weapons out of the hands of criminals. To accomplish this, I will be introducing legislation that will require all attendees at Pennsylvania gun shows to present valid identification prior to entering the show. A copy of every attendee’s identification would be made, and the operators of the gun show must maintain these copies for at least five years. Additionally, operators would be required to make these records available to the Office of Attorney General and any county prosecutor or municipal police department upon the request of the Pennsylvania Attorney General. As ghost guns continue to put our communities at risk, this safeguard will deter convicted criminals from patronizing gun shows and purchasing ghost gun kits, or any other gun that can be purchased without a background check. Please join me in protecting our communities from the epidemic of gun violence. |
Introduced as HB1563