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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 28, 2013 03:18 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Judith L. Schwank |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Mental Health Firearms Disqualification |
| I will shortly introduce legislation to address the need to prevent access to firearms by persons involuntarily committed to in-patient mental health treatment. Although Pennsylvania law disqualifies persons who have been involuntarily committed to inpatient care from owning or possessing guns and ammunition, law enforcement and mental health officials advise me that there is a serious loophole in the law. Because of uncertainties about the law, many police departments do not confiscate weapons and ammunition or make sure that they have been disposed of as the law requires within 60 days of the mental health commitment order. As a result, while firearms background checks serve to prevent these individuals from purchasing new guns and ammunition, they can nonetheless easily continue to illegally hold those owned previously. My proposal will require county sheriff's to take custody of the guns and ammunition of a person upon the entry of a commitment order. If the individual does not satisfy the sheriff that he has made other legal arrangements to dispose of the weapons and ammunition within 60 days, the sheriff may sell them. While the sale proceeds are to be returned to the owner, the sheriff may deduct reasonable expenses incurred in arranging the sale and for storing the guns and ammunition. In addition, my proposal would require that guns and ammunition owned or possessed by other household members must be secured in a fashion that reasonably ensures that a person disqualified because of a mental health commitment cannot access them. Failure to do so would constitute a summary offense; failure to do so resulting in harm to persons or property by the disqualified person's actions would constitute an offense equivalent in grade to the harm that results. |