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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 9, 2022 11:27 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Kristine C. Howard |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Getting Guns Off Our Streets |
| Firearms sales in America skyrocketed in 2020. Queries to the NICS background check database, along with industry publications, suggest that at least 21 million guns were purchased in 2020, with an additional 18.5 million purchased in 2021, the two strongest years ever for firearm sales. This coincides with an increase in homicides in 2020 and 2021, including a record 562 in Philadelphia alone last year. A substantial number of the 2020 and 2021 sales appear to have been impulse purchases by first-time buyers, and at least some of these first-time buyers may no longer want their purchases. We need a safe and secure mechanism for gunowners to get rid of unwanted firearms without the fear that those firearms will be recirculated and used in crime. Local voluntary gun buyback programs collect thousands of unwanted or illegally possessed firearms each year. I propose establishing a voluntary statewide firearm buyback program within the Office of the Attorney General and in conjunction with our state and local police departments. This program would offer fair secondhand market value for unwanted firearms, and because donors may turn over their weapons anonymously, this program will help get illegally obtained weapons off our streets. I firmly believe that investing in this program will save lives across Pennsylvania. This legislation is an important step in making our communities safer. Please join me in reducing gun violence and mass shootings in Pennsylvania. |
Introduced as HB2688