House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

Posted:	December 6, 2022 04:01 PM
From:	Representative Kevin J. Boyle
To:	All House members
Subject:	Background Checks for Firearms Dealers

Under Pennsylvania law, individuals who wish to participate in the legal sale of firearms must obtain a license. However, licensed firearms dealers and their employees who are engaged in the sale of firearms are not required to undergo any sort of background check under current Pennsylvania law and the licensing process. This piece of legislation would not only fix this gaping hole in our licensing system by mandating background checks to engage in sales, but also expand the safety measures that surround the dealing of firearms in our Commonwealth. Common-sense safety measures such as these, that do not infringe upon the sales of firearms to legitimate and legal gun purchasers, are a vital first-step to cutting out the violent crime that is plaguing so many of our communities. Gun violence is on the rise in our nation, and frighteningly, mass shootings have become normalized events. This act attempts to combat violent activity by ensuring that only responsible persons who have satisfactorily completed a background check are allowed to sell firearms. Dealers are, after all the first point of contact, and then access for firearms purchasers. Please join me in this initiative to help keep our streets safe, and our citizens alive by co-sponsoring this legislation.
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Introduced as HB737