If you cried when a kid lost their life in an unintentional shooting, watched in horror after Lewiston or Uvalde, or were stunned to learn of another deadly act in your community, your voice is needed right now.”

Adam Garber, CeaseFire PA

HARRISBURG, PA — The Judiciary Committee in Pennsylvania’s Democrat-controlled House of Representatives recently advanced a package of gun control bills, including a measure to ban the sale of “assault rifles,” or automatic and semi-automatic guns.

“Today we are taking the next step to enact bills to protect our children and keep our communities safe from gun violence, but House Republicans are fighting to the bitter end to continue the status quo,” majority chair Rep. Tim Briggs announced on social media. “Enough is enough; we need action now.”

Last November, Senate Judiciary Committee chair PA Sen. Lisa Baker—a Republican who represents part of Wayne and all of Pike County—released a statement that she had “no plans to advance” the bills.

The gulf between parties

The legislation has a long way to go before it can appear on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk, however. The slate passed the committee along party lines. Even if the full House votes them through, they’ll likely face an unwelcome reception in the Republican-majority state Senate.

While gun control advocates have spent years lobbying for these sorts of restrictions, the debate that took place in the House committee before voting reveals the “gulf” between Democrats and Republicans on the issue, analysts have said.

Republicans argued in opposition, citing the U.S. Constitution, as well as a provision in the PA Constitution’s stating that gun ownership rights “shall not be questioned.”

“If the government can infringe on our Second Amendment rights, no rights can be enjoyed by citizens of this nation,” said Rep. Joe Hamm (PA-84).

In addition to banning the sale of automatic and semi-automatic firearms, another bill would prohibit accelerated trigger activators that increase the rate of gunfire. Another bill would prohibit production and transactions related to untraceable gun parts. 

If signed into law, the package would also regulate 3D-printed firearms the same way as standard guns, and condense the timeframe a judge has to notify state police about a person’s mental health condition that would prohibit that person from buying a gun.

Baker denounces ‘pressure campaign’

Last May, the full House passed two related bills, both of which have yet to receive attention from the PA Senate. One would expand background checks to the sale of shotguns and rifles. Another—commonly referred to as “red flag laws” in other states—would allow a judge to order the seizure of firearms if asked to by family members or police.

Around the time last November that Baker announced her opposition to the bills, CeaseFire PA, a gun control advocacy group, placed an installation in the state Capitol building—a large clock tracking the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds that pass as they wait for the Senate to take action on the bills. The installation calls out Baker and Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman by name.

“No matter how clever or compelling a pressure campaign may be, that does not necessarily mean the preferred remedy is as easy or enforceable or effective as depicted,” Baker responded at the time.

While it will be a long time before anything reaches his desk, the governor has gone on record in support of gun control legislation.

“Let me tell you what real freedom looks like to me,” Shapiro said in support of red flag laws and expanded background checks. “It means having the freedom to walk down the street and not worry about getting shot in our communities. Real freedom means our kids can go to school and focus on science and math and English and not focus on shooter drills. Real freedom means a family getting up on a Sunday morning, put on their finest clothes, walking down the street to church, worrying about what’s in the hymnal, not worrying about a shooter coming in and attacking them in their pews. That’s real freedom, the freedom to be safe and feel safe in our communities.”

Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFire PA, said in a statement, “This is what it looks like to tackle the violent crime that plagues cities from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and everywhere else in between. The PA House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Briggs, has again demonstrated its commitment to survivors and responding to the data by passing a package of life-saving bills targeting crime guns. If you cried when a kid lost their life in an unintentional shooting, watched in horror after Lewiston or Uvalde, or were stunned to learn of another deadly act in your community, your voice is needed right now—contact your state representative today."