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Pennsylvania lawmakers are moving quickly on four major gun control bills, sparking outrage from gun rights advocates who say the measures trample on constitutional freedoms.
House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-191) is pushing the package, which cleared the Judiciary Committee this week on strict party lines—14 Democrats in favor, 12 Republicans opposed.
A final floor vote could come as early as next Tuesday.
Table of contents
The Bills at a Glance
- HB 1099 (Undetectable Firearms): Would make it a third-degree felony to make, sell, or even possess a firearm built entirely of non-metal parts. Critics note so-called “ghost guns” are largely a myth and say the law is designed to scare rather than solve real problems.
- HB 1593 (Universal Registration Checks): Would outlaw the private sale of long guns unless approved through a government background check. Opponents argue this lays the groundwork for a de facto firearm registry, expanding what already exists for handguns in Pennsylvania.
- HB 1859 (Red Flag Gun Confiscation Orders): Creates “extreme risk protection orders” allowing guns to be seized after one-sided hearings where the accused has no right to face their accuser until after firearms are taken. GOA slammed the bill as unconstitutional and ripe for abuse.
- HB 1866 (Glock Switch Ban): Seeks to “triple ban” machine gun conversion devices like Glock switches. Second Amendment groups say this is meaningless virtue-signaling since the devices are already federally illegal, and criminals intent on mayhem will ignore another ban.
Gun Rights Pushback
Gun Owners of America blasted the effort, calling it pure “virtue signaling.” In a statement, the group urged Pennsylvanians to flood lawmakers with opposition, warning that if passed, the bills would erode fundamental rights under both the state and U.S. Constitutions.
Republican lawmakers echoed that stance during committee debate. “It’s not the gun, it’s the criminal,” one lawmaker said, comparing the proposals to blaming cars for drunk drivers.
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Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R-76) was among the most vocal, arguing that the state should be focused on restoring values, not stripping rights.
“It’s people’s hearts… we need to teach kids not to murder. The Ten Commandments need to be back in our schools,” she said, as reported by ABC 27 News.
Democrats and Gun Control Advocates Press Forward
Democrats insisted the bills are common-sense measures meant to prevent tragedies. They cited the recent killing of three York County detectives as a reminder of the stakes.
Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery), who chairs the Judiciary Committee, dismissed GOP arguments as out of touch, while groups like CeaseFirePA promised to keep pushing until the bills reach the governor’s desk.
Next Steps
Gun Owners of America is calling this a make-or-break moment: “These bills can still be stopped—but only if gun owners take action.”
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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The simple truth is gun laws don’t cut crime, rather it encourages it since the gun is now forbidden fruit! Bang bang, I’m cool!
Communists, like rust, never sleep, it seems. The anti-American left just can’t help themselves as they work to erode our liberties and freedoms.
The spirit of King George the Third lives on.
This is why off year elections are so important. Let me run down the background here for you. I live in Pennsylvania and have been active in 2A political activism since 2008.
In 2017 I spent countless hours outside of gun shows trying to hand out voters guides and talk to people about the 2017 off year election. We had, IIRC, 3 state supreme court positions on the ballot that year. I also spent countless hours visiting gun shops, trying to get them to put a voters guide (FOAC, the state level pro gun PAC, had produced them. Most of us giving them out had paid for our own supply printed locally from PDF files supplied by FOAC.) in the bag with every purchase. Some gun shops wanted nothing to do with it. Some let me leave a stack on the counter. None would give them out with each purchase.
From gun shop employees, owners, and people lining up to get into gun shows I got “I voted for Trump, he’ll fix it!”, when the president has nothing to do with state level elections, and “I have not received anything about it from the NRA, so it must not be important.” We lost the state supreme court in the 2017 election. Following that, over the intervening years, the state supreme court allowed the democrats to gerrymander the state congressional districts. This allowed the democrats to slowly catch up republicans in the PA state house. And now they have gained a narrow majority. We threw this fight 8 years ago because people didn’t want to do anything unless the NRA told them to or thought that the president would fix it.
The simple fact is that if we do our part now, these bills will never pass the senate. If we really do our part right, they won’t pass the house. But every gun owner in PA needs to contact their state rep and senator and tell them to vote no on these bills. One bill was already killed in the committee because one lone democrat voted against it. So even if your rep is a solid democrat, if they hear a lot of their constituents don’t want this, they may be swayed for purely political reasons. And vote. Vote early, vote often.
HB 1099 (Undetectable Firearms) is superfluous; there are already federal laws covering this.
HB 1593 (Universal Registration Checks) is likely contrary to 18 U.S. Code § 926(a)(3) which forbids the creation of any new registry of guns, gun owners, or gun transfers.
We all know that HB 1859 (Red Flag Gun Confiscation Orders) violates the 5th and 7th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
HB 1866 (Glock Switch Ban), like 1099, is already covered (unconstitutionally) by federal law. Specifically the Hughes Amendment and failure to register and pay the $200 tax.
It’s sad the way the left demonized firearms and ownership since Kennedy was assassinated. If you love the shooting sport, enjoy reloading, hunting, or just a fun day at the gun range plinking, you can’t be a democrat. Sadly this day and time if you’re black, you’re suppose to vote democrat. If you’re a democrat, you’re suppose to hate the Constitution and all it stands for, including the 2nd amendment, and even your county’s flag. If you’re a democrat you hate free speak, and you’ll assassinate anyone that doesn’t share your views and actually want to sit down and rebate the way schools indoctrinate hatred into our kids, as Charlie did. If you’re a democrat you’re suppose to hate ANY law enforcement and encouraged to kill them with viscous rhetoric spewed by democratic anarchist. It goes on and on and on …
I identity politics is destroying this great country of ours.
shame the criminals won’t be held to the same standards!