Americans for Responsible Solutions Statement on New Proposed Legislation to Close Loopholes in Pennsylvania’s Gun Background Check Laws
October 15, 2015 – Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, issued the below statement today following the introduction of new legislation by Representative Steve Santarsiero and Senator Vince Hughes that would close current loopholes in Pennsylvania law by requiring background checks for potential buyers of “long guns,” which include rifles and shotguns. Under current Pennsylvania law, background checks are required for all potential handgun buyers, but not for sales of long guns. The statement:
“We applaud Representative Santarsiero, Senator Hughes, and this bipartisan group of Pennsylvania legislators for this commonsense plan to close the loophole that lets felons, domestic abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill buy a rifle or shotgun in Pennsylvania without a background check,” said Peter Ambler, Founder and (C)(4) Director of Americans for Responsible Solutions. “Right now, a gap in Pennsylvania law makes it easy for dangerous people to buy a long gun without a background check and with no questions asked. We also know that half of Pennsylvania’s law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty since 2008 were murdered with a long gun. So we hope legislators from both parties will come together to support this responsible solution that will protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners, keep guns out of the wrong hands, and make Pennsylvania a safer place to live.”
ABOUT BACKGROUND CHECKS
Americans – Including Gun Owners – Support Background Checks for All Gun Sales. According to research conducted in August 2015, 85% of Americans – including 79% of Republicans – support requiring background checks for all gun sales. In Research conducted in 2014, 92 percent of gun owners said they supported requiring background checks for all gun sales. [ Pew Research Center, 2015 ] [ Quinnipiac, 2014 ]