Gun licensing laws, like permit to purchase, can save lives while maintaining gun ownership rights.
From driving a car to installing a fence, licenses and permits are a routine part of our lives. These safeguards are in place to ensure proper operation and safety of work. We do not allow a pilot to fly a plane without a license, so why is buying a gun any different?
Without sensible gun laws in Pennsylvania, thousands of precious lives have been lost and will continue to be lost.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,654 Pennsylvanians died due to gun violence in 2018.
This is a rate of 12.5 deaths per 100,00 people in the Commonwealth.
Of those 1,654 deaths, 62% were classified as suicides and 35% as homicides.
PA Safety Alliance believes that Pennsylvania needs to take a more proactive approach to protecting the safety of our communities, while protecting the legal ownership of firearms. Pennsylvania is a diverse state where each community has its own needs and risks. Too many lives are lost due to impulse purchases and senseless acts of violence. But we can change course by making sure that every person who purchases a firearm is legally allowed to do so.
STATE OF THE STATE
Pennsylvania law already requires sellers -licensed and unlicensed- to run a background check for buyers of handguns, with unlicensed dealers required to process applications through licensed dealers. But research evaluating these background check laws found that few unlicensed dealers are being prosecuted for violating the law.
By contrast, licensure laws, like permit to purchase, require a face-to-face contact between a purchaser and a licensing agent, not just the gun dealer. This step introduces a brief, but important, pause between application and possession, reducing impulsive purchases that lead to an irreversible loss of life.
Studies show that these attributes of licensing laws can lead to significant reductions in gun homicides, gun suicides and diversions of guns used in crimes.
IMPACT OF PERMIT TO PURCHASE
Many neighboring states have already passed permit to purchase legislation where lives have been saved. When Connecticut passed a licensing law, its firearm homicide rate decreased by 40% and its firearm suicide rate decreased by 15%. In 2018, New Jersey was able to trace nearly 10,000 crime guns back to the purchaser or original sale. Just 8% of those guns were used for a crime within 12 months of purchase and only 21% were purchased within NJ; a reflection of strong licensure laws.
This means people with criminal intent had to go out of state to find a gun to commit their crime, a necessary hindrance that saved the lives of NJ residents.
We know that when states repeal effective legislation it negatively harms the communities the law was designed to protect. When Missouri repealed its licensing law, its firearm homicide rate increased by 25% and its firearm suicide rate increased by 16%.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. Firearm Mortality by State. 2018.
SAFER TOGETHER
Safe gun policies like permit to purchase have broad public support.
A 2019 survey by Franklin & Marshall found about 64 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania support creating more laws that regulate gun ownership.
This is why we are inviting leading organizations to work together to advocate for sensible firearm regulation and collectively align in order to strengthen the state’s common sense gun laws.
Together we can showcase the effort of organizations already working to end gun violence, amplify current efforts, and fuel our larger collective impact to create a safer Pennsylvania.