What are Pennsylvania’s gun laws?

PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — While Pennsylvania residents do have the right to bear arms, one might wonder what the gun laws in the Commonwealth look like.

Pennsylvania has required background checks on all handgun sales , including ones sold at gun shows. However, this requirement is not specifically extended to long guns including, but no limited to, assault rifles.

Anyone who is 21-years-old or older may apply for a License to Carry Firearms (LTC). The license allows individuals to carry a firearm concealed on their body or in a vehicle and the license is valid for five years unless revoked.

According to Pennsylvania State Police , 1,638,341 people posses a LTC and 10,335 people possess a Sportsman permit as of July 1.

Firearm prohibitions in Pa.

Federal law establishes a “baseline” national standard regarding someone’s eligibility to acquire and posses a firearm. Under federal law, people are generally prohibited from purchasing a gun if they have been convicted of a felony or some domestic violence misdemeanors.

In Pennsylvania specifically , the law outlines that someone should not possess a firearm if they have been convicted of a slew of crimes. Some of those crimes are aggravated assault, murder, stalking, rape, kidnapping, arson, felony theft and rioting.

Furthermore, the law says that a person who has been convicted of driving under the influence on three or more separate occasions within a five-year period is prohibited from purchasing but not from possessing a firearm.

Pennsylvania also requires anyone convicted in a domestic violence related case to relinquish any firearms under their possession or control to their local law enforcement within 24 hours of being convicted.

The law also authorizes courts to prohibit people from accessing firearms while they are subject to temporary Protection from Abuse Orders (PFA’s) and requires courts to do so when issuing final PFA’s.

Pennsylvania law also strictly prohibits anyone who is in possession of a medical marijuana card to own firearms or ammunition.

The “Castle Doctrine”

The “Castle Doctrine,” also known as a Stand Your Ground Law, allows someone to use deadly force in self-defense if they believe themselves to be in immediate danger in a place where they are legally supposed to be.

In Pennsylvania, while there is an acting Stand Your Ground Law , there are limitations. First, the use of force must be justifiable, meaning that someone cannot just point and shoot and claim self defense after the act.

The law also states that if “self-defense” is being used to resist an arrest, to resist force used by the true occupier of the property, there is intent to cause death or serious bodily injury in a situation that the shooter provoked or the shooter knows they could avoid the use of force by removing themselves from the situation, it is not justifiable.

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Extreme risk and secure storage laws

An “extreme risk” law allows for the quick intervention when a person is at serious suspected risk of harming themselves or others with a firearm. This type of law enables law enforcement to ask the court for an order that temporarily removes guns from these types of situations. It also prohibits the person from buying any new guns.

Currently, 21 states have an “extreme risk” law or multiple laws enacted. While Pennsylvania is not a state that does have a law to this degree, studies show that there was a 7.5% drop in gun-related suicides in a state that does.

Pennsylvania also does not have a law that requires gun owners to lock up their firearms. Commonly referred to as “ secure storage ” laws, these policies require firearms to be unloaded, locked and separated from ammunition inside a home.

Studies show that secure gun storage can reduce youth gun violence and accidents by up to 85%.

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