HARRISBURG - A new House bill to close a loophole in Pennsylvania's gun background check law received a personal endorsement Wednesday from state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane.
Kane appeared with Democratic lawmakers and members of several anti-gun violence groups to urge a vote in Harrisburg on universal background check legislation aimed at closing a "private sales" exemption under current state law.
The measure sponsored by Rep. Steve Santarsiero, D-31, Newtown, would require sales of long-barrel guns, including assault rifles, by private non-licensed sellers to include a background check of the buyer. The bill would remove provisions applying the current background check law to sales of specific barrel lengths for firearms.
"Right now in Pennsylvania, criminals may lawfully purchase an assault rifle even through it is illegal for that same criminal to purchase a handgun," said Santarsiero.
Culver concerned
Locally, Rep. Lynda Schlegel-Culver, R-108, said Thursday she hasn't had a chance to read the bill, but worries about any new legislation that restricts the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.
"Anytime there is a restriction set to be placed on guns, I have a concern, but I want to reserve judgment to see the wording and stack it up to what we have now, and whether the bill will even get out of committee," Culver said.
Under the bill, all guns sales and transfers except those involving family members would require a background check, Santarsiero said.
"This really is just a common sense approach," said Kane. She said the goal is to keep dangerous weapons, whether a handgun or assault rifle, out of the hands of criminals.
A universal background check can reduce gun violence and spare the lives of potential victims, she added.
The Pennsylvania initiative surfaced on a day when U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced a compromise deal in Washington to support expanding federal background checks from covering sales by licensed gun dealers to include all commercial sales, including transactions at gun shows and online. The U.S. Senate began debating gun legislation Thursday, the result of a nationwide focus on the issue in the wake of last December's mass shooting that killed 20 students and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
"Sen. Toomey's legislation would expand nationally what we already have here in Pennsylvania," Culver said. "In reading his legislation, one thing that caught my eye was that anyone who forms a database from the checks is subject to prosecution and 15 years imprisonment."
The federal legislation would only cover background checks for commercially purchased guns, while Santarsiero's bill would affect private purchases, he said.
"Even if legislation passes in D.C., it's important that we provide for this additional safeguard within our commonwealth," he said.
He said he wants to challenge an assumption that Pennsylvania won't pass tougher gun laws.
Reps. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-121, Wilkes-Barre, and Phyllis Mundy, D-120, Kingston, participated in the press conference announcing the Pennsylvania legislation.
Pashinski recalled how he held a candle in memory of slain Newtown student Dylan Hockley at a memorial service last winter in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
"We cannot do nothing," he said. "To do nothing is a cop-out."
State law requires that every gun transaction through a dealer have background checks, said Stephen Miskin, spokesman for House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-28, Pittsburgh.
The law has resulted in a drop in violent crime and gun violence in the state, he said.
Culver hopes that, on the advice of several members of law enforcement with whom she's spoken, stricter penalties would also be a part of any legislation.
(Staff Writer Rob Wheary contributed to this report.)