The measure passed 104–99, aided by five Republican votes joined with the Democratic majority. It now heads to the Republican-led state Senate, where reports are saying the gun control legislation won’t advance.
The Pennsylvania State House narrowly approved legislation mandating background checks for rifle and shotgun sales and transfers, a move long resisted in the state.
Two more proposed bills — one to ban homemade firearms and another to authorize “Red Flag” Gun Confiscation — failed in razor-thin votes, each losing 101–102.
Rural Democrats such as Rep. Frank Burns opposed all three measures, while Democrats Jim Haddock and Anita Kulik also broke ranks on the background check provision.
Republicans supporting the bill represented suburban Philadelphia districts like Hogan, Tomlinson, Marcell, Williams, and Martina White.
Minority Leader Jesse Topper warned that new restrictions won’t deter those already willing to break the law, arguing they instead penalize lawful gun owners.
Rep. Aaron Bernstine challenged the “Red Flag” Gun Confiscation proposal for infringing on Constitutional protections in Pennsylvania’s Constitution.
The homemade firearm ban, tied to HB 1099, would outlaw firearms built, as anti-gunners claim, without metal parts detectable by scanners.
But critics including Rep. Tim Bonner said such regulations replicate laws already on the books and mischaracterize homemade arms, calling them historically common tools of self-defense.
Gun control supporters frame the background check measure as a modest reform; opponents say it sets a precedent for broader encroachments on the fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
Read more at Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
