Bill would eliminate PA’s PICS system

[WCMG]

‎Camera Bartolotta is our new Senator in Harrisburg and needs your support on her bill to eliminate PICS and to only using NICS. Contact your local state reps and get the word out that this is a good bill.

bartolotta-bill-would-eliminate-redundant-background-check-system/

https://www.facebook.com/camerab

http://www.senatorbartolotta.com/

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A state senator has introduced a bill to eliminate Pennsylvania’s background checks on prospective gun buyers.

Senator Camera Bartolotta (R-Beaver/Greene/Washington) said her proposal would save taxpayer dollars and eliminate an unnecessary barrier between gun dealers and customers.

Gun buyers must first pass background checks through both the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS) and the National Instant Check System (NICS). Bartolotta’s proposal would eliminate PICS and use NICS exclusively to check backgrounds.

Bartolotta said a 2011 report from the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee found that two-thirds of PICS’s revenue comes from the General Fund to sustain its annual budget of over $6 million.

“Background checks are an important tool to prevent firearms from falling into dangerous hands, but the current system creates an expensive and unnecessary barrier between firearm dealers and their customers without providing significant value in terms of public safety,” Bartolotta said in a statement. “The money we’re spending on PICS could be put to a better use than supporting an expensive and duplicitous background check system.”

Bartolotta said 36 states rely solely on NICS to conduct background checks on prospective firearms purchases, while Pennsylvania and 12 others duplicate the process with a state system.

[Sgt.K]

Phil, it's for you...

[fuzzywuzzy]

A PA gun dealer hits speedial on his phone. Then he enters your drivers license number and presses #.In the vast majority of cases an approval comes in minutes. You pay and leave with your gun.

Stop the madness!!!

[ideaman]

I thanked her and wished success in her bill to eliminate PICS.

[gbrown221]

A PA gun dealer hits speedial on his phone. Then he enters your drivers license number and presses #.In the vast majority of cases an approval comes in minutes. You pay and leave with your gun.

Stop the madness!!!

Because it is redundant and cost the PA taxpayers money.

[ungawa]

I've been having second thoughts about this for a while. I think Gunlawyer001 made a good point that if NICS is denying you, you might be screwed vs. PICS which can be handled by our own Commonwealth personnel/representatives/courts/local lawyers if necessary.

Also, somebody please confirm or refute this for me. Haven't there been 1 to 2 week outages/backlogs with the NICS system during purchase panics and the PICS system just kept rolling along? Or have I misunderstood what was happening. It seems PICS is open on Christmas while NICS is not, so I believe PICS can operate without continuous access to NICS.

If all of this is true, it would seem to me it is worth the cost to keep this process local.

[mikelets456]

Because it is redundant and cost the PA taxpayers money.

So do the schools----Heck, so do Politicians.

[McSull]

‎

Bartolotta said 36 states rely solely on NICS to conduct background checks on prospective firearms purchases, while Pennsylvania and 12 others duplicate the process with a state system.

So what does the remaining state do?

[ungawa]

So what does the remaining state do?

Well, you're closer than Obama.

[McSull]

Well, you're closer than Obama.

Are you suggesting I added wrong? Or did I miss something?