HB 346 - Trigger locks and handgun identification

[Brick]

Full text not available yet, but I'll bet this is not pro-gun.


Regular Session 2009-2010
House Bill 346
Text


Short Title: An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in firearms and other dangerous articles, providing for trigger locks and for handgun identification requirements.
Prime Sponsor: Representative BISHOP

[/dev/null]

Oh joy... Ill bet a serial number just isnt going to cut it for identification either... lovely

Please post the details once you have them.

THanks

[Boomer]

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/...bio.cfm?id=192

Louise Williams Bishop (Democrat)
Philadelphia County (Part)
Occupation: Legislator/Radio Personality

[Brick]

Here's the full text of the bill:

PRINTER'S NO. 377

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 346
Session of 2009

INTRODUCED BY BISHOP, COHEN, DONATUCCI, FRANKEL, GOODMAN AND YOUNGBLOOD, FEBRUARY 10, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 10, 2009

AN ACT

1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, in firearms and other dangerous
3 articles, providing for trigger locks and for handgun
4 identification requirements.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
8 Statutes is amended by adding sections to read:
9 § 6128. Trigger locks required.
10 (a) General rule.--Every handgun except an antique handgun
11 shall be equipped with a trigger lock.
12 (b) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "trigger
13 lock" means a metallic device operated with a key or combination
14 lock which prevents a firearm from being discharged while the
15 device is attached to the firearm. The term includes a device
16 which obstructs the barrel or cylinder of the firearm and a
17 device which immobilizes the trigger.
18 § 6129. Ballistics identifier required.
19 (a) General rule.--No person registered or licensed as a
1 manufacturer, wholesale dealer of firearms or retail dealer of
2 firearms may transport into this Commonwealth, sell, expose for
3 sale, possess with the intent of selling, assign or otherwise
4 transfer a handgun other than an antique handgun unless a
5 ballistics identifier for that handgun has been obtained and
6 made part of a qualified database.
7 (b) Penalties.--A person that violates the provisions of
8 subsection (a) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less
9 than $7,500 nor more than $15,000 and a fine of not less than
10 $500 nor more than $1,000 for each handgun.
11 (c) Regulations.--The Attorney General shall promulgate
12 regulations to effectuate the purposes of this section.
13 (d) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
14 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
15 subsection:
16 "Ballistics identifier." A digitized or electronic image of
17 a bullet and shell casing fired by a handgun which:
18 (1) clearly shows the distinctive firing pin, ejection,
19 extraction and land marks for that particular handgun; and
20 (2) can be utilized, through comparative computer
21 analysis, for investigative and prosecutorial purposes by law
22 enforcement agencies.
23 "Qualified database." A database established and maintained
24 by a Federal or State law enforcement agency which:
25 (1) contains individual handgun information, such as the
26 handgun's make, model, caliber, manufacturer's serial number
27 and ballistics identifier; and
28 (2) is made available to, and may be utilized by, law
29 enforcement agencies in this Commonwealth for investigative
30 and prosecutorial purposes.
20090HB0346PN0377
- 2 -
1 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
20090HB0346PN0377
3
Of course it makes no difference that many if not most manufacturers voluntarily offer a trigger lock with new firearms of all types nor does it matter that to date most of the "Ballistic Identifier databases" already established in the U.S. have proven themselves to be worthless and have contributed next to nothing in the way of solving crimes. All they have been able to do is eat up large amounts of money.

So warm up your computers and keep those e-mails and letters going to the Pennsylvania General Assembly's House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

[Jon1911]

As bad as that sounds, isn't this stuff routinely voted down in Pennsylvania?

[Brick]

As bad as that sounds, isn't this stuff routinely voted down in Pennsylvania?

If you and your friends don't object to it IT WON"T BE VOTED DOWN.

[jerkin]

I can't believe anyone would put up legislation for a ballistics database after the whole New York thing. I forget the #'s I saw but wasn't it like 20 million dollars to start and hasn't solved one crime yet, lol.

[jpavoncello]

Write your reps folks, point out that Maryland and New York have been doing the ballistics identifier thing for years and it's cost them millions of dollars. Not sure on the NY stats but just saw the Maryland info on this in the past few weeks (I'm trying to find it so I can link it here), and MD has spent $1million a year for the last seven years and the system hasn't made a single match in gun crime.

[jpavoncello]

reading over the proposed bill again, I'm even more concerned about the vague definition on trigger locks.

(a) General rule.--Every handgun except an antique handgun
shall be equipped with a trigger lock.

Read that again Every handgun

There is no distinction if the gun is in storage or being carried. Imagine how worthless our carry guns are going to be if we have to keep a trigger lock on them.

[-JD-]

Just so many problems with this:

Unless I am missing something, there is no penalty prescribed for violation of the triggerlock section.

The "Ballistics identifier" section would prevent all interstate transfer into PA of handguns for sale unless the fingerprinting was done in advance of shipping.

No person registered or licensed as a
1 manufacturer, wholesale dealer of firearms or retail dealer of
2 firearms may transport into this Commonwealth, sell, expose for
3 sale, possess with the intent of selling, assign or otherwise
4 transfer a handgun other than an antique handgun unless a
5 ballistics identifier for that handgun has been obtained and
6 made part of a qualified database.

This would also require all existing handguns to be fingerprinted before any FFL transfers for person to person sales as well.