Pennsylvania Gun Friendly?

[XACEX]

I apologize if I am misunderstanding your post, but if your post is trying to say that residents of Pennsylvania currently are required to retreat if safely possible from an attacker entering their home, you are wrong.

18 Pa.C.S. § 505

Title 18 Pa.C.S.A. Crimes and Offenses

Part I. Preliminary Provisions

Chapter 5. General Principles of Justification

§ 505. Use of force in self-protection

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(b) Limitations on justifying necessity for use of force.--

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(2) The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat; nor is it justifiable if:

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(ii) the actor knows that he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating or by surrendering possession of a thing to a person asserting a claim of right thereto or by complying with a demand that he abstain from any action which he has no duty to take, except that:

(A) the actor is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling or place of work, unless he was the initial aggressor or is assailed in his place of work by another person whose place of work the actor knows it to be; and

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Addendum: And Greg gets in there while I am formatting the citation. Second place once again.

yes i think you are misunderstanding me as the retreat part was different from the assumption of legality part in my OP. however, i think i am still right even how you understood me as there is no duty to retreat FROM the home but there (i think) IS duty to retrat WITHIN the home.

[gnbrotz]

but there (i think) IS duty to retrat WITHIN the home.

Please cite the statute that supports your assertion. Hint: You won't find one.

You are incorrect.

[LittleRedToyota]

Please cite the statute that supports your assertion.

the exception itself does only say one is not required to "...retreat from his dwelling...".

if applied literally, it would, on its face at least, still require one to retreat within one's dwelling...if one could do so with complete safety, of course.

(i'm not saying that is how it gets applied, but that is what it literally says.)

[gnbrotz]

I'm coming from at a little differently. Anywhere within the structure is "my dwelling". If I'm in my living room (aka "my dwelling") I'm not going to retreat from it to another part of "my dwelling". IMO, retreating "from (any one part of) your dwelling" is not required.

I see what you're saying about the literal wording, but I'd be shocked to find any case law contradicting my position.

[XACEX]

I'm coming from at a little differently. Anywhere within the structure is "my dwelling". If I'm in my living room (aka "my dwelling") I'm not going to retreat from it to another part of "my dwelling". IMO, retreating "from (any one part of) your dwelling" is not required.

I see what you're saying about the literal wording, but I'd be shocked to find any case law contradicting my position.

interesting point, can any lawyers chime in?

[chazman21]

Hello MARINEDAD,
Welcome, Deciding were to live in PA is one thing. But, You have made the right chose coming here.
www.PAFOA.org
As you can see, Any and ALL questions can and will be answered here.
You can check out the forum on NFA firearms. Their are a few stickies that could answer your questions and get you started.

Ridley Park Township is not bad, You know the old saying. The Grass is always greener!
I work in Woodlyn,Pa its right in the middle of Ridley and Chester. You could walk though it, And not know it. Its a small township
You might want to stay on the side of Ridley or in the middle. Chester can be a... Well, can be a little hairy if you know what I mean.
If you make the move, The Red Vehicles running around are not Fire &/or Emergency Vehicles. Their the Ridley Township Police.

The closets NFA shop to Ridley, That I know of is Target Master. Someone else might know of a closer one or a better shop in the area.

www.TARGETMASTER.com

Good luck.

[mojo]

IN all of PA you can't sell your handgun to a private party w/o State paperwork?!!! Sorry but that sounds totally messed up and intrusive to us here.
Ex: at our monthly WAC gun shows, members do private sales all day over tables filled with goodies, not one bit of paper processed. Dealers, it's a different deal. But it's btwn WAC members only, private or dealers. Club bylaws demand it. We've avoided and cut short our distractors who didn't know what they were talking about, trying to pull that 'loop hole' BS at our shows. In fact a member can lose his credentials for life if they violate the member sales provisions. We keep the dogs at bay that way.

As others have said .. no private handgun sales are allowed. However, private sales of long arms are allow. So you can still sell any rifle face-to-face without any paperwork.

[Capt Quahog]

Re: Pennsylvania Gun Friendly?

Perhaps the question can be best answered when one places the Commonwealth of PA in relationship to other states. Being from New Hampshire where one could probably figure the gun laws to be quite friendly, other places seem more repressive.

In NH, private citizens "known to one another" can buy and sell handguns back and forth without a requirement to transfer through an FFL. Long arms are of course the same way. A person however needs a permit in NH to carry concealed. Cross over the line into Vermont and anybody (except for convicted felons and certified lunatics) can pack a gun without a permit at all.

Head a little south of New Hampshire into my native born Massachusetts and it's a gun owner's nightmare. Despite the heavy handed regulations on firearms in Masshole-land (as we call it) I know a number citizens with many "legal" guns. Suppose that people can get used to just about anything.

Summing it up . . . yes . . . I believe that Pennsylvania in the general scheme of things today is "still" gun friendly.

[Nullifidian]

As others have said .. no private handgun sales are allowed. However, private sales of long arms are allow. So you can still sell any rifle face-to-face without any paperwork.

I'm confused. I thought ALL firearm sales in the United States required a NICS check.

Otherwise, straw sales would be legal, and I was under the impression that straw sales are illegal.

[LittleRedToyota]

I'm confused. I thought ALL firearm sales in the United States required a NICS check.

only for interstate sales. the federal laws do not apply to intrastate sales. however, many states have their own laws which require a NICS or similar check. for example, PA requires a PICS check (similar to NICS) for private handgun transfers, but not for private long gun transfers. if, however, PA did not have our own law requiring the PICS check for handgun transfers, you could transfer them without paperwork within PA just as you can with long guns.

Otherwise, straw sales would be legal, and I was under the impression that straw sales are illegal.

straw sales are illegal because there are specific laws against them.