HB 1718 Increased Penalties for unlicensed carry

[Brick]

I have to say I'm ambivalent this one. But, I am curious about how many arrest and convictions have been made under the existing felony penalty. Anyone know?

Regular Session 2021-2022
House Bill 1718
Short Title: An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in firearms and other dangerous articles, further providing for firearms not to be carried without a license.
Prime Sponsor: Representative DeLUCA
Last Action: Referred to JUDICIARY, July 8, 2021 [House]
Memo: Increasing Penalties for Unlicensed Carry of a Firearm

[dev]

I am a believer in Constitutional Carry. Any increase in penalty for carrying without a license is a step backwards in my eyes. Increasing the penalty for carrying without a license is Unconstitutional in my opinion.

[bigandy1966]

On one hand if it gets the thug culture practitioners of the mexican carry off the streets so much the better, but on the other hand if PA goes constitutional carry this would be irrelevant unless the detainee were a prohibited person, in that case there would need to be anew law definingthe stricter penalties

[ett]

I am a believer in Constitutional Carry. Any increase in penalty for carrying without a license is a step backwards in my eyes. Increasing the penalty for carrying without a license is Unconstitutional in my opinion.

^^^ THIS ^^^

[ett]

On one hand if it gets the thug culture practitioners of the mexican carry off the streets so much the better, but on the other hand if PA goes constitutional carry this would be irrelevant unless the detainee were a prohibited person, in that case there would need to be anew law definingthe stricter penalties

In my opinion; the whole concept of "prohibited person" is a bunch of BS.
If a person is a danger to society; then they belong behind bars. Otherwise they should have all their Rights.

[buckengr]

I am a believer in Constitutional Carry. Any increase in penalty for carrying without a license is a step backwards in my eyes. Increasing the penalty for carrying without a license is Unconstitutional in my opinion.

This exactly. Carry is a right. We need to be pushing hard for Constitutional Carry, not letting crap like this slide through just because it probably doesn't affect most of us.

21 other states have Constitutional Carry now, and Louisiana is just a veto override vote away from passing it too (they should have the votes).

We have a section in the PA Constitution (Article 1, Section 21) which states "The right of the Citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned." Yet, we still have this unconstitutional laws on our books and proposals like this being made. It must end. We have to demand better from our legislators and Governor and not be ambivalent.

In my opinion; the whole concept of "prohibited person" is a bunch of BS.
If a person is a danger to society; then they belong behind bars. Otherwise they should have all their Rights.

Agreed. Criminals are either locked up or walking free and capable of harming others. There is no magic bubble that follows them around to stop them from doing evil just because they were released. It's not like they aren't capable of getting a weapon and harming people if they wanted to. Laws don't stop criminals from doing what they are going to do. That's why they are criminals to begin with.

Besides, prohibited persons in possession of firearms (whether "carrying" or not) is already a felony under our current laws, so why increase the penalty on an unconstitutional law that affects non-prohibited persons who are exercising their natural right?

[PocketProtector]

On one hand if it gets the thug culture practitioners of the mexican carry off the streets so much the better, but on the other hand if PA goes constitutional carry this would be irrelevant unless the detainee were a prohibited person, in that case there would need to be anew law definingthe stricter penalties

Never the intent.

[sbmania]

On one hand if it gets the thug culture practitioners of the mexican carry off the streets so much the better, but on the other hand if PA goes constitutional carry this would be irrelevant unless the detainee were a prohibited person, in that case there would need to be anew law defining the stricter penalties

Thinking logically about this...there are already enough laws on the books to get thugs who carry guns off of the streets, but cities decline to use them. Instead, the thugs walk free time and time again. So why would another law have any effect on this?

[PocketProtector]

In my opinion; the whole concept of "prohibited person" is a bunch of BS.
If a person is a danger to society; then they belong behind bars. Otherwise they should have all their Rights.

This exactly.

[Sparks]

Thinking logically about this...there are already enough laws on the books to get thugs who carry guns off of the streets, but cities decline to use them. Instead, the thugs walk free time and time again. So why would another law have any effect on this?

You mean like Krasner?