A set of bills that would tighten the state's gun laws will go to a vote before the full House, the most significant movement on firearms legislation in several years.
The four bills passed out of committee Wednesday are:, which creates a “duty to report” clause in the state’s firearms act requiring gun owners to report the loss or theft of a gun to law enforcement within 72 hours of discovering the gun is missing. The bill was amended in committee to require information about lost or stolen guns to be entered into state and national databases, which police generally already do.
Kenyatta pointed specifically to the recent bust of a straw-purchasing ring – which is believed to have trafficked over 300 guns from Georgia to Philadelphia – as an example of the issue., a safe storage law requiring firearms to be kept locked when not in use. The bill was amended Wednesday to add additional definitions of locking methods, and also to add penalties for owners whose unsecured firearm is later used in a crime.
Republican committee members critiqued a number of points on the bills, such as the precise definition of a locking device in HB731, or if unsecured firearms alone would give law enforcement reason to enter someone’s home. Democrats stressed that HB1018 has punishments, including restitution, for filing false or frivolous ERPOs, safeguards that are “over and above existing disincentives that are already in the crime code,” said Tim Clawges, the committee’s executive director.
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