(Robert O Carney/Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock)
January 21, 2024
By Mark Chesnut
Pennsylvania gun owners are under an all-out assault by anti-gun lawmakers in Harrisburg, with four restrictive firearms measures—including a sweeping ban on many common semi-auto rifles—recently being approved in a key House committee. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 336 , HB 483 , HB 777 and HB 1190 . The measures are now eligible to be voted on by the full House of Representatives should a vote be called on the House floor.
HB 336 is the so-called “assault weapon” ban, and it takes in a lot of territory. According to the bill’s language, it bans ownership or transfer of a gun if “the firearm is a semiautomatic rifle that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least two of the following: (A) A folding or telescoping stock. (B) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon. (C) A bayonet mount. (D) A flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor. (E) A grenade launcher.”
The measure also outlaws any pistol that “has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least two of the following: (A) An ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip. (B) A threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip or silencer. (C) A shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the nontrigger hand without being burned. (D) A manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded. (E) A semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm.”
HB 483 creates a Gun Violence Task Force that would be off to a bad start since the violence they are targeting is really “criminal violence,” not “gun violence.” According to the measure’s language: “A gun violence task force is established in each county which exceeds the age-adjusted, firearm-related death rate per 100,000 goal contained in the United States Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2030 initiative.” HB 777 unjustly punishes hobbyists by restricting privately made firearms. And lastly, HB 1190 bans 3D printed firearms.
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About the Author Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC. An avid hunter, shooter and political observer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for nearly 25 years.
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