http://www.acslpa.org/alerts/HB1791.htm
On July 1, 2003, three days before Pennsylvanians were to begin celebrating our Independence from tyrannical British rule, 13 members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced a bill that would give law enforcement the authority to confiscate all handguns in private possession, unless they are approved by a newly created Handgun Standard Commission. The catch 22 is that no handgun currently manufactured today will be able to comply with the standards outlined in the legislation that this Commission must use to approve handgun sales. These standard(s) will require that the only handguns that will be permitted to be owned will be of the so-called personalized-smart guns design, and no existing handgun will be permitted to be modified.
While the average citizen will be ‘PERMITTED’ to continue to ‘POSSESS’ the non-compliant handguns they own (ones manufactured 4 years prior to the Commission Handgun Standard) they can NEVER sell or even bequeath these firearms to ‘anyone’ else. This means that the original owner will have to surrender them to the state to get rid of them or the estate of the deceased will be required by this law to surrender these firearms. Transporting them to the range, or carrying for self-defense, places the average citizen in jeopardy of confiscation of their non-compliant handgun by law enforcement. However, law enforcement officers and members of the Armed forces of the United States and the Commonwealth will be exempt-for now. Also, that 4-year span of time between manufacture and the adoption of these so-called Commission performance standards means that the guns manufactured and possessed during this time can NEVER be made legal and MUST be SURRENDERED to the state.
Does this bring back memories of British occupation in 1776? Also, while existing handguns will not immediately be confiscated, clearly this legislation will bring a halt to all handgun competition unless the competitor uses an approved handgun, and those with concealed carry licenses will be prohibited from carrying unless they carry so-called smart-guns.
Led by Governor Ed Rendell's hand picked chairman of the Democratic Campaign Committee, Representative T.J. Rooney, the main thrust of this legislation is to establish a State Handgun Standard Commission for creating performance standards for personalized-smart guns. In the legislative findings at the beginning of the bill these legislators repeat the same old tired statistics that have been used in prior anti-gun legislation in order to attempt to justify their gun confiscation legislation. These gun prohibitionists reach as far back as 1994 to show the need for this legislation. For example, the quotation of 1300 unintentional firearm deaths-accidents comes from the year 1994, yet the most recent statistics show accidental firearm deaths has declined to less then 800 by the year 2000. When one compares these numbers to identical statistics for other consumer products, they pale in comparison.
Check out the real facts on firearms safety in the chart below.
Fact: According to the National Safety Council's 1997 Accidental Fact Book, firearm misuse causes only a small number of accidental deaths in the U.S. For example, compared to accidental death from firearms, you are:
Eight times as likely to suffocate on a swallowed object
Sixteen times more likely to be poisoned
17 times more likely to die falling
And 54 times more likely to die in an automobile accident
Fact: According to the Center for Disease Control, in 1996, there were only 21 accidental gun deaths for children under age 15. About twice as many children under the age of ten die from drowning in bathtubs.
Fact: According to the National Center for Health Statistics, and the National Spa and Pool Institute, In 1993, there were 1,334 drowning and 528 firearm-related accidental deaths from ages 0-19. Firearms outnumber pools by a factor of over 30:1. Thus, the risk of drowning in a pool is nearly 100 times higher than from a firearm-related accident for everyone, and nearly 500 times for ages 0-5.
2000 United States
Unintentional Injuries
All Ages, All Races, Both Sexes
Total Deaths: 97,900 (Source: Center for Disease Control)
Cause of Death Number
of Deaths
Percentage of Deaths
1. MV Traffic 41,994 42.9%
2. Fall 13,322 13.6%
3. Poisoning 12,757 13.0%
4. Unspecified 6,673 6.8%
5. Suffocation 5,648 5.8%
6. Fire/burn 3,487 3.6%
7. Drowning 3,482 3.6%
8. Natural/ Environment 1,643 1.7%
9. Other Transport 1,413 1.4%
10. Other Land Transport 1,412 1.4%
11. Pedestrian, Other 1,272 1.3%
12. Other Spec., classifiable 1,238 1.3%
13. Struck by or Against 938 1.0%
14. Other Spec., NECN 903 0.9%
15. Firearm 776 0.8%
16. Machinery 676 0.7%
17. Pedal cyclist, Other 168 0.2%
18. Cut/pierce 85 0.1%
19. Overexertion 13 0.0%
Total Deaths 97,900
The one clear fact that this legislation does not address, is that the technology for so called smart guns has not produce anywhere near a sufficient number of models of handguns to replace the number of firearms in private possession in this state. Since Pennsylvania would be only the second state to pass such legislation, handgun manufacturers would have little incentive to produced these firearms at an affordable cost.
The first thing the bill does is to establish the State Handgun Standard Commission. This Commission will comprise of the following appointments with the chairman appointed by Governor Rendell.
- Attorney General or a designee
- Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner or designee
- Secretary of Health or a designee
- Injury prevention specialist
- Handgun Industry Representative
- An Engineer
- Citizen at large
The Commission will be stacked in favor of our anti-gun Governor who initially appoints the Commissioner of the State Police, Secretary of Health already, and now will appoint the balance of the Commission. The only office not initially appointed by the Governor is the Attorney General. No where in the bill is there a provision providing for the members appointed by the Governor to have any expertise in firearms. Since the Commission will be charged with developing the standard(s), it is possible that the standard(s) developed will be so stringent that many firearms manufacturers will find it too costly to attempt to comply and no so-called smart guns will be permitted to be sold in the state. It is also possible for the lone "Handgun industry representative" will bias is own company to hurt his/her competition.
Another loop-hole in the bill is that if our anti-gun Governor decides that too many handguns are being possessed by private citizens he could demand that the Commission tighten-up on the standard(s). Thus calling for additional confiscations, and making it difficult and expensive for manufacturers to comply, as a result, they will stop distributing handguns in Pennsylvania. As has been shown in Maryland, where a similar Commission was established the Handgun Industry Representative has virtually no authority to bring any semblance of common sense to that Commission. Handguns like the top of the line Kimber semi-automatics are banned in Maryland.
Section 6185(b) "Seizures" give the police the authority, during the course of official duties and operating within existing constitutional constraints on police searches and seizures, to confiscate, for destruction, any handgun that does not meet the Standard's Commission guidelines. These handguns shall be forfeited to the Commonwealth and shall be destroyed. A simple complaint to the police from a disgruntled neighbor that you dog is barking too loud could bring visit from the police. A simple question from the police if you have any firearms in the house could lead to seizure of you firearms. These misguided legislators are mandating that Millions and Millions of dollars of private property be destroyed, in clear violation of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, and forcing the confiscation of private property with out just compensation for their value.
Gun shows will be shut down because no handguns will be permitted to be transported to the shows to be displayed or transferred. This will mean that thousands and thousands of serviceable collectable handguns owned by thousands of collectors would eventually be confiscated and destroyed.
The title of this legislation is the Handgun Safety Standards Act. It is time to call this legislation exactly what it is, The Pennsylvania Disarmament and Law-abiding Citizens Enslavement Act of 2003.
It is time for gun owners to send a strong message to the "Harrisburg Gang of 13" Legislators that time has passed for their worn-out logic that banning law-abiding citizens ownership of firearms will lead to less accidental deaths. It is time for gun owners in their district to rise up and work to defeat these legislators in the next general election. Below is the list of the "Harrisburg Gang of 13" and how to contact them. If you live in their district, contact them and tell them that you are opposed to what they are attempting to do, and unless they withdraw their support for this legislation you will join with other citizens in their district to work for their defeat in next year's elections.
