Bill Text: PA SB97 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Providing for purchase of handguns.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-01-29 - Referred to JUDICIARY [SB97 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SB97-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 76
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 97 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY WILLIAMS, KITCHEN, WASHINGTON, TARTAGLIONE, HUGHES AND FARNESE, JANUARY 29, 2009
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, JANUARY 29, 2009
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, providing for purchase of handguns.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
§ 6105.2. Purchase of handguns.
(a) Handgun purchaser permit.--No person shall sell, give,
transfer, assign or otherwise dispose of, nor receive, purchase
or otherwise acquire a handgun unless the purchaser, assignee,
donee, receiver or holder is licensed as a dealer under this
chapter or has first secured a permit to purchase a handgun as
provided under this section.
(b) Eligibility.--No person of good character and good
repute in the community in which he lives, and who is not
subject to any of the disabilities set forth under this section
or other sections of this chapter, shall be denied a handgun
purchaser permit, except as set forth under this subsection. No
handgun purchaser permit shall be issued to any of the following
persons:
(1) A person who has been convicted of a crime.
(2) A drug-dependent person, a person who is confined
for a mental disorder to a hospital, mental institution or
sanitarium, or to any person who is presently a habitual
drunkard.
(3) A person who suffers from a physical defect or
disease which would make it unsafe for him to handle
handguns.
(4) A person who has ever been confined for a mental
disorder or to an alcoholic, unless any of the foregoing
persons produces a certificate of a medical doctor or
psychiatrist licensed by the Commonwealth, or other
satisfactory proof, that he is no longer suffering from that
particular disability in a manner that would interfere with
or handicap him in the handling of handguns.
(5) A person under 21 years of age.
(6) A person where the issuance would not be in the
interest of the public health, safety or welfare.
(7) A person who is the subject of an active protection
from abuse order issued pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108
(relating to relief), which order provided for the
relinquishment of firearms while the order is in effect.
(8) A person who as a juvenile was adjudicated
delinquent for an offense which, if committed by an adult,
would constitute a crime, and the offense involved the
unlawful use or possession of a weapon, explosive or
destructive device.
(9) A person whose firearm is seized pursuant to 23
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Pa.C.S. § 6108 and whose firearm has not been returned.
(10) A person who knowingly falsifies any information on
the application form for a handgun purchaser permit.
(c) Issuance.--The chief of police of a full-time police
department of the municipality where the applicant resides or
the commissioner, in all other cases, shall, upon application,
issue to any person eligible under subsection (b) a handgun
purchaser permit.
(d) Denials.--Any person aggrieved by the denial of a
handgun purchaser permit may request a hearing in the court of
common pleas of the county in which the applicant resides, if he
is a resident of this Commonwealth or in the court of common
pleas of the county in which the application was filed for a
nonresident. The request for a hearing shall be made in writing
within 30 days of the denial of the application. The applicant
shall serve a copy of the request for a hearing upon the chief
of police of the municipality in which the applicant resides, if
he is a resident of this Commonwealth, and upon the commissioner
in all cases. The hearing shall be held and a record made within
30 days of the receipt of the application for the hearing by the
judge of the court of common pleas. No formal pleading and no
filing fee shall be required as a preliminary to the hearing.
Appeals from the results of the hearing shall be in accordance
with the law.
(e) Applications.--Applications for handgun purchaser
permits shall be in the form prescribed by the commissioner and
shall state the applicant's:
(1) Name.
(2) Residence.
(3) Place of business.
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(4) Age.
(5) Date of birth.
(6) Occupation.
(7) Sex.
(8) Physical description, including distinguishing
physical characteristics, if any.
(9) Whether the applicant is a citizen.
(10) Whether the applicant is an alcoholic, habitual
drunkard or drug-dependent person.
(11) Whether the applicant has ever been confined or
committed to a mental institution or hospital for treatment
or observation of a mental or psychiatric condition on a
temporary, interim or permanent basis, giving the name and
location of the institution or hospital and the dates of such
confinement or commitment.
(12) Whether the applicant has been attended, treated or
observed by any doctor or psychiatrist or at any hospital or
mental institution on an inpatient or outpatient basis for
any mental or psychiatric condition, giving the name and
location of the doctor, psychiatrist, hospital or institution
and the dates of such occurrence.
(13) Whether the applicant presently or ever has been a
member of any organization which advocates or approves the
commission of acts of force and violence to overthrow the
Government of the United States or of this Commonwealth, or
which seeks to deny others their rights under the
Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of
Pennsylvania.
(14) Whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a
crime, or is subject to a protection from abuse order issued
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pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108, prohibiting the person from
possessing any firearm, and such other information as the
superintendent shall deem necessary for the proper
enforcement of this chapter.
For the purpose of complying with this subsection, the applicant
shall waive any statutory or other right of confidentiality
relating to institutional confinement. The application shall be
signed by the applicant and shall contain as references the
names and addresses of two reputable citizens personally
acquainted with him.
(f) Application blanks.--Application blanks shall be
obtainable from the superintendent, from any other officer
authorized to grant a handgun purchaser permit and from licensed
retail dealers.
(g) Fingerprints.--The chief police officer of the
municipality in which the applicant applies, or the
commissioner, shall obtain the fingerprints of the applicant and
shall have them compared with all records of fingerprints in the
municipality and county in which the applicant resides and also
the records of the Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, provided that an applicant for a
handgun purchaser permit who possesses a valid and lawfully
issued license under this chapter, or who has previously
obtained a handgun purchaser permit from the same licensing
authority for which he was previously fingerprinted and who
provides other reasonably satisfactory proof of his identity,
need not be fingerprinted again; however, the chief police
officer or the commissioner shall proceed to investigate the
applicant to determine whether or not the applicant has become
subject to any of the disabilities set forth under this chapter.
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(h) Granting of permit; fee; term; renewal; revocation.--The
application for the handgun purchaser permit together with a fee
of $5 shall be delivered or forwarded to the licensing authority
which shall investigate the same and, unless good cause for
denying the application appears, shall grant the permit, if
application has been made, within 30 days from the date of
receipt of the application for residents of this Commonwealth
and within 45 days for nonresident applicants. A handgun
purchaser permit shall be valid for a period of 90 days from the
date of issuance and may be renewed by the issuing authority for
good cause for an additional 90 days. A handgun purchaser permit
shall not be valid if the holder becomes subject to any of the
disabilities set forth under subsection (b). In this case, the
permit shall be void and shall be returned within five days by
the holder to the commissioner, who shall then advise the
issuing authority. Failure of the holder to return the handgun
purchaser permit to the commissioner within five days shall be a
misdemeanor of the first degree. Any handgun purchaser permit
may be revoked by the court of common pleas of the county where
it was issued, after hearing upon notice, upon a finding that
the holder no longer qualifies for the issuance of a permit. The
county prosecutor of any county, the chief police officer of any
municipality or any citizen may apply to the court of common
pleas at any time for revocation of the permit.
(i) Additional conditions or requirements.--There shall be
no conditions or requirements added to the form or content of
the application, or required by the licensing authority for the
issuance of a permit, other than those that are specifically set
forth under this section.
(j) Disposition of fees.--All fees for permits shall be paid
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to the State Treasury if the permit is issued by the
commissioner, to the municipality if issued by the chief of
police and to the county treasurer if issued by the judge of the
court of common pleas.
(k) Form of permit; quadruplicate; disposition of copies.--
The permit shall be in the form prescribed by the commissioner
and shall be issued to the applicant in quadruplicate. Prior to
the time he receives the handgun from the seller, the applicant
shall deliver to the seller the permit in quadruplicate and the
seller shall complete all of the information required on the
form. Within five days of the sale, the seller shall forward the
original copy to the commissioner and the second copy to the
chief of police of the municipality in which the purchaser
resides, except that in a municipality having no chief of
police, such copy shall be forwarded to the commissioner. The
third copy shall be returned to the purchaser with the pistol or
revolver and the fourth copy shall be kept by the seller as a
permanent record.
(l) Restriction on number of handguns a person may
purchase.--Only one handgun shall be purchased or delivered on
each permit.
(m) Firearms passing to heirs or legatees.--Notwithstanding
any other provision of this section concerning the transfer,
receipt or acquisition of a firearm, a permit to purchase shall
not be required for the passing of a firearm upon the death of
an owner to his heir or legatee, whether the same be by
testamentary bequest or by the laws of intestacy. The person who
shall receive or acquire the firearm shall, however, be subject
to all other provisions of this chapter. If the heir or legatee
of the firearm does not qualify to possess or carry it, he may
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retain ownership of it for the purpose of sale for a period not
exceeding 180 days or for a further limited period as may be
approved by the chief law enforcement officer of the
municipality in which the heir or legatee resides or the
commissioner, provided that the firearm is in the custody of the
chief law enforcement officer of the municipality or the
superintendent during the period.
(n) Sawed-off shotguns.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to authorize the purchase or possession of any sawed-
off shotgun.
(o) Applicability.--Nothing in this section shall apply to
the sale or purchase of a visual distress signaling device
approved by the United States Coast Guard, solely for possession
on a private or commercial aircraft or any boat; provided,
however, that no person under 18 years of age shall purchase nor
shall any person sell to a person under 18 years of age such a
visual distress signaling device.
(p) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection:
"Commissioner." The Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State
Police.
"Handgun." Any pistol, revolver or other firearm originally
designed or manufactured to be fired by the use of a single
hand.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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