Davidson, Miccarelli push gun safety measure
Democratic state Rep. Margo Davidson joined Republican colleague Nick Miccarelli at a press conference in Harrisburg Monday afternoon urging bipartisan support for new gunsafety legislation.
“While there is much debate over gun issues, the measures that my fellow lawmakers and I are proposing are steps that I think we can all agree on, without infringing on the Second Amendment rights of lawful gun owners,” said Davidson, D-164, of Upper Darby. “Our communities can’t wait any longer for us to take action.”
The legislators proposed new rules requiring all firearm sales to be conducted in front of a licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer or county sheriff and the creation of a temporary background-check permit for buyers to use at gun shows. Another proposal would require Pennsylvania State Police to provide all existing mental health data to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
“The intent of this bill is not to stigmatize people with mental health conditions,” Davidson said. “Studies show that people with severe mental health conditions are more likely to become a victim of gun violence – in most cases by harming themselves – than they are to commit a violent crime. What is far more dangerous, though, is a lack of oversight to prevent people with dangerous criminal records from easily obtaining guns from anywhere, from gun shows to private sellers.”
“We are asking House leaders to take action on the measures discussed here today, including Rep. (Jamie) Santora’s proposal on gun show access, Rep. (Todd) Stephens’ proposal related to mental health, Rep. (Madeleine) Dean’s proposal on bump stocks, and the proposal that Rep. Davidson and I outlined regarding sales and mental health data,” said Miccarelli, R-162, of Ridley Park.