HB714 removes the exemption for certain private gun sales from background check requirements. Currently, only specific firearms are subject to private sale background checks. The bill seeks to extend these checks to all private firearm sales, aligning them with the requirements for licensed firearm dealers.
The Pennsylvania State House of Representatives passed HB714 on May 22, 2023 by a vote of 109 to 92. We have assigned pluses to the nays because background checks, as a general requirement for firearm purchases, are a significant infringement on our Constitutional rights, particularly the Second Amendment, which states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Background checks are a violation of that right.