A bill that would require electronic records of gun sales was struck down in the PA house, with State Representatives Jim Struzzi and Brian Smith both voting against it.
House Bill 2206 would have required manufacturers and dealers to submit records of sale to state police electronically instead of having a mail-in option. Currently, retailers have the option of either mailing or electronically sending through the “Track and Trace” initiative to assist in tracing gun crimes and prevent gun trafficking.
In a statement, Smith said that the bill would only make life more difficult for law-abiding gun owners, and would not prevent criminals from trying to circumvent the system. He added that the bill would effectively create another firearm registry, “giving the Commonwealth the ability to ask for whatever information it wants at the point of sale, then uploading that into a massive database at the fingertips of the Pennsylvania State Police.” He did clarify that those who brought the bill forward had no ill intent with it.
While the bill was voted down, House Democrats did make a motion to reconsider the law in the future.
