By: José Niño
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and his civilian disarmament allies are rallying against two pro-gun reforms currently being pushed in the PA Senate.
Under Senate Bill 448, people who are “adversely affected” by a municipality’s anti-gun ordinances would be able to sue. Senate Bill 565, Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Carry bill, would allow all lawful Pennsylvanians to carry a gun concealed without a permit.
Several opponents of these bills argued they would lead to increased gun violence.
Rabbi Ron Muroff expressed his concerns with these bills, saying he believes if they were passed, incidents like the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre, which took place in Pittsburgh, could occur again.
“Bills that increase the availability of guns increase the risk for the owners themselves and for all Pennsylvanians,” Muroff said.
Muroff gave a speech next to Wolf and several other individuals this week demanding the passage of red flag gun confiscation orders and the mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms.
Pro-Second Amendment advocates challenged the civilian disarmament narrative that Wolf and Muroff are pushing. They argued that gun control laws are ineffective at stopping gun violence and make it more difficult for lawful citizens to defend themselves against criminals.
“That’s one of the concerns. You deny citizens the right to bear arms and then it ends up with you putting more citizens in harm’s way,” said Kim Stolfer, president of Firearm Owners Against Crime.
Stolfer alluded to the recent case of a law-abiding gun owner using his firearm in self-defense to stop a 16-year-old assailant at the Park City Center mall from carrying out a potentially lethal attack against multiple people. In her view, this case demonstrates the need for laxer restrictions on law-abiding citizens’ right to carry.
Wolf has said he plans on vetoing the bills if both chambers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly pass them and send the legislation to his desk.
Pennsylvania is ranked in 31stplace place for Guns & Ammo magazine’s Best States for Gun Owners rankings, thus indicating that it has more work to do with regards to improving its gun laws.
With Wolf in office, there’s very little chance of pro-gun reforms passing. It will take a Republican victory in the 2022 gubernatorial election and the maintenance of Republican majorities in the State House and Senate to at least have a chance of passing pro-Second Amendment reforms in the Keystone State.
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.