Bill requiring owners to lock up guns advances to Pa. House over GOP objections

Gun locks and safes would be exempt from state sales tax under an amended version of a secure firearms storage bill Pennsylvania lawmakers advanced Monday. 

The measure, introduced by state House Judiciary Committee Chairman Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery), requires gun owners to keep their firearms locked in a gun safe or with a locking device when they are not in use. It’s similar to a bill he introduced last session that expired without a floor vote. 

The latest version, he said, attempts to address opposition to the secure firearms storage mandate from Republican lawmakers, who say keeping guns locked away makes them useless for self-defense in an emergency. 

“We listened about self-defense,” Briggs said, noting that the bill’s definition of “possession” includes having a gun close by, so the owner may readily use it but a child or other unauthorized person may not gain access. “So the person who keeps it next to their bed, that’s reasonable.” 

 The bill would also require gun dealers to post a conspicuous notice of the law’s requirements and potential criminal and civil liability for failing to obey.

But, every Republican voted “no” as it was reported on a 16-14 vote out of the Judiciary Committee for consideration on the House floor. It was amended by the same vote to include the sales tax exemption. A standalone version of the sales tax exemption passed unanimously.

“Every burglary, assault, or act of domestic violence occurs without warning,” said Rep. Rob Kauffman (R-Franklin), the ranking Republican on the panel. “Victims don’t receive advance notice that danger is on the way. When a criminal forces entry into a home at 2 a.m., a firearm secured exactly as this bill requires may be legally stored, but it also may be functionally useless if the homeowner cannot access it.”

Kauffman added the measure fails to address uncertainty about how law enforcement investigators would know whether a gun had been secured properly before it was used.

Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R-Clinton) suggested the amendment adding a sales tax exemption for gun storage devices didn’t go far enough. “No constitutional God-given right should be taxed,” Borowicz said, adding the tax exemption should include guns and ammunition. “That’s common sense.”

Democratic efforts to pass gun safety laws in the last two sessions have highlighted what House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery) has called the caucus’ “humble majority” in the chamber.

Since Democrats gained a one-seat majority in 2023, the House has passed several gun safety measures, including a Red Flag bill allowing authorities to obtain a court order to remove guns from the home of a person deemed a threat to themselves or others. 

Others have failed by a single vote, since  Rep. Frank Burns, a Cambria County Democrat, has voted with Republicans on measures including criminal penalties for failing to report lost or stolen guns within 72 hours.

Monday’s debate featured Republicans noting that a secure storage requirement plays into the hands of criminals.

“Government has no business micromanaging firearm storage inside our homes or at all. This is actually a very dangerous bill,” said Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa (R-Fayette), recalling an anecdote Vice President J.D. Vance shared during the 2024 presidential campaign about his grandmother having 19 guns stashed around her house.

“In central Pennsylvania, we also have our guns by our bed, in our cars, locked and loaded like mamma to defend ourselves, and our crime rates are low because of it,” Krupa said.

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) noted that Philadelphia is often invoked in debates on guns when lawmakers want a “good talking point about a tragedy.”

“The solutions that come from people who live in Philadelphia are often ignored by people who have not visited God’s country of Philadelphia,” he said, adding that, according to the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, which hands out free gun locks, unsecured firearms are the leading cause of accidental shootings among children in the city.

“Some of the arguments being made today could be taken a little bit more seriously if folks in this building had any interest in doing anything that would reduce access to unsecured weapons, reduce the likelihood that folks who do have nefarious intent get their hands on a firearm,” Kenyatta said, noting his husband is a gun owner.

Krupa said the most recent national data show about 5% of juvenile gun deaths are deemed accidental.

“The overwhelming majority of juvenile firearm deaths are not the result of a parent leaving a lawfully owned firearm on a nightstand. The majority involve criminal violence and assaults, particularly among teenagers,” she said, adding that vehicle deaths rank closely behind.

“Both of these are serious public safety concerns,” Krupa said. “But we do not respond to automobile fatalities by criminalizing ordinary responsible ownership of the use of an automobile. It’s offensive.”