PA State Sen. outlines ban on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines

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PA State Sen. outlines ban on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines

POSTED: Wednesday, December 19, 2012, 3:00 PM

Sen. Larry Farnese, a Philly Democrat who last session worked on legislation designed to crack down on straw purchasers of guns, is preparing to introduce a bill that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines in the state.

Whether Gov. Tom Corbett would sign any such legislation is less certain. Corbett has told reporters that he thinks the answer is not necessarily gun control but could lie in part with a better focus on mental health services. (This comes from the same governor who has advocated major cuts to mental health funding, leading this year to a 7.7 percent cut in the mental health base line item in Pennsylvania's budget.)

In any case, Farnese's legislation would be based on the federal assault-weapons ban that ended in 2004 and had a debatable impact on gun violence. He's also working up a resolution to urge a federal-level ban be instated once again. Farnese's efforts to close the "Florida loophole" last session fell short, so he's planning to reintroduce that legislation, which would prevent people from circumventing Pennsylvania's gun licensing requirements by obtaining a license in a different state.

Farnese, of course, cited the school shooting in Newtown in his press release: "Last week’s massacre, and the similarly horrible tragedies that have occurred over the last few years, have been happening more and more frequently in the United States and they need to stop."

State Rep. Steve Santarserio, a Bucks County Democrat, has also been proposing an assault weapons ban in the state House.

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