Welcome to the Three Minute Lawyer series with your host, Enrique Latoison. Today, in this second installment of our deep dive into firearm laws, we’re joined by Adam Kraut, Executive Director of the Second Amendment Foundation. In this video, we’ll be discussing the intricate laws surrounding firearm ownership and usage in Pennsylvania. We’ll cover everything from the impact of convictions on your right to own firearms, to the specifics of carry permits, and even the different regulations for handguns and long guns. Please remember, this is not legal advice, so always consult your criminal defense attorney before making any decision related to firearms. Let’s dive right in.

Video Transcript:

I’m Enrique Latoison, your three-minute lawyer. This is part two. I’m still here with Adam Kraut, our guest, the executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation. As I said in part one, this is not legal advice, and when you’re dealing with firearms and matters of that nature, consult your Pennsylvania gun lawyer before making any decisions.

To clarify from part one, if you’re convicted of a misdemeanor in Pennsylvania, whether it’s the first-degree, third-degree felony, second-degree felony, or first-degree felony, you’ve basically forfeited your right to own a firearm in the state of Pennsylvania.

That’s correct.

That’s wild. Okay. Now, I want to ask you about carry permits for people who want to carry a concealed firearm versus open carry. This is an open carry state in Pennsylvania, am I correct on that?

Yes, there’s a lot more to it.

But generally speaking, yes, someone can walk around like John Wayne from a Western movie.

You can. But there are state transportation laws that preclude you from, say, throwing a firearm in your trunk, driving to your destination, taking it out, and putting it on because there are certain places you can only go to and from without a carry permit. The moral of the story is: go get a carry permit.

Get a carry permit. Or if you’re going to be like John Wayne, you have to walk everywhere. Is that accurate? You can’t get inside a vehicle because then that would be a crime. So if a person is looking for a carry permit, are there different rules and laws for a carry permit versus just somebody that can own a firearm?

Yeah. So, the criteria for getting a license to carry firearms versus buying one are slightly different. There are some extra things that, if you’ve been convicted of, would preclude you from a carry permit but might not necessarily preclude you from being able to purchase a firearm. For instance, if you’re convicted of possession of marijuana, specifically under the Controlled Device Substance Cosmetic Act here in Pennsylvania, that specifically precludes you from a carry permit, but it may not inhibit your ability to buy and possess firearms and ammunition.

So someone who’s been convicted of carrying or possessing marijuana at some point won’t be able to get a carry permit unless they get a pardon or get it expunged off their record. Okay. Now let’s talk about another subject here. How can someone obtain a gun in Pennsylvania? Now, I know there are two types of guns here. We have handguns, which are basically short-barreled, and we have long guns, which are essentially the common AR-15, rifle, or shotgun. Is that correct?

Yeah.

Okay, so if a person in Pennsylvania wants to buy or obtain a long gun, what are the rules in reference to that?

So long guns are treated differently than handguns here in Pennsylvania. You can buy a long gun from a licensed dealer, an FFL, or you can do a face-to-face sale, or if somebody wants to give you one, they can go ahead and do that. These don’t need to go through a background check, provided you believe the person you’re transferring it to is not prohibited. So, I could meet you out back here in the parking lot and sell you a shotgun out of the back of my truck or an AR-15. Anything that’s a long gun. And as long as I don’t believe you’re prohibited, it’s perfectly lawful.

Is this what they call the gun show loophole?

It’s freely alienating your property, as the law says you have.

So with a long gun, a person could sell or give it to anyone they want as long as they believe that person is not prohibited from having that gun.

Correct.

Now, let’s talk about handguns, such as a nine-millimeter Glock. What are the rules in reference to how a person can obtain a handgun in Pennsylvania?

Those you can buy from an NFL, or you can have one gifted to you in a familial transaction. However, those are somewhat limited. It’s not your entire family. Think of it in a vertical fashion: grandparent to grandchild, parent to child. The only horizontal transfer would be from spouse to spouse.

And when they obtain that gun, a handgun, through a familial line, there’s no kind of forms or anything that needs to be filled out for that, right?

Correct. You could just give it to the person. However, if I had a handgun that you wanted, we would have to go to a dealer to transfer it.

So if you’re not in a family line, you either go to a place to buy a gun, or if I had a handgun I wanted to sell to you, we would have to go to a store, and you would have to fill out the form.

Correct.

And so, just back to the familial relationship real quick, you can’t do brother to brother, brother to sister, or anything like that. Uncle to nephew? No good.

Got it. Okay.

Well, thank you, Adam. This has been amazing. A lot of interesting information here to break down for the viewers. I think what you take from this, for the most part, is that in Pennsylvania, if you’re convicted of a misdemeanor in the first degree or higher, you’re not allowed to own firearms. Also, I think it’s important to understand how a person can go about legally purchasing a firearm, having to fill out those forms or different ways with a long gun, no form has to be filled out if a person believes the other person is not illegally obtaining that gun. And then there’s also some rules with handguns, mostly from family members down the line. Very interesting stuff. We’re going to post the contact information for Adam. He does very good work in reference to defending gun rights here in the United States, and he is part of that foundation. His contact information will be present there. He’s also written some good articles that I came across as I was able to find Adam. And we appreciate you being a guest here on Three Minute Lawyer. Thank you.

Head over to https://www.saf.org/ for more information about the Second Amendment Foundation.

https://www.facebook.com/SecondAmendmentFoundation/