Friend,

Pennsylvania Senators are gunning to turn the Keystone State into the Wild West. 

Yesterday, the Judiciary Committee passed a bill to allow people to carry concealed, loaded firearms without a permit.  Someone at the grocery store, movie theater, or workplace could be hiding a gun without going through extensive background checks and character evaluations by law enforcement to ensure public safety. [1]

States that have enacted similar laws have seen handgun homicide rates increase 11%.

Tell the PA Senate: “Permitless concealed carry puts my safety at risk. Vote no on Senate Bill 565.” [2]

Take it from Lancaster Police Chief Bey who wrote in the Lancaster New Era that permitless concealed carry "would be harmful to public safety and my officers. If you stand with law enforcement or want safer communities, the only answer is to reject this dangerous, misguided bill.” [3]

He isn’t alone. Police chiefs and district attorneys from across the Commonwealth recognize the danger of secretly armed cowboys. Arizona experienced a 44% increase in aggravated assaults committed with a firearm in the six years after enacting permitless carry in 2010. 

It’d also endanger the public. Law enforcement would be more likely to assume every person in a traffic stop or public altercation could be carrying a firearm without the safeguard the extensive background check imparts.

Pennsylvania can’t afford to play cowboy when the lives of our children, responsible firearm owners, and law enforcement are on the line. Tell your senator to vote NO on SB 656.

Sincerely,
Adam Garber
CeaseFire Pennsylvania

[1] Senate Bill 565, Pennsylvania Senate
[2] "Easiness of Legal Access to Concealed Firearm Permits and Homicide Rates in the United States", American Public Health Association, August 1, 2017.

[3] "Interim chief of police: Don’t allow permitless concealed carry in Pennsylvania," LNP, June 4, 2021.