BENSALEM, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A Pennsylvania lawmaker from Bucks County is introducing a bill that would require mandatory minimum prison sentences for anyone convicted of illegally carrying a gun.
“The impetus as part of this is, quite frankly, the rampant crime in Philadelphia,” said Republican State Rep. Frank Farry.
There are 30 crimes that, if convicted, bar someone from ever carrying a gun, said Farry.
“When we're talking about somebody that's been convicted of one of these violent offenses previously, and they're prohibited from carrying a firearm, that firearm is their tool to cause more harm.”
Under the proposed legislation, anyone who is caught with a handgun, after being convicted of a crime that bars them from legally possessing one, would face a mandatory 11-month sentence for a first offense, Farry said.
“If you're caught a second time, five years. You're caught a third time? Fifteen years.”
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Farry said he wants to make it toxic to carry a gun for anyone prohibited from having one.
“Statistically, you can see how violence and gun crimes go down when the perpetrators either fear going to jail or are already in jail, so they cannot commit further crimes.”
Farry announced the introduction of the bill in Bensalem with law enforcement, talking about crime from Philadelphia spilling across the border.
Bensalem Director of Public Safety William McVey calls the rise of gun seizures “alarming.”
“We've had a 62% increase, in the last two years, of illegal guns. You've heard people say we're not talking about legal gun ownership but illegal. And the main point here is they're felons. They need to be held accountable,” McVey said.
The bill would not affect any law-abiding gun owners, said Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub. But if it passes, it would send a clear threat of almost a year in jail to anyone thinking of carrying a gun when they’re not allowed to.
“If that wasn't deterrence enough, if you do it again, you're going to jail for a long time. And if you do it yet a third time, you're going to jail for a really long time,” Weintraub said.
Opponents of mandatory minimums say the one-size-fits-all approach is unfair and takes decision making out of the hands of judges.