The Pennsylvania House of Representatives advanced a bill (HB 777) that would ban homemade firearms to the Commonwealth’s Senate, where it will face a tough battle to pass in the Republican control chamber.
The bill will ban Pennsylvanians from owning, transferring, or making homemade guns without serial numbers. It will also prohibit 3D-printed firearms and modular frames with serial numbers. Anti-gun politicians refer to these firearms as “ghost guns” and blame them for the rise in crime in cities like Philadelphia.
All but one Democrat, Frank Burns (D-72), voted to pass the bill. Three Republicans crossed the aisle to join their left-leaning colleagues in voting for the bill. Ultimately, the bill was passed with a vote of 104-97. Democrats hold a slight margin of 102 to 100. The Republicans who voted for the bill were KC Tomlinson (R-18), Martina White (R-170), and Joe Hogan (R-142).
Their votes drew the ire of many gun rights advocates and gun rights groups. This anti-gun vote isn’t the first time that two of the three voted for anti-gun bills. Hogan and Tomlinson have previously voted for red flag laws and universal background checks. Gun Owners of America (GOA), which has a significant presence in Harrisburg, downgraded its rankings for the Republicans to an “F.”
While most derided the Republicans for voting for constitutionally dubious anti-gun laws, one Pennsylvania state-level gun group has started running cover for the three Republicans, which has upset many in the gun community.
Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC) sent out an email stating that the three Republicans didn’t have a choice other than voting for the bills. They claimed that the three would have lost their seats in the House if they voted against gun control.
“I would encourage members to realize that Republicans who voted in favor of this bill did so knowing they would lose their seats if they did not, not because they wanted to,” the email read. “I would encourage members to understand that even with those three Republicans voting against this bill, it would have passed 101 to 100, even with Democrat Frank Burns voting against the bill. Understand these Republicans know this bill will NOT become law because their fellow Republicans in the Senate will kill it promptly. Understand the ONLY reason the Democrats ran this bill was to make these Republicans either vote this way and get attacked by 2A groups, which has already started, or vote our way and get attacked by their local voters over a vote they could not win. Try to remember those Republicans are in heavy Democrat districts and we need them to stay in their seats to regain the House and stop this nonsense.”
FOAC has a mixed track record on homemade firearms. FOAC’s late President Kim Stofer was instrumental in getting JSD Supply banned from Eagle Arms Gun Shows for selling Polymer80 kits. The deal was brokered with the gun show owner, Amen Brown, then-Attorney General and now Governor Josh Shapiro. Mr. Stofer told this reporter that he wanted a paper trail for “ghost guns.” JSD Supply’s owner, Jordan Vinroe, would end up buying the gun shows and return to selling kits.
FOAC did fight against this bill, but the pressure wasn’t enough to stop it from passing the House. AmmoLand News asked current FOAC President Jim Stoker to comment on the bill passing to the Senate. Mr. Stoker believes it is more critical to protect Republicans who backed the bill than to hold their feet to the fire for their bad votes.
“FOAC Institute is non-partisan. We are neither pro-Democrat nor pro-Republican; we are pro-gun,” Stoker said in a state released to AmmoLand News. “Right now, the pro-gun legislators in this Commonwealth’s House consist of Republicans and only ONE Democrat. Our strategy moving forward is to attack specific anti-gun politicians in Democrat controlled districts where we can replace with pro-gun legislators and return control of the House to the pro-gun party in Pennsylvania. The result would be maintaining existing Republican seats and gaining two or three seats back from the Democrats who benefitted from the Democrat controlled courts handing them control of the House in 2022.”
The bill will now head to the Senate. It faces an uphill battle if the Republicans hold the line. Governor Josh Shapiro will sign it into law if it does pass the Senate.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. Mr. Crump has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
They can ban them but they can’t stop people from making them.
Yes, just like all of the millions of other laws against things that may or may not cause harm to others, so what then is the point of writing and passing these laws, except to persecute people with them? And the persecutions come to us via the completely corrupted legal system which has ZERO legitimate power or authority over any man or woman!
No Iaw has EVER stopped anything. Especially not murder. Murder stiII happens, every day. Laws onIy exist to punish after-the-fact. Draconian Iaws exist to punish pre-crime, for what was once normal. They are used for control of the opposition, NOT for anyone’s safety or weII being.
All who voted for it are traitors to their oath of office and the Constitution. They must be removed. We made our own firearms and other weapons long before the country existed and will continue to do so long after it inevitably falls. It’s a God-given right to defend oneself from any who would seek to take your life, liberty or property, including the government, as one of the founders wisely noted. We will never comply with their authoritarian Bs efforts at control.
Yeah, I just know for sure that “we” aren’t complying. Well except with those other 1000’s of infringements.
Democrats want to ban home made firearms, then sue US gun manufacturers into oblivion. What’s next, banning importation of firearms?
anti rights folks already put bad restrictions in place on importing firearms. Look at the GCA of 1968 for starters. Look at various sanctions banning imports from Russia and other countries.
The nefarious anti rights folks fight on every front they can think of to infringe upon our civil rights
Civil rights and unalienable rights are not the same.
You are right, CL! What we need to do to resolve this, is get a groundswell of people who are educated about the criminality of the legal system, and just refuse to let it force us into compliance with it! CourtVictim.com will soon be hosting all of my papers, and we need to get that known to as many men and women as possible!
One manuever to FIGHT these ILLEGAL PROSECUTIONS is called; NULLIFICATION. This maneuver lies with the Jurors. When a person is being PUNISHED for LIVING within their Constitutional RIGHT, the Jurors must vote that person INNOCENT and NOT GUILTY! Just do not let the PROSECUTING LAWYERS or JUDGE know about this RIGHTEOUS MANEUVER!
Juror nullification is taught in most law schools.
It’s not a civil “right”, but one which we are born with. Civil “rights” are mere privileges that can be revoked at any time for any reason, and that is done via the 100% criminal legal system!
Please STOP with the use of the fictitious word of art firearm, and go back to using gun instead! Get your terms straight firstly, and THEN you can have a rational and intelligent conversation on any topic!
And how many here have gone to the CourtVictim.com web site and read what is on it? They are now hosting 23 of my papers and it will soon be 43!
Randy
The main battery on my dad’s WWII Coast Guard Cutter were 3″ 50 caliber guns. That’s a 3″ barrel 150″ in length. They were guns, but not exactly firearms LOL. And those were a bit on the small side. Krupp made their K5 guns that traveled as part of a train. One capsized a Soviet destroyer in the harbor of Sevastopol (gee, that name sounds familiar) with a near miss. Another was nicknamed “Anzio Annie” by our GIs in Italy that were on the receiving end for a while. Again, definitely guns but not exactly firearms. A bit farther up… Read more »
AREADY BANNING MOST IMPORTS!!
My fondest desire, is for everybody to just stop kowtowing to the political elites and stop kissing their asses!! Since when do we have to obey the whims and dictates of known criminals and traitors?? Time after time I have demonstrated with facts and air tight logic that NO ONE owes any kind of allegiance to tyrants who want most of us dead, and yet nearly everybody is still too afraid to stand up for what they claim to believe in! No one yet has been able to find even just one flaw of any kind in what I say… Read more »
the anti rights folks do not deserve to be rehired to their offices at election time. Fire them as soon as possible
I was thinking of a more permanent solution!
The state proves that STUPID is as STUPID does!
Yep, it’s those home built guns that have caused the rise in crime in places like Philadelphia. Not the gang bangers using guns. It dem guns my man! dey be doin da bad stuff! What is it about politicians as a whole? Are they born with no brains or do they just sort of ooze out over their lives so that when they get in the position of head parasites they have no reason, logic or common sense left? Seriously..WHAT IS IT WITH THESE MORONS?
They come out of the womb with mental defects and deficiencies, and then as they grow up, they begin to act the way they think! ONLY a psychopath wants to get into a job (politics) where they can cause grave harms to others! The FF totally blew their dreams when they decided on using politics to staff government jobs! Often I ask myself, “How could they have been so damn stupid and short sighted to not see this coming, and allow all of it to happen?” They KNEW that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, so why did they… Read more »
Oh, and as for FOAC, it is dead. FOAC used to = Kim Stolfer. They have done a lot of good legal challenges and a lot of good lobbying in the past. Then Kim lost his damn mind around 2018 or so, and FOAC lost it’s mind with him. It does not appear to have recovered since his death. Those republicans who voted for this bill should have stood up for what is right, and for the rights of their constituents. If that cost them their seats, so be it. If they vote against us to maintain their seats now,… Read more »
ANYONE, whether “D” or “R” who votes AGAINST Our American CONSTITUTION — MUST BE REMOVED with NEVER holding another Public Office of ANY KIND!!!!
“I would encourage members to realize that Republicans who voted in favor of this bill did so knowing they would lose their seats if they did not, not because they wanted to…” Are you, like me, so done hearing about “incumbents” fearing the loss of their positions of power so they vote to betray us? How about Republicans acting upon their OATHS TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION? Service in Congress and State Legislatures should NOT be a full time, life-long career. It’s our fault because we continue to put up candidates who have no spine, no principles, and no courage. We… Read more »
We will not comply. Molon labe.
Oh boy, if this passes no more 80% lowers at Eagle Shows in the state…
And just WHO gets to determine where that 80% line is located and can do it with 100% accuracy?? WHY is 80% some kind of magic number that we are to revere and pay attention to? Who was it that came up with that garbage? Does anybody have only 80% right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness? Do we have only 80% of our Right to free speech?
“I would encourage members to realize that Republicans who voted in favor of this bill did so knowing they would lose their seats if they did not“
Fטck the 3 Republicans and fטck the FOAC.
Any law is Anti 2A.
Put the fטcking criminals in prison for committing crimes.
That will solve the gun violence issue.
Unconstitutional laws passed by tyrants are to be ignored just like they ignore our rights .
IMOA, the simple solution and work around would be to put your own unique serial number on the frame. Should the feds make an unscheduled house call hoping to find illegal firearms, none of the frames would be considered illegal due to the unique serial number on the frame.
The number needs to be given to you from the DOJ when you go to register it. Just putting a number on it is not good enough. If they don’t recognize it, it is as good as not having a number on there which is what I would do because it is not required on a home made gun until you go to sell it.
I found this info for privately made firearms, but you’d have to check your states laws to see if they’ve added more restrictions concerning SN. I’m not sure it would work with today’s courts, but I’d have to question the court for an answer is or isn’t there a SN on the gun?
Privately Made Firearms | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (atf.gov)
Hi. Thanks for the research. We have a group that fights for our 2nd amendment rights here. It’s called OFF Oregon Firearms Federation. This is a snippet that I received via email today. It was talking about measure 114 previous to this. House Republicans have done nothing to “stop this measure” and are powerless to do anything about it. But the steps they could have taken to protect gun owners, at no risk to their precious political futures, were never taken. Let’s not forget the disgraceful bait and switch they pulled in the 2023 session when they helped pass HB 2005 by providing the quorum… Read more »
You can’t stop what you can’t see.
A little more careful editing, please: “Ban On Home Firearms.” Some of our readers might stroke out after reading the title of this article. Just sayin’….
Stolfer (not Stofer) sounded like a Fudd. Good riddance.