Applications for Licenses to Carry a Firearm up 600% in Philadelphia

This is both remarkable but not really surprising.

https://crimeresearch.org/2022/03/concealed-handgun-permit-applications-soar-in-philadelphia-up-600-from-recent-years/

As of 11:59 last night, Philadelphia is up to 115 homicides for 2022 with no signs of the violence slowing down.

We live about 5 miles outside Philadelphia and my wife often has the local Fox affiliate on before work, and every day there is a report about an armed robbery and/or shootings. On Friday morning, the story was about a hold up at a Dollar General at 9th & Girard, which ended with the store manger killing the perp with a head shot. The reporter mentioned that law abiding citizens are applying for LTCF in droves and I thought the tone was actually pretty positive.

Some notes about PA firearms laws, which are generally pretty good:

Pennsylvania has a robust gun culture.

Article 1, Section 21 of the PA Constitution reads, “The right of the people to bear arms in defense of themselves and the state shall not be questioned.”

In PA, a carry permit is called a "License to Carry a Firearm." It applies to handguns and “firearms,” which under state statute includes short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, and AOWs. It does not apply to knives, not does PA have a preemption law for knives and switchblades are illegal statewide.

PA has a strong preemption law that prevents local municipalities from enacting more restrictive laws than the commonwealth. Sometimes Philadelphia or Pittsburgh tries to do so and gets slapped down by the Supreme Court of PA.

Pennsylvania is a shall-issue state with applications and renewals handled by each county’s sheriff’s department. Note that in PA, the sheriffs otherwise basically provide courthouse security and prisoner transport, they are not involved with day-to-day law enforcement. That’s handled by local PDs or the PA State Police.

The state gives the sheriffs a fair amount of leeway in how they handle applications and renewals. For example, in Philly it’s my understanding they almost always call the character references provided by the applicant. In contrast, I live in Montgomery County, which borders Philly to the northwest. I’ve had a LTCF since the early 90s, renewed several times (they are good for 5 years), and never had a reference called. Regardless of the county, applicants do go through a background check administered by the State Police (the PA Insta-Check System), which is also used when you buy a gun from an FFL. PA doesn’t use NICS.

There are no training or qualification requirements for issuance of a LTCF. If you are legal to possess a firearm, you are legal to carry it once you have a LTCF. 

There are no restrictions in PA on “assault weapons,” magazine capacity, ownership of body armor, or possession of night vision gear.

Most of the state is Title II friendly. I.e., silencers, MGs, SBRs, SBSes. Large bore Destructive Devices are legal in PA (i.e., you can have a 20mm cannon) but explosive DDs are not.