PA Lawmaker Proposing 3-Day Waiting Period For Firearms Transactions

HARRISBURG, PA — A state lawmaker is proposing a 72-hour waiting period for all firearm transactions in the Pennsylvania.

Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, a Delaware Democrat, plans to introduce legislation that would mandate the 3-day period before any weapon is transferred. Currently, no waiting period exists in Pennsylvania; 10 state and the District of Columbia have them.

Cappelletti noted that firearm violence kills about 40,000 Americans, including 1,600 Pennsylvanians, each year through mass shootings, suicides, urban firearm violence, family shootings, and police shootings.

She contends the waiting period would not only reduce violent crime, it could sharply reduce suicide rates across the state. In a recent memo to colleagues, she noted that 60 percent of firearms deaths are suicides.

"Many studies suggest that most suicide survivors contemplated their actions for only a brief
period of time—often less than 24 hours—before making a suicide attempt," she noted. "Reducing a suicidal person’s access to highly lethal means is an important part of a
comprehensive approach to suicide prevention."

Waiting periods are supported by the American Medical Association, the National PTA, a majority of Americans, and a majority of firearms owners, Cappelletti stated. The Giffords Law Center calls waiting periods for the possession of firearms “a commonsense way to prevent impulsive, volatile acts of gun violence.”