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Nether Pennsylvania law, firearm dealers must provide a record of the sale of handguns and sure other firearms to the Firearms Division of the Pennsylvania State Police ("PSP"), which maintains a permanent database of handgun sales.1 Notwithstanding, this database does non constitute a registry of gun ownership, and PSP maintains no record of long gun sales.ii Pennsylvania police force specifically prevents any provision of its law from assuasive whatsoever government or law enforcement agency to create a registry of firearm ownership.3 State law also requires PSP to destroy whatever application or record of sale of a long gun within 72 hours of the background cheque.four

In Allegheny County Sportsmen's League v. Rendell, 860 A.2d 10 (Pa. 2004), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania interpreted these provisions to let PSP to maintain a database of the purchasers of handguns, simply not of long guns.five

In addition, Pennsylvania's law regarding domestic violence contains a like provision, stating that information technology does not allow whatsoever person or entity to create a registry of firearm ownership, although information may be retained to ensure compliance with these statutes and to document the return of firearms to persons no longer subject area to protective orders.6 Such data is not subject to public disclosure.

See the section entitled Retention of Sales / Background Bank check Records in Pennsylvania for further information nearly sales reporting requirements.

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  1. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6111(b).[↩]
  2. Allegheny County Sportsmen'southward League v. Rendell, 860 A.2d 10, sixteen (Pa. 2004).[↩]
  3. Pursuant to 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6111.4, "nothing in this chapter shall exist construed to allow whatever government or police enforcement agency or any amanuensis thereof to create, maintain or operate any registry of firearm ownership" within Pennsylvania. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6111(b)(1.ane)(v), relating to background checks for firearm transfers, provides that "no information on the application/record of auction provided pursuant to this subsection shall be retained every bit precluded by department 6111.4…by the Pennsylvania Land Police either through retention of the application/record of sale or by inbound the information onto a computer."[↩]
  4. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6111(b)(1.1)(5).[↩]
  5. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6111(b)(1.1)(five)'due south requirement that applications and records of sale of long guns exist destroyed within 72 hours does non use to applications and records of sale of handguns. Rendell, 860 A.second at 18. The database maintained by the PSP did not institute a registry of firearm ownership because information technology only contained applications and records of auction. Id. at 22.[↩]
  6. 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6108.iv states that zippo in 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §§ 6101-6122 (regarding domestic violence) shall be construed to allow any person or entity to create, maintain or operate a database or registry of firearm buying.[↩]