Is it easy or hard to
purchase and maintain possession of a firearm? The first question to ask is how
old must a PA citizen be to purchase a firearm? In the state of PA it is 18
years of age, with two exceptions. The first exception is if “The minor is
under the supervision of a parent, grandparent, legal guardian, or an adult
acting with the expressed consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian and
involved in lawful activity”(PFOA). The second exception
is if “The minor is lawfully involved in hunting or trapping activities”
(PFOA). So a minor could
possess a firearm under the age of 18 if they are involved in lawful hunting,
trap, or target shooting with a parent/guardian. However, these exceptions also
come with exceptions, because “any person who knowingly and intentionally
delivers or provides to the minor a firearm in violation of subsection (a)
commits a felony of the third degree” (PFOA). So overall, looking at PA laws on
minors possessing a firearm, one can find that it is fairly strict, however,
are the exceptions too empty in significance. How could police be knowledgeable
of what people are really doing with so called “hand and hunting guns”? Could
these guns really just be flooding the American streets with more weapons that
eventually get turned on police? I think we need to look at what we want for the future of America. Do we want our country to turn into the wild west? Or should we get a little more strict on laws that control the purchasing and owning firearms? There are many factors that need to be rieviewd when looking at whether or not it is too easy to buy a gun, I only discussed one factor but I believe we need to get more strict laws.
