A national blue wave will give Pennsylvania Democrats their greatest chance in more than 30 years of passing gun reform bills that have been languishing in the state Legislature.
[This story was originally published by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. Sign up for its newsletters here.]
Democrats won control of the state Senate and expanded their majority in the House in the November 3 elections. Governor Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, both Democrats, were also victorious, giving Democrats a governing trifecta for the first time since 1993. Meanwhile, Republicans lost their grip on the state Senate, which they have controlled for more than three decades.
State Democrats told The Trace in October that if they achieved a government trifecta, they would pursue gun reform measures that Republicans have long blocked. Those include bills to ban homemade, untraceable “ghost guns”; expand background checks to more types of gun purchases; create a red flag law to temporarily take guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others; and outlaw conversion devices, also known as switches, that enable handguns to fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute.
In their Tuesday night victory speeches, Shapiro and Davis spoke about public safety in general but did not mention specific bills. Shapiro said the voters had spoken, and they wanted the government to “invest in our kids, our cops, and our communities.”
“This is a major victory for public safety in Pennsylvania — a state that has experienced too much senseless gun violence.” — Gabby Giffords
“You want a government that reflects the basic desires we all share — good schools for our kids. Safe neighborhoods. A job that pays you for your hard work,” Shapiro told an audience in Cumberland County.
Davis, 37, the youngest lieutenant governor in state history, lauded the Shapiro administration for adding more than 2,000 new police officers across the state, reestablishing the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and investing millions of dollars in afterschool and community organizations that are helping to keep neighborhoods safe.
“I know my younger self would be proud of the work we’ve accomplished on gun violence prevention because it’s the issue that brought me into public service,” Davis said. He recounted that when he was 16 years old he saw a man get shot on the block where he lived in a steel town outside Pittsburgh.
“I remember thinking that nobody should have to live in a community where they don’t have the opportunity to be safe and feel safe,” he said. “It instilled in me something I carry with me every day: that the people closest to the pain should be the closest to the power.”
Since Shapiro and Davis were first elected in 2022, homicides in the state have fallen 39 percent, crimes involving firearms have declined 45 percent, and gun assaults have dropped 25 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System data.
Gun reform advocates hailed the Democrats’ victories and predicted that their control of state government would lead to the passage of long-sought legislation.
“I think the message from Pennsylvanians is, ‘We want legislators who make us safer and who improve the quality of our lives,’” said Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, a nonprofit that advocates stricter gun laws.
Former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, who survived being shot in the head in 2011 and now leads a gun violence prevention organization bearing her name, also celebrated Pennsylvania’s election results.
“This is a major victory for public safety in Pennsylvania — a state that has experienced too much senseless gun violence,” Giffords said in a statement. “With last night’s wins, where Democrats expanded their House gun safety majority and reestablished their Senate majority, Governor Shapiro will continue the critical work being done to save lives in the state and put public safety ahead of partisan politics.”
Val Finnell, Pennsylvania director of Gun Owners of America, said his nonprofit organization believes regulating guns is unconstitutional, and his members are ready to fight any future gun reform legislation.
“I’m already rallying the troops, getting gun owners ready to contact their legislators,” he told The Trace. “Our message to the Pennsylvania Legislature is: no gun control.”
Mensah M. Dean is a staff writer at The Trace. Previously he was a staff writer on the Justice & Injustice team at The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he focused on gun violence, corruption and wrongdoing in the public and private sectors for five years. Dean also covered criminal courts, public schools and city government for the Philadelphia Daily News, The Inquirer’s sister publication.
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