Universal Background Check Bill passes House
Rep. Perry Warren October 1, 2025 | 12:37 PM
HARRISBURG, Sep. 30 – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed the Universal Background Check bill by a vote of 104-99. The bill was introduced by state Rep. Perry Warren (D-31) and would eliminate the existing exemption from background checks for the private sale of long guns.
“House Bill 1593 will make background checks consistent, comprehensive, and effective,” Warren said.
Under current Pennsylvania law, background checks are required for most handgun purchases
and for sales through licensed dealers — but long guns, including rifles and shotguns, can still be
sold without a background check in private transactions. Warren’s legislation would close that loophole by requiring background checks for all firearm sales, regardless of barrel length or sellertype, including at gun shows, online, and between private parties.
“Pennsylvania has been averaging 1,600 firearm deaths a year, and most of the high profile mass shootings in Pennsylvania and nationally have been committed with long guns. There is no rational reason for the long gun loophole to continue, and this bill will deter and hopefully prevent acts of gun violence.”
The Universal Background Check bill passed the House with bipartisan support and now moves to the Pennsylvania Senate for consideration. Three other firearm regulation bills introduced by House Democrats, the Extreme Risk Protection Order ("red flag") bill, the untraceable gun bill and the bill to ban machine gun conversion devices, fell short, with all House Republican members voting no. House Democrats have filed motions for reconsideration of those bills.
“Studies show that background checks save lives — they reduce both gun homicides and suicides by deterring and preventing persons who would due harm from obtaining firearms in the first place,” Warren said.
In 2024, Pennsylvania State Police conducted over 1.2 million background checks, yet long guns remain the loophole exploited in many tragic shootings, including the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“Requiring a background check on all gun purchases, reduced gun trafficking and keep firearms
away from people with histories of violence. Most take less than a minute and save Pennsylvanians from a lifetime of pain,” CeaseFire PA Executive Director Adam Garber said. “We
applaud Rep Warren and the PA House for taking this common sense approach to firearms purchases - one that many already believe was law, and nearly all voters support.”
HB 1593 now heads to the Senate for further consideration.
Warren represents the 31st Legislative District in Bucks County, comprised of Lower Makefield, Newtown Borough, Newtown Township, Upper Makefield and Yardley.