Here are some ways New Jersey and other states try to thwart illegal gun sales that Pa. could try

In response to record-setting gun violence, the city of Philadelphia created a new police unit for investigating shootings, expanded curfews for juveniles, installed security cameras at recreation centers, and funneled millions in funding for community anti-violence programs.

But its efforts to enact stricter gun laws have not gained majority legislative support in Harrisburg or survived challenges in state courts. So far.

» READ MORE: Philly has a gun problem. Straw buying makes it worse.

Last month, for the first time in years, four gun safety bills advanced toward a vote in Pennsylvania’s state House of Representatives, where Democrats control the House for the first time in decades. Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Philadelphia Democrat, called his party’s effort a “key step to end the reckless flow of weapons on our streets.” It’s unclear whether any of the bills has a chance of passing in the Republican-controlled state Senate, which historically has opposed gun control proposals.

Giffords.org, a national gun control group, gave Pennsylvania a “B-” and ranked it 15th for public safety gun laws in its 2022 report card. Neighboring New Jersey ranked second and New York fourth. In Pennsylvania, people died from gunfire at a rate of 14.8 per 100,000 residents, nearly three times the rate in New Jersey (5.2) and New York (5.4).

Law enforcement officials and gun safety advocates say regulations in place elsewhere could be put in place in Pennsylvania to reduce the risk of gun violence and safeguard citizens. Here are some of them:

Unlike New Jersey and other states, Pennsylvania does not limit how many handguns, rifles, or shotguns a person can buy at one time.

For decades, Philadelphia officials have sought a local law to slow the pace of gun buying inside city limits. In 2008, City Council enacted a short-lived law limiting individual sales to one handgun a month, which, among other actions, could have curtailed straw buyers, who illegally purchase firearms for people who cannot pass a background check. The National Rifle Association successfully sued to overturn it.

Supporters of such limits note that studies have shown that although multi-gun sales are only a fraction of all sales, they account for as many as one-quarter of guns recovered at crime scenes. In addition, bulk-purchased guns have been linked to as many as two-thirds of crimes.

Last year, a panel of judges rejected a lawsuit brought by Philadelphia, CeaseFire PA, and other plaintiffs to enact tougher city gun regulations. The panel ruled to uphold the state’s “preemption” law. That legal concept prevents local governments from making regulations — in this case, about firearms and ammunition — that are stricter than federal or state laws. Loosening the preemption restriction about city gun regulations would require a state law that would survive a challenge to the state Supreme Court, according to legal experts.

New Jersey is one of four states that in some way limit gun sales to one a month. (Exceptions include purchases by law enforcement, gun dealers, and antique-weapon collectors.) Further, New Jersey laws do not prohibit local municipalities from passing stricter regulations on firearm sales.

While federal law requires a dealer to notify the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of sales of two or more weapons at a time within five business days, it doesn’t limit the numbers of guns that can be purchased. To avoid attention, straw buyers often spread their purchases across different gun shops, sometimes on the same day.

Unlike New Jersey, Delaware, and New York, Pennsylvania does not require gun owners to report missing or stolen guns, leaving unknown the number of weapons currently held by someone other than their owner. ATF data show that guns used in crimes can illegally trade hands many times and for years before law enforcement learns that they were lost or stolen.

Sixteen states have laws mandating such reporting. New Jersey gun owners have a duty to inform law enforcement within 36 hours of learning their firearms are missing or face a fine. A similar law in New York calls for a misdemeanor violation if missing guns are not reported after 24 hours. Delaware imposes a fine for gun owners who fail to report missing weapons after seven days.

Philadelphia has tried to pass a similar law. Its latest attempt was overturned in February 2022, when a Commonwealth Court panel ruled that the ordinance was a violation of the state’s Uniform Firearms Act.

A mandatory reporting law could potentially trip up straw buyers who may not report guns as stolen or missing until law enforcement questions how their firearms ended up linked to a crime. Court records show that agents with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Gun Violence Task Force have uncovered straw-purchasing rings after stories of missing guns were contradicted by evidence.

In other cases, straw buyers have reported weapons stolen almost immediately after purchase. Though filing a false report is illegal in the state, straw buyers have used this tactic, police say, to create a false alibi in case the firearm turns up at a crime scene, or in the possession of an ineligible person.

Finding guns in the wrong hands is an increasing city problem. Since 2020, Philadelphia police have made more than 2,800 arrests of people carrying a gun who were prohibited due to a previous conviction.

One of the bills voted out of a state House committee April 26 would require gun owners to report a firearm lost or stolen to police within three days.

Under state law, gun shops have to submit paperwork to state police recording each sale, including the buyer’s name. But they are not required to notify authorities about suspicious buyers — and the decision about what constitutes suspicious behavior is generally left up to an employee’s discretion.

Law enforcement officials say they often receive helpful tips from gun shops. Still, it is not possible to know how many straw buyers were able to evade such suspicion.

A 2022 report by the gun control group Brady analyzed recent traces by law enforcement and found the majority of statewide crime guns came from a handful of gun shops. Just 1% of the in-state dealers were responsible for half of the recovered crime guns.

Although gun dealers in Pennsylvania are required to submit records of sale to the Pennsylvania State Police, only about half are submitted electronically, authorities estimate. The rest are submitted on paper, which creates a lag between the date of sale and the time when police are able to record it in the state’s electronically searchable system.

Following the 2019 launch of Track + Trace, a program led by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office to help law enforcement agencies share information on crime guns, electronic sale records increased. The AG’s office said one year after the program was launched that about half of the 15 largest gun dealers were filing their sales electronically, up from three.

Still, Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, a gun safety advocacy group, said state lawmakers could further support digitizing all sale records that gun shop employees submit to state police. This effort would help eliminate the state police’s paper backlog, giving law enforcement more up-to-date information about gun buyers making frequent or bulk purchases.

“What we want to do is encourage more careful consideration of who’s buying guns,” Garber said.