Of Course they are Touting PICS as a Model

Since getting off PICS is one of our legislative goals, Everytown has to push this notion that PICS is a model system. Anyone who’s ever gone to buy a gun in this state and been delayed because PICS was out to lunch would probably beg to differ. Of course, what they are touting as a model is Pennsylvania’s reporting procedures, which to me doesn’t matter one way or another if those records are being reported to PICS or NICS. It sounds like they are being reported to both. So why the redundancy? Why spend tax dollars on PICS when we could just use NICS and let the feds pay for it.

We know the answer: if we used PICS, it would throw a big wrench in the State Police’s illegal-legal registry. And we can’t have that now, can we?

8 thoughts on “Of Course they are Touting PICS as a Model”

  1. Exactly!
    I learned a lesson on law making when I got sold this bill of goods.
    If there is no punishment, then the SP can ignore the law.

  2. And what of the case of mistaken identity or any deny process which triggers a need to play phone-a-bureaucrat? Would you rather go through the PSP or the FBI?

    My two pet peeves of BCs in current form: the cost passed down that we must pay to exercise a constitutional right, and the paper trail which allows the ATF to storm into any FFL even if they are not actively investigating a crime.

    Which of these things would be alleviated by pushing the process to the feds? Ah, that’s right, NEITHER. And what makes you think the PSP form would go away just because we use a diffferent system anyway? All they do is just change a few field names on the form.

  3. I used to be supportive of PICS, but now I’ve come down on the side the NICS is fine. I don’t like either, but because of the PSP’s non-registry registry, I don’t like PICS.

  4. And then there’s Jersey’s current take on the whole mess. 3 to 6 month wait for FID card/handgun purchase permits, a call to the NJSP who will take all the info down & then they will call NICS. You also have to go through the whole background check for a *change of address* on the FID card. Just imagine what the guy who promised to raise taxes is going to do…

    1. Make you get a FPID to touch a firearm, expire the FPID on a schedule, and implement a “more strict AWB.” As a start.

      That was the impression I got, anyway. Which is why I held my nose in the voting booth and voted for Governor Christie’s minion.

  5. Getting an error that prevents you from buying a gun resolved with NICS can take years. That’s kind of a big deal, and one you don’t seem to acknowledge or be too concerned about.

    The solution to the PSP using PICS as an illegal gun registry is to make them stop using PICS as an illegal gun registry, not to subject us to the massive bureaucracy of the federal government to teach the PSP a lesson. That’s incredibly short-sighted, imho.

    1. Exactly. What makes anyone think the ROS would go away if PICS went away? The form fields would just change pretty much.

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