Pennsylvania gun owners have two major Second Amendment bills moving in Harrisburg, and anti-gun cities should be paying attention.
SB 357 would bring Constitutional Carry to Pennsylvania. SB 822 would put real enforcement behind statewide firearm preemption. One bill protects the right to carry without a government permission slip. The other puts financial consequences on local governments that keep trying to create illegal gun-control traps.
If SB 357 becomes law, Pennsylvania would become the 30th Constitutional Carry state, confirming what gun owners already know: permitless carry is not an outlier. It is the normal rule across most of America.
Pennsylvania Gun Rights, the state affiliate of the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), is now urging gun owners to contact key senators and push for SB 357 to pass the full Senate “with no anti-gun amendments.” Their action alert notes that Pennsylvania has fallen behind the 29 states that already have Constitutional Carry laws on the books and says Republicans need to hear from gun owners as the bill moves forward.
Shall Not Be Questioned
The PA Constitution says the right to bear arms “shall not be questioned.”
Why hasn’t PA joined 29 states in passing Constitutional Carry?
Republicans in the State Senate are on the verge of passing it!
Make your voice heard NOW
— Pennsylvania Gun Rights (@PennGunRights) May 8, 2026
SB 357: Constitutional Carry Moves To The Full Senate
SB 357, sponsored by Sen. Cris Dush, was reported out of the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee on May 6, 2026, by a 9–5 vote and received first consideration the same day. The bill has not passed the full Senate yet, which is why gun-rights groups are turning up the pressure now.
The bill does more than clean up licensing language. It repeals provisions related to carrying firearms without a license and creates a new section titled “License not required.”
The heart of SB 357 is straightforward: a person in Pennsylvania who is not prohibited from possessing firearms under state or federal law would have an “affirmative, fundamental and constitutional right” to keep and bear firearms, including carrying openly or concealed, loaded or unloaded, without a Pennsylvania carry license. The bill also makes the License to Carry Firearms optional rather than mandatory.
That is how a constitutional right should be treated. A right does not become real only after a citizen pays a fee, fills out paperwork, and waits for government approval.
SB 357 also repeals Pennsylvania’s special Philadelphia carry restriction. Current law treats Philadelphia differently by restricting carry on public streets or public property unless the person is licensed or exempt. SB 357 would remove that city-specific trap and bring Philadelphia back under the same carry standard as the rest of the Commonwealth.
That change alone makes the bill worth fighting for. Gun owners should not become criminals because they crossed an invisible municipal line.
No Anti-Gun Amendments
The warning from Pennsylvania Gun Rights is the right one: pass SB 357 clean.
Gun-control lawmakers love amendments. They use them to turn strong bills into weak bills, delay bills until the clock runs out, or load them with new restrictions that defeat the purpose of the reform.
A Constitutional Carry bill should not become a vehicle for training mandates, new disqualifiers, expanded “sensitive place” restrictions, local carve-outs, or any other poison pill dressed up as a compromise.
Pennsylvania does not need watered-down carry reform. It needs real Constitutional Carry.
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SB 822: Preemption With Force Moves To The House
SB 822, sponsored by Sen. Wayne Langerholc, is the other half of this fight. The bill passed the Pennsylvania Senate on May 6, 2026, by a 30–20 vote and was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on May 7.
Pennsylvania already has firearm preemption, but preemption without enforcement invites abuse. Anti-gun local officials can pass illegal ordinances, force gun owners to fight them in court, and then use taxpayer money to defend laws they had no authority to pass in the first place.
SB 822 would change the calculation.
The bill declares that the General Assembly occupies the entire field of firearm regulation in Pennsylvania, including firearms, ammunition, magazines, accessories, firearm components, ammunition components, purchase, sale, transfer, taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, use, discharge, transportation, and loss-or-theft reporting. Conflicting local ordinances, rules, practices, or enforcement actions would be preempted and declared null and void.
The enforcement section is where SB 822 gets its teeth. A person harmed by an illegal local gun ordinance or enforcement action could seek declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and actual damages. If the challenger gives 60 days’ notice and wins, or if the local government repeals the challenged rule after suit is filed, the court must award reasonable expenses.
The bill also protects gun owners dragged into court under illegal local gun laws. If a defendant successfully raises preemption and the case is withdrawn, dismissed, nolle prossed, or ends in acquittal on that basis, the court must award reasonable expenses payable by the county, municipality, or township.
Those reasonable expenses include attorney fees, expert witness fees, court costs, and compensation for lost income. The bill also recognizes membership organizations whose members include affected gun owners, giving pro-gun groups a clearer path to sue when local governments violate state preemption.
That is exactly what preemption needs. A law without enforcement is an invitation for Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other anti-gun local governments to keep testing the line.
Two Bills, One Fight
SB 357 and SB 822 are different bills, but they belong in the same conversation.
- SB 357 says law-abiding Pennsylvanians should not need a government permission slip to carry a firearm for self-defense.
- SB 822 says local politicians should not be able to violate state firearm law and make gun owners pay the legal bill.
Pennsylvania gun owners need both.
Constitutional Carry protects the individual right to bear arms. Strong preemption protects that right from being chopped into pieces by city councils and local bureaucrats.
Without SB 357, Pennsylvania remains stuck behind the growing number of states that recognize permitless carry. Without SB 822, local governments, such as Philadelphia, can continue ignoring preemption and restricting constitutional rights.
The bills are not finished. SB 357 needs action from the full Senate. SB 822 has passed the Senate but now has to move through the House. Gun owners should not assume either bill is safe until it is signed into law.
The good news is that the fight is moving. Pennsylvania gun owners have a chance to push carry freedom forward and force local governments to obey state law.
About Duncan Johnson:
Duncan Johnson is a lifelong firearms enthusiast and unwavering defender of the Second Amendment—where “shall not be infringed” means exactly what it says. A graduate of George Mason University, he enjoys competing in local USPSA and multi-gun competitions whenever he’s not covering the latest in gun rights and firearm policy. Duncan is a regular contributor to AmmoLand News and serves as part of the editorial team responsible for AmmoLand’s daily gun-rights reporting and industry coverage.
