Pennsylvania has a history of being fairly pro-gun despite the presence of both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It’s a swing state that has managed to keep the worst gun control abuses away.

But as of right now, there’s a strong Democratic lean to the state. The governor is a Democrat and the House is controlled by the Democrats.

And they want the Republican-controlled Senate to do specific things.

In this case, they want them to basically be a rubber stamp for their gun control desires.

A Pennsylvania House panel is expected to consider bills intended to prevent children and teens from accessing firearms as advocates for stricter gun laws call on the state Senate to take up legislation.

The state House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider a bill Tuesday that would require the secure storage of firearms in homes with children and another bill that would create penalties for guardians and parents who allow a minor to possess or use a firearm. The latter legislation would apply only in cases where the minor has previously been convicted of a crime or is known to be at risk of committing violence.

After more than a decade out of power, Democrats took control of the lower chamber this year with a one-vote majority. Since then, the caucus — with some GOP support — has advanced a handful of bills to tighten the state’s gun laws.

One would require long gun sales to entail background checks, which current state law mandates only for handguns. Another would allow law enforcement or family to petition a judge to temporarily take away an individual’s firearms if it appears that person may harm themselves or others.

The article goes on to note that the Senate hasn’t taken up these bills and likely won’t, either.

That’s good news.

Maybe I’m wrong here, but I haven’t seen any evidence that long guns are being bought and sold in such a way that puts them in criminal hands that would actually be prevented by universal background checks on them. Bad guys may buy in face-to-face transfers where they can, but that’s not going to stop them if those suddenly went away.

They know too many people who steal guns or just sell them illegally for that to stop them.

Red flag laws are something we’ve talked a lot about, but so far I haven’t seen any real evidence that they work. The only evidence we get is how often they’re used, but since we don’t know if guns are actually taken from dangerous people or not, it’s impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of such laws.

My guess is that gun control advocates prefer it that way. If there’s no evidence they work then there’s no evidence that they don’t work, which means all the discussion revolves around feelings and emotions, not cold, hard facts.

So good on the Senate to not fall into the trap or to become the Democrats rubber stamp, all so they can call the effort “bipartisan.”

Thanks for keeping Pennsylvania from being stupid and backing gun control.