LOWER PAXTON, TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) -- The latest data from Pennsylvania State Police shows a decline in background checks for firearms.
The number of denials is down too, but the number of denials referred to law enforcement is up. That usually means someone lied to try to buy a gun.
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State Police data shows in the second quarter of 2022 there were 295,003 background checks run.
That's 39,105 less than than the second quarter of 2021.
But denials referred to law enforcement were up about 23%.
| Second Quarter PICS Statistics | 2021 | 2022 |
| Total number of PICS checks conducted | 334,108 | 295,003 |
| Persons denied | 6,548 | 4,973 |
| Total denials referred to law enforcement agencies | 1,286 | 1,592 |
| Referred to Pennsylvania State Police | 293 | 399 |
| Referred to local law enforcement | 962 | 1,114 |
| Referred to ATF | 31 | 79 |
| Arrests for a warrant at point of purchase | 37 | 16 |
"The people that are generally referred to law enforcement willfully lied on the background check," said Kurt Green, manager of Staudt's Gun Shop They willfully said, 'I've never been arrested.' Well you were. 'I never served time in jail.' Well, you did. 'I've never been arrested for domestic violence.' Well you were."
Green says police are cracking down.
"These laws have always been on the books but as of recent times, they're being much more closely enforced, much more strongly enforced. And ultimately, that is leading to an uptick in them being referred to law enforcement," Green said.
Regular denials can be simple mistakes from people not filling out the forms correctly.
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"The wording on the forums is not that straightforward. It can be confusing and because of that people get denied inadvertently," Green said. "Those are the denials that you're going to see not being referred to law enforcement."
Greens says they see less than a dozen denials a year. And their sales are actually up this summer.
"I definitely see an uptick in people buying modern sporting rifles. I definitely see an uptick in people buying personal defensive weapons, handguns, shotguns, really, everything is up. I have not seen an uptick in hunting equipment," Green said.
That's because people are afraid politicians will restrict the sale of them after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas in May.
"It isn't the actual act or the violent act per se that makes you go out and want to buy a gun. It's that a politician goes on television and says they want to take guns away. That's what drives the sale," Green said.
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