Joined at a City Hall news conference by District Attorney Seth Williams and State Rep. Bryan Lentz (D., Delaware), Onorato said people who might not qualify for a gun permit in Pennsylvania often can get one by applying online to Florida.
As a result, he said, 3,100 Pennsylvanians hold Florida permits. The ease of getting a Florida permit, he said, often is promoted at gun shows.
In Pennsylvania, county sheriffs decide who can get a permit. Besides criminal history and mental health, sheriffs may consider applicants' character and moral fitness. This gives sheriffs leeway to block an unfit applicant, Onorato said.
In Philadelphia, the Police Department decides.
Kevin Harley, a spokesman for Corbett, said the Democrats were seeing a problem where there isn't one. The Florida law is more strict in some ways, he said.
"In Florida, you have to submit your fingerprints and pass a firearms-safety course," Harley said.
Onorato, the Allegheny County executive, was hitting Corbett in an area where Corbett has the stronger record, Harley said.
Noting Corbett's role in creating Philadelphia's Gun Violence Task Force, he said: "There is only one candidate in the race for governor who has done anything about gun violence."
Terence McElroy, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said Florida issues permits to nonresidents because so many people from cold climates spend winters there.
To get a permit, he said, you have to have a "felony-free record" and no record of misdemeanors related to violence, including domestic incidents.
Gun enthusiasts have complained that Philadelphia police look for ways to reject applicants, and that, as a result, some people choose to apply to Florida. But Lentz, prime sponsor of a bill in the state House to end the reciprocity, said Philadelphia approved 95 percent of applications last year.
Contact staff writer Tom Infield
at 610-313-8205 or tinfield@phillynews.com.
