Harrisburg Just Fell to an Anti-Gun Trifecta: The Bad News and What is in Store for PA Gun Owners

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Pennsylvania gun owners are facing an unprecedented crisis in Harrisburg.

Following yesterday’s general election, anti-gun Democrats have secured a complete trifecta in state government. They have retained the Governor’s mansion, expanded their grip on the state House, and—by the razor-thinnest of margins—taken control of the state Senate.

When the new legislative session convenes this January, gun control will not just be on the agenda—it will be at the very front of the line.

Here is where the battlefield stands right now:

• The State House: Anti-gun Democrats flipped nine seats, considerably expanding their majority to a commanding 111–92 margin.
• The State Senate: In a heartbreaking turn of events, gun owners lost four Senate seats to anti-gun forces. That includes two staunch, GOA-endorsed champions: Sen. Jarrett Coleman (SD-16) and Sen. Tracy Pennycuick (SD-24). Democrats now hold a one-seat majority in the Senate, 26–24.

With the PA Senate firewall now broken, the Senate will no longer serve as a backstop against the radical gun control coming out of the House.

The Bright Spots: Two Huge Flips for Gun Owners

Despite these heavy headwinds, freedom-loving Pennsylvanians fought tooth and nail in key races and delivered major victories for two GOA-endorsed candidates:

• In House District 12, Scott Timko redeemed his previous special election loss and successfully flipped the seat, sending a true champion to Harrisburg!
• In Senate District 36, Tom Jones defeated anti-gun Democrat James Malone, flipping the district and proving that grassroots gun owners can win tough fights when we rally together.

We congratulate both Scott Timko and Tom Jones for their hard-fought, courageous campaigns. We will need their no-compromise leadership more than ever.

In addition to these crucial wins, 77% of GOA’s endorsed candidates won their respective elections.

Bloomberg’s Wish List Is Heading Straight to Harrisburg

Make no mistake about what this anti-gun trifecta means. Michael Bloomberg and his deep-pocketed, out-of-state gun confiscation lobby are already preparing to ram their radical agenda through the legislature.

Starting in January, every single item on Bloomberg’s anti-gun menu will be on the table, including:

• Destroying Statewide Firearms Preemption: Erasing Pennsylvania’s long-standing preemption statute to turn our Commonwealth into an unnavigable, confusing patchwork of local gun bans passed by cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
• “Red Flag” Gun Confiscation Orders: Stripping law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights and seizing their property without basic constitutional due process.
• Universal Registration Checks: Criminalizing private firearm transfers between law-abiding citizens and setting up a backdoor registry of gun owners.
• “Safe Storage” Mandates: Dictating how you are allowed to store your self-defense tools inside your own home, rendering them useless in an emergency.
• Bans on Homemade Firearms: Outlawing lawful hobbyists from building their own firearms and attacking basic Second Amendment traditions.
• Mandatory Reporting of “Lost and Stolen” Firearms: Victimizing gun owners twice if their gun was lost or stolen with criminal and civil penalties.
• Bans on Commonly Owned Semi-Automatic Rifles: Outlawing America’s most popular self-defense rifles and trampling over Article I, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

We Need You on the Frontlines

Our Commonwealth’s Constitution states clearly: “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.”

Governor Shapiro and his anti-gun allies in the General Assembly intend to question, infringe, and dismantle that right every single day of the upcoming session.

GOA is already drawing the line in the sand. We will fight them in committee rooms, on the floor of both chambers, in the courts, and at the grassroots level in every legislative district across Pennsylvania.

But we cannot wage this war alone.

As we head into 2027, gun owners must stay vigilant, mobilized, and ready to flood the Capitol with calls, emails, and visits at a moment’s notice.

If you have not already done so, please join Gun Owners of America today or renew your membership. And make sure every gun-owning friend and family member you know joins our email alert system.

Stay tuned. The battle for Pennsylvania begins in January, and GOA will not surrender an inch.