<P> Pennsylvania has state preemption for regulation of the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition, or ammunition components . That is, only state laws, not local laws, can regulate those matters . </P> <P> Most items that are required to be registered under the National Firearms Act such as machine guns, suppressors, short barreled rifles and shotguns, are prohibited in Pennsylvania as "offensive weapons" unless they are registered under the NFA . </P> <P> There are no regulating laws for the sale, purchase, or possession of ammunition, however armor - piercing ammunition is illegal in the state . </P> <P> Pennsylvania law requires that information received by the Pennsylvania State Police pursuant to a sale is destroyed within 72 hours of the completion of the background check . The Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association notes that the Pennsylvania State Police nonetheless keep a "sales database" of all handguns purchased within the state . The database was challenged based on what was asserted as the unambiguous text of the statute, specifically "nothing...shall be construed to allow any government or law enforcement agency or any agent thereof to create, maintain or operate any registry of firearm ownership within this Commonwealth" (full statute text above), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court nonetheless ruled in Allegheny County Sportsmen's League v. Rendell, 860 A. 2d 10 (Pa. 2004), that Pennsylvania's database of handgun sales is not prohibited by state law because the registration was only of handgun sales and not of all guns . </P>

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