15318877-mmmainjpg-ee58a5608805d315.jpg

Whether it was for prior convictions, mental health concerns of other issues, the Pennsylvania State Police denied more than 13,000 firearm purchases in Pennsylvania last year.

(File)

Whether it was for prior convictions, mental health concerns of other issues, the Pennsylvania State Police denied more than 13,000 firearm purchases in Pennsylvania last year.

Every time someone attempts to buy a gun in Pennsylvania, their information has to go through the Pennsylvania Instant Check System. The system -- run by the state police -- performs a background check to determine if they are legally allowed to own a gun.

State Police Cpl. Adam Reed said 13,117 gun purchases were denied in 2016. Last year's number of denials stays in line with the number of purchase denials over the past few years.

There were 15,176 denials in 2015, 13,178 in 2014 and 13,268 in 2013.

The denials could be for a myriad of reasons. Reed has said that the most typical issue arises when someone's criminal background would prevent them from purchasing a firearm.

There's more than a dozen crimes -- including aggravated assault, kidnapping, rape, robbery and murder -- that would preclude people from owning a firearm in Pennsylvania.

Other reasons people may be denied include being involuntarily committed to a mental institution, being an illegal immigrant and being the subject of an active protection from abuse order.

Reed said every denied purchases is investigated. It's a third degree felony if a person makes a false written or oral statement on federal or state forms.

Additionally, if a purchaser is denied because of an outstanding warrant, police are immediately dispatched to arrest the individual at the gun dealer, Reed said.

The total number of denials is just a small fraction of the number of firearm purchases made in Pennsylvania. There were 797,358 firearms purchased or transferred in the state last year.

Only 1.6 percent of the more than 810,000 background checks that took place for firearms purchases in 2016 were denied.