Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is not a permitless-carry state.

Pennsylvania law:

Title 18, Section 6108 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes states:​

No person shall carry a firearm, rifle or shotgun at any time upon the public streets or upon any public property in a city of the first class unless:

(1) such person is licensed to carry a firearm; or

(2) such person is exempt from licensing under section 6106(b) of this title (relating to firearms not to be carried without a license).

 

18 Pa. Stat. and Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6108

A municipality shall not:
(1) Engage in any proprietary or private business except as authorized by statute.
(2) Exercise powers contrary to or in limitation or enlargement of powers granted by statutes which are applicable in every part of this Commonwealth.
(3) Be authorized to diminish the rights or privileges of any former municipal employee entitled to benefits or any present municipal employee in his pension or retirement system.
(4) Enact or promulgate any ordinance or regulation with respect to definitions, sanitation, safety, health, standards of identity or labeling pertaining to the manufacture, processing, storage, distribution and sale of any foods, goods or services subject to any Commonwealth statutes and regulations unless the municipal ordinance or regulation is uniform in all respects with the Commonwealth statutes and regulations thereunder. This paragraph does not affect the power of any municipality to enact and enforce ordinances relating to building codes or any other safety, sanitation or health regulation pertaining thereto.
(5) Enact any provision inconsistent with any statute heretofore enacted prior to April 13, 1972, affecting the rights, benefits or working conditions of any employee of a political subdivision of this Commonwealth.

53 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 2962(c)

Statutes of general application.
Statutes that are uniform and applicable in every part of this Commonwealth shall remain in effect and shall not be changed or modified by this subpart. Statutes shall supersede any municipal ordinance or resolution on the same subject.

53 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 2962(e)

Regulation of firearms.
A municipality shall not enact any ordinance or take any other action dealing with the regulation of the transfer, ownership, transportation or possession of firearms.

53 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 2962(g)

PA Private-Party Firearm Transfers

In Pennsylvania, a private party may only sell a handgun or short-barreled rifle or shotgun to an unlicensed purchaser at the place of business of a licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer or county sheriff’s office.

• The licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer or sheriff must comply with all of the dealer regulations, including a background check on prospective purchaser.
• These requirements do not apply to transfers between spouses, parents and children, or grandparents and grandchildren. These requirements also do not generally apply to transfers of long guns.
• Any seller who knowingly and intentionally delivers a firearm to an individual who is not eligible to possess a firearm commits a third degree felony.
• No seller may deliver a handgun or short-barreled rifle or shotgun to the purchaser or transferee unless the firearm is securely wrapped and unloaded.

18 PA C.S. §6111(c)

Registration of firearms.
Notwithstanding any section of this chapter to the contrary, nothing in this chapter 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. For the purposes of this section only, the term "firearm" shall include any weapon that is designed to or may readily be converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive or the frame or receiver of any such weapon.

18 PA C.S. §6111.4

Purchase of rifles and shotguns outside this Commonwealth.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit a person in this Commonwealth who may lawfully purchase, possess, use, control, sell, transfer or manufacture a firearm which exceeds the barrel and related lengths set forth in section 6102 (relating to definitions) from lawfully purchasing or otherwise obtaining such a firearm in a jurisdiction outside this Commonwealth.

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6141.1

Prohibited Offensive Weapons
(a) Offense defined.--A person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if, except as authorized by law, he makes repairs, sells, or otherwise deals in, uses, or possesses any offensive weapon.
(b) Exceptions.--
(1) It is a defense under this section for the defendant to prove by a preponderance of evidence that he possessed or dealt with the weapon solely as a curio or in a dramatic performance, or that, with the exception of a bomb, grenade or incendiary device, he complied with the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq.), or that he possessed it briefly in consequence of having found it or taken it from an aggressor, or under circumstances similarly negativing any intent or likelihood that the weapon would be used unlawfully.
(2) This section does not apply to police forensic firearms experts or police forensic firearms laboratories. Also exempt from this section are forensic firearms experts or forensic firearms laboratories operating in the ordinary course of business and engaged in lawful operation who notify in writing, on an annual basis, the chief or head of any police force or police department of a city, and, elsewhere, the sheriff of a county in which they are located, of the possession, type and use of offensive weapons.
(3) This section shall not apply to any person who makes, repairs, sells or otherwise deals in, uses or possesses any firearm for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth.
(c) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:
“Firearm.” Any weapon which is designed to or may readily be converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive or the frame or receiver of any such weapon.
“Offensive weapons.” Any bomb, grenade, machine gun, sawed-off shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches, firearm specially made or specially adapted for concealment or silent discharge, any blackjack, sandbag, metal knuckles, any stun gun, stun baton, taser or other electronic or electric weapon or other implement for the infliction of serious bodily injury which serves no common lawful purpose.
(d) Exemptions.--The use and possession of blackjacks by the following persons in the course of their duties are exempt from this section:
(1) Police officers, as defined by and who meet the requirements of the act of June 18, 1974 (P.L. 359, No. 120), referred to as the Municipal Police Education and Training Law.1
(2) Police officers of first class cities who have successfully completed training which is substantially equivalent to the program under the Municipal Police Education and Training Law.
(3) Pennsylvania State Police officers.
(4) Sheriffs and deputy sheriffs of the various counties who have satisfactorily met the requirements of the Municipal Police Education and Training Law.
(5) Police officers employed by the Commonwealth who have satisfactorily met the requirements of the Municipal Police Education and Training Law.
(6) Deputy sheriffs with adequate training as determined by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
(7) Liquor Control Board agents who have satisfactorily met the requirements of the Municipal Police Education and Training Law.

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 908

Electric or Electronic Incapacitation Devices
(a) Offense defined.--Except as set forth in subsection (b), a person commits an offense if the person does any of the following:
(1) Uses an electric or electronic incapacitation device on another person for an unlawful purpose.
(2) Possesses, with intent to violate paragraph (1), an electric or electronic incapacitation device.
(b) Self defense.--A person may possess and use an electric or electronic incapacitation device in the exercise of reasonable force in defense of the person or the person's property pursuant to Chapter 5 (relating to general principles of justification) if the electric or electronic incapacitation device is labeled with or accompanied by clearly written instructions as to its use and the damages involved in its use.
(c) Prohibited possession.--No person prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to section 6105 (relating to persons not to possess, use, manufacture, control, sell or transfer firearms) may possess or use an electric or electronic incapacitation device.
(d) Grading.--An offense under subsection (a) shall constitute a felony of the second degree if the actor acted with the intent to commit a felony. Otherwise any offense under this section is graded as a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(e) Exceptions.--Nothing in this section shall prohibit the possession or use by, or the sale or furnishing of any electric or electronic incapacitation device to, a law enforcement agency, peace officer, employee of a correctional institution, county jail or prison or detention center, the National Guard or reserves or a member of the National Guard or reserves for use in their official duties.
(f) Definition.--As used in this section, the term “electric or electronic incapacitation device” means a portable device which is designed or intended by the manufacturer to be used, offensively or defensively, to temporarily immobilize or incapacitate persons by means of electric pulse or current, including devices operating by means of carbon dioxide propellant. The term does not include cattle prods, electric fences or other electric devices when used in agricultural, animal husbandry or food production activities.

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 908.1

Pennsylvania has no laws restricting the ammunition capacity of magazines.

Firearms are not allowed in the following locations:

1. Courthouses (18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §913)
2. Public and private school property (18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §912)
3. Detention centers (police, sheriff, and prison) (61 Pa. Cons. Stat.  §5902)
4. Mental hospital (18 Pa. Consol. Stat. Ann. § 5122)
5. The Capitol Complex (49 Pa. Cons. Stat. §61.1)
   • The possession of firearms or other prohibited offensive weapons as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 908(c) (relating to prohibited offense weapons), while on the leased premises of the Department with the exception of State or Federal officers, in connection with the performance of an official duty, is prohibited. This prohibition does not apply to attorneys listed as counsel of record in connection with the offering of an exhibit in any administrative proceeding, if the counsel of record who intends to offer the item as an exhibit, has obtained written authorization from a hearing examiner to do so. 49 Pa. Code § 61.3

Posting of Court Facilities
(d) Posting of notice.--Notice of the provisions of subsections (a) and (e) shall be posted conspicuously at each public entrance to each courthouse or other building containing a court facility and each court facility, and no person shall be convicted of an offense under subsection (a)(1) with respect to a court facility if the notice was not so posted at each public entrance to the courthouse or other building containing a court facility and at the court facility unless the person had actual notice of the provisions of subsection (a).
(e) Facilities for checking firearms or other dangerous weapons.--Each county shall make available at or within the building containing a court facility by July 1, 2002, lockers or similar facilities at no charge or cost for the temporary checking of firearms by persons carrying firearms under section 6106(b) or 6109 or for the checking of other dangerous weapons that are not otherwise prohibited by law. Any individual checking a firearm, dangerous weapon or an item deemed to be a dangerous weapon at a court facility must be issued a receipt. Notice of the location of the facility shall be posted as required under subsection (d).

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 913

Pennsylvania law:
In Pennsylvania, persons who are not prohibited by law from owning firearms may openly carry a handgun in plain sight with no license except in vehicles, cities of the first class (Philadelphia), and where prohibited specifically by law.

• Open carry (of a handgun) in a vehicle requires a valid PA LTCF or a carry license from ANY other state.
• Open carry in Philadelphia requires a valid PA LTCF or a reciprocal state’s carry license.

18 Pa.C.S. §6106, §6107, §6108

Defiant Trespasser

(1) A person commits an offense if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place as to which notice against trespass is given by:

• (i) actual communication to the actor;
• (ii) posting in a manner prescribed by law or reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders;
• (iii) fencing or other enclosure manifestly designed to exclude intruders;
• (iv) notices posted in a manner prescribed by law or reasonably likely to come to the person's attention at each entrance of school grounds that visitors are prohibited without authorization from a designated school, center or program official; or
• (v) an actual communication to the actor to leave school grounds as communicated by a school, center or program official, employee or agent or a law enforcement officer.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1)(v), an offense under this subsection constitutes a misdemeanor of the third degree if the offender defies an order to leave personally communicated to him by the owner of the premises or other authorized person. An offense under paragraph (1)(v) constitutes a misdemeanor of the first degree. Otherwise it is a summary offense.

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §3503(b)

Issuance of License:
(1) A license to carry a firearm shall be for the purpose of carrying a firearm concealed on or about one's person or in a vehicle and shall be issued if, after an investigation not to exceed 45 days, it appears that the applicant is an individual concerning whom no good cause exists to deny the license. A license shall not be issued to any of the following:

• (i) An individual whose character and reputation is such that the individual would be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety.
• (ii) An individual who has been convicted of an offense under the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act.
• (iv) An individual who, within the past ten years, has been adjudicated delinquent for a crime enumerated in section 6105 or for an offense under The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act.
• (vi) An individual who is addicted to or is an unlawful user of marijuana or a stimulant, depressant or narcotic drug.
• (vii) An individual who is a habitual drunkard.

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §6109(e)

Firearms not to be carried without a license:
(a) Offense Defined
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person who carries a firearm in any vehicle or any person who carries a firearm concealed on or about his person, except in his place of abode or fixed place of business, without a valid and lawfully issued license under this chapter commits a felony of the third degree.
(2) A person who is otherwise eligible to possess a valid license under this chapter but carries a firearm in any vehicle or any person who carries a firearm concealed on or about his person, except in his place of abode or fixed place of business, without a valid and lawfully issued license and has not committed any other criminal violation commits a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(b) Exceptions.--The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to:
(1) Constables, sheriffs, prison or jail wardens, or their deputies, policemen of this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions, or other law-enforcement officers.
(2) Members of the army, navy, marine corps, air force or coast guard of the United States or of the National Guard or organized reserves when on duty.
(3) The regularly enrolled members of any organization duly organized to purchase or receive such firearms from the United States or from this Commonwealth.
(4) Any persons engaged in target shooting with a firearm, if such persons are at or are going to or from their places of assembly or target practice and if, while going to or from their places of assembly or target practice, the firearm is not loaded.
(5) Officers or employees of the United States duly authorized to carry a concealed firearm.
(6) Agents, messengers and other employees of common carriers, banks, or business firms, whose duties require them to protect moneys, valuables and other property in the discharge of such duties.
(7) Any person engaged in the business of manufacturing, repairing, or dealing in firearms, or the agent or representative of any such person, having in his possession, using or carrying a firearm in the usual or ordinary course of such business.
(8) Any person while carrying a firearm which is not loaded and is in a secure wrapper from the place of purchase to his home or place of business, or to a place of repair, sale or appraisal or back to his home or place of business, or in moving from one place of abode or business to another or from his home to a vacation or recreational home or dwelling or back, or to recover stolen property under section 6111.1(b)(4) (relating to Pennsylvania State Police), or to a place of instruction intended to teach the safe handling, use or maintenance of firearms or back or to a location to which the person has been directed to relinquish firearms under 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108 (relating to relief) or back upon return of the relinquished firearm or to a licensed dealer's place of business for relinquishment pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108.2 (relating to relinquishment for consignment sale, lawful transfer or safekeeping) or back upon return of the relinquished firearm or to a location for safekeeping pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108.3 (relating to relinquishment to third party for safekeeping) or back upon return of the relinquished firearm.
(9) Persons licensed to hunt, take furbearers or fish in this Commonwealth, if such persons are actually hunting, taking furbearers or fishing as permitted by such license, or are going to the places where they desire to hunt, take furbearers or fish or returning from such places.
(10) Persons training dogs, if such persons are actually training dogs during the regular training season.
(11) Any person while carrying a firearm in any vehicle, which person possesses a valid and lawfully issued license for that firearm which has been issued under the laws of the United States or any other state.
(12) A person who has a lawfully issued license to carry a firearm pursuant to section 6109 (relating to licenses) and that said license expired within six months prior to the date of arrest and that the individual is otherwise eligible for renewal of the license.
(13) Any person who is otherwise eligible to possess a firearm under this chapter and who is operating a motor vehicle which is registered in the person's name or the name of a spouse or parent and which contains a firearm for which a valid license has been issued pursuant to section 6109 to the spouse or parent owning the firearm.
(14) A person lawfully engaged in the interstate transportation of a firearm as defined under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) (relating to definitions) in compliance with 18 U.S.C. § 926A (relating to interstate transportation of firearms).
(15) Any person who possesses a valid and lawfully issued license or permit to carry a firearm which has been issued under the laws of another state, regardless of whether a reciprocity agreement exists between the Commonwealth and the state under section 6109(k), provided:
(i) The state provides a reciprocal privilege for individuals licensed to carry firearms under section 6109.
(ii) The Attorney General has determined that the firearm laws of the state are similar to the firearm laws of this Commonwealth.
(16) Any person holding a license in accordance with section 6109(f)(3).

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §6106

Carrying loaded weapons other than firearms.
Long guns must remain unloaded in vehicles regardless of license.

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §6106.1

Pennsylvania does not have any laws specifically related to how firearms must be stored. However, recklessly storing a loaded firearm to the danger of a child under 18 may lead to child endangerment charges (§ 4304).

Lost or Stolen Firearms: 

• Some municipalities, such as Philadelphia, have enacted lost/stolen reporting ordinances: Philadelphia Code § 10-838a requires reporting within 24 hours.  

PA Stop and Identify (Terry Stop) Law:

• • A person who refuses to provide identification upon demand of an officer whose duty it is to enforce this title after having been told by the officer that the person is the subject of an official investigation or investigative detention, supported by reasonable suspicion, commits a summary offense of the fifth degree.
  • A person who provides false identification to an officer whose duty it is to enforce this title for the purpose of avoiding prosecution or hindering apprehension or obstructing an investigation commits a summary offense of the second degree.

34 Pa. Stat. and Cons. Stat. Ann. § 904

Proof of license and exception.
(a) General rule.--When carrying a firearm concealed on or about one's person or in a vehicle, an individual licensed to carry a firearm shall, upon lawful demand of a law enforcement officer, produce the license for inspection. Failure to produce such license either at the time of arrest or at the preliminary hearing shall create a rebuttable presumption of nonlicensure.

(b) Exception.--An individual carrying a firearm on or about his person or in a vehicle and claiming an exception under section 6106(b) (relating to firearms not to be carried without a license) shall, upon lawful demand of a law enforcement officer, produce satisfactory evidence of qualification for exception.

18 Pa. Stat. and Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6122

Pennsylvania does not have Emergency Risk Orders ("Red Flag Laws).

Use of force justifiable for protection of the person.

The use of force upon or toward another person is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such other person on the present occasion.

18 PA.C.S.A 505 (a)

Justification Generally
(a) General rule.--Conduct which the actor believes to be necessary to avoid a harm or evil to himself or to another is justifiable if:

• (1) the harm or evil sought to be avoided by such conduct is greater than that sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense charged;
• (2) neither this title nor other law defining the offense provides exceptions or defenses dealing with the specific situation involved; and
• (3) a legislative purpose to exclude the justification claimed does not otherwise plainly appear.

(b) Choice of evils.--When the actor was reckless or negligent in bringing about the situation requiring a choice of harms or evils or in appraising the necessity for his conduct, the justification afforded by this section is unavailable in a prosecution for any offense for which recklessness or negligence, as the case may be, suffices to establish culpability.

18 PA.C.S.A § 503

The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable to protect a third person when:

1. The actor would be justified in using such force to protect himself against the injury he believes to be threatened to the person whom he seeks to protect.
2. Under the circumstances as the actor believes them to be, the person whom he seeks to protect would be justified in using such protective force,
3. The actor believes that his intervention is necessary for the protection of such other persons.

18 Pa. Stat. and Cons. Stat. Ann. § 506

Pennsylvania law:

You are presumed to have a reasonable belief that deadly force is immediately necessary to protect yourself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat if both of the following conditions exist:

1. The person against whom the force is used is in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or has unlawfully and forcefully entered and is present within, a dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle; or the person against whom the force is used is or is attempting to unlawfully and forcefully remove another against that other's will from the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle; and
2. The actor knows or has reason to believe that the unlawful and forceful entry or act is occurring or has occurred.

*This presumption does not apply if the intruder: (1) has a right to be in the dwelling or vehicle, (2) the person being removed is a child or grandchild of the person removing them, (3) you are engaged in criminal activity, or (4) the intruder is a police officer doing his duty.

18 PA.C.S.A 505 (b)(2.1 & 2.5)

Deadly force is only justified for the purpose of protecting property in a dwelling if:

1. there has been an entry into the actor's dwelling;
2. the actor neither believes nor has reason to believe that the entry is lawful; and
3. the actor neither believes nor has reason to believe that force less than deadly force would be adequate to terminate the entry.

OR

1. the person against whom the force is used is attempting to dispossess him of his dwelling otherwise than under a claim of right to its possession; or
2. such force is necessary to prevent the commission of a felony in the dwelling.

18 PA.C.S.A. 507(c)(4)(e)

Use of force for the protection of property.

1. Use of force justifiable for protection of property.--The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary:
   1. to prevent or terminate an unlawful entry or other trespass upon land or a trespass against or the unlawful carrying away of tangible movable property, if such land or movable property is, or is believed by the actor to be, in his possession or in the possession of another person for whose protection he acts; or
   2. to effect an entry or reentry upon land or to retake tangible movable property, if:
      1. the actor believes that he or the person by whose authority he acts or a person from whom he or such other person derives title was unlawfully dispossessed of such land or movable property and is entitled to possession; and
      2. -
         1. the force is used immediately or on fresh pursuit after such dispossession; or
         2. the actor believes that the person against whom he uses force has no claim of right to the possession of the property and, in the case of land, the circumstances, as the actor believes them to be, are of such urgency that it would be an exceptional hardship to postpone the entry or reentry until a court order is obtained.

         18 PA.C.S. §507(a)

Arrest by Private Person:
Arrest without warrant.
(a) General rule.--For any of the following offenses, a police officer shall, upon view, have the right of arrest without warrant upon probable cause when there is ongoing conduct that imperils the personal security of any person or endangers public or private property:

(1) Under Title 18 (relating to crimes and offenses) when such offense constitutes a summary offense:
18 Pa.C.S. § 5503 (relating to disorderly conduct).
18 Pa.C.S. § 5505 (relating to public drunkenness).
18 Pa.C.S. § 5507 (relating to obstructing highways and other public passages).
18 Pa.C.S. § 6308 (relating to purchase, consumption, possession or transportation of liquor or malt or brewed beverages).
(2) Violation of an ordinance of a city of the second class.
(b) Guidelines by governmental body.--The right of arrest without warrant under this section shall be permitted only after the governmental body employing the police officer promulgates guidelines to be followed by a police officer when making a warrantless arrest under this section.

42 PA.C.S.A § 8902

Civil immunity for use of force.
(a) General rule.--An actor who uses force:

• (1) in self-protection as provided in 18 Pa.C.S. § 505 (relating to use of force in self-protection);
• (2) in the protection of other persons as provided in 18 Pa.C.S. § 506 (relating to use of force for the protection of other persons);
• (3) for the protection of property as provided in 18 Pa.C.S. § 507 (relating to use of force for the protection of property);
• (4) in law enforcement as provided in 18 Pa.C.S. § 508 (relating to use of force in law enforcement); or
• (5) consistent with the actor's special responsibility for care, discipline or safety of others as provided in 18 Pa.C.S. § 509 (relating to use of force by persons with special responsibility for care, discipline or safety of others) is justified in using such force and shall be immune from civil liability for personal injuries sustained by a perpetrator which were caused by the acts or omissions of the actor as a result of the use of force.

(b) Attorney fees and costs. If the actor who satisfies the requirements of subsection (a) prevails in a civil action initiated by or on behalf of a perpetrator against the actor, the court shall award reasonable expenses to the actor. Reasonable expenses shall include, but not be limited to, attorney fees, expert witness fees, court costs and compensation for loss of income.

42 Pa.C.S. § 8340.2

Pennsylvania law:
2.3 An actor who is not engaged in a criminal activity, who is not in illegal possession of a firearm and who is attacked in any place where the actor would have a duty to retreat under paragraph (2)(ii) has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his ground and use force, including deadly force, if:

1. the actor has a right to be in the place where he was attacked;
2. the actor believes it is immediately necessary to do so to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse by force or threat; and
3. the person against whom the force is used displays or otherwise uses:
   1. a firearm or replica of a firearm as defined in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712 (relating to sentences for offenses committed with firearms); or
   2. any other weapon readily or apparently capable of lethal use.

2.4 The exception to the duty to retreat set forth under paragraph (2.3) does not apply if the person against whom the force is used is a peace officer acting in the performance of his official duties and the actor using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a peace officer.

18 Pa. Stat. and Cons. Stat. Ann. § 505 (b) (2.3) & (2.4)

"Serious provocation."
Conduct sufficient to excite an intense passion in a reasonable person.

18 Pa. Stat. and Cons. Stat. Ann. § 2301

Limitations on justifying necessity for use of force.

(1) The use of force is not justifiable under this section:

1. 1. to resist an arrest which the actor knows is being made by a peace officer, although the arrest is unlawful; or
   2. to resist force used by the occupier or possessor of property or by another person on his behalf, where the actor knows that the person using the force is doing so under a claim of right to protect the property, except that this limitation shall not apply if:
      1. the actor is a public officer acting in the performance of his duties or a person lawfully assisting him therein or a person making or assisting in a lawful arrest;
      2. the actor has been unlawfully dispossessed of the property and is making a reentry or recaption justified by section 507 of this title (relating to use of force for the protection of property); or
      3. the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death or serious bodily injury.

(2) The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat; nor is it justifiable if:

1. 1. 1. 1. the actor, with the intent of causing death or serious bodily injury, provoked the use of force against himself in the same encounter; or
         2. the actor knows that he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating, except the actor is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling or place of work, unless he was the initial aggressor or is assailed in his place of work by another person whose place of work the actor knows it to be.

(2.1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2.2), an actor is presumed to have a reasonable belief that deadly force is immediately necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat if both of the following conditions exist:

1. The person against whom the force is used is in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or has unlawfully and forcefully entered and is present within, a dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle; or the person against whom the force is used is or is attempting to unlawfully and forcefully remove another against that other's will from the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle.
2. The actor knows or has reason to believe that the unlawful and forceful entry or act is occurring or has occurred.

(2.2) The presumption set forth in paragraph (2.1) does not apply if:

1. the person against whom the force is used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence or vehicle, such as an owner or lessee;
2. the person sought to be removed is a child or grandchild or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship of the person against whom the protective force is used;
3. the actor is engaged in a criminal activity or is using the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle to further a criminal activity; or
4. the person against whom the force is used is a peace officer acting in the performance of his official duties and the actor using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a peace officer.

18 PA.C.S.A 505 (b)

A person may kill a dog that is in the act of pursuing, wounding, or killing any domestic animal; wounding or killing other dogs, cats, or household pets; or pursuing, wounding or attacking human beings, whether or not the dog bears a license tag. A person is not liable for damages for such a killing

3 P.S. §§ 459, 501, 531, and 532

In Pennsylvania, it is unlawful to kill any game animal or wildlife as a means of protection, unless it is clearly evident from all the facts that a human is endangered to the degree that the immediate destruction of the game or wildlife is necessary.

34 Pa. C.S. § 2141