Pennsylvania
Related: About this forumPennsylvania's highest court could give cities the go-ahead to craft their own gun laws
HARRISBURG While Pennsylvania voters might look to the General Assembly to take action on new gun laws after the massacre of nearly 20 children in Texas, the judiciary will likely determine the direction of the commonwealths firearms policies in the coming months.
Three distinct suits are being appealed to the states highest court, all arguing that cities and municipalities in Pennsylvania should be allowed to pass their own gun laws.
The suits which involve the states two largest cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh seek to either loosen or overturn a nearly three-decade-old precedent that gives the legislature the sole authority to regulate gun ownership throughout the state.
Advocates for and against stricter gun policies in Pennsylvania say court action could have broad consequences. In one of the cases involving Philadelphia, the state Supreme Court is being asked to strike down as unconstitutional a 1995 law that preempts local jurisdictions from enacting stricter gun regulations which could in turn force the legislature to rewrite it.
Read more: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2022/06/uvalde-shooting-pennsylvania-gun-laws/
BumRushDaShow
(142,262 posts)We draft ordinances that people demand and the state shuts them down and the people can't seem to "understand" how our hands are tied by loon legislatures who live hundreds of miles away from here and don't give a shit, so they blame the local officials instead.
Here was the response from our City Council President from back in February when the Commonwealth Court struck down our very simplistic ordinance -
STATEMENT OF COUNCIL PRESIDENT DARRELL L. CLARKE ON COURT RULING ON CITYS LOST OR STOLEN GUN ORDINANCE
In Council News, Darrell L. Clarke, News by PHL Council / February 14, 2022
Philadelphia, PA City Council President Darrell L. Clarke (5th District) today issued the following statement on the Commonwealth Court ruling in the case of City of Philadelphia v. Armstrong:
The decision released today by the Commonwealth Court concerning the citys lost or stolen handgun reporting ordinance was not unexpected. We always expected we would be arguing the case for Philadelphias right to enact and enforce its own lost or stolen gun law in the state Supreme Court, and thats where this case is now headed.
Its worth noting that Senior Judge Leadbetter, in a concurring opinion today, referenced the overwhelming blight of gun violence occurring in the City of Philadelphia, in urging the Supreme Court to reconsider a prior ruling on whether state law must preempt any attempts by cities or municipalities to enact stronger gun safety laws to best safeguard their own communities. When a child cannot leave his home to walk to the corner of his street without risking the prospect of being caught in a crossfire, we are denying him the most fundamental right, that of life and liberty, the judge wrote in her concurrence, before urging the Supreme Court to reconsider its prior rulings, and allow for local restrictions narrowly tailored to local necessities. We strongly agree, and look forward to Philadelphia making its case for the right to enact and enforce its own stronger gun laws to help make Philadelphia a safer place to live and work.
https://phlcouncil.com/statement-of-council-president-darrell-l-clarke-on-court-ruling-on-citys-lost-or-stolen-gun-ordinance/