Category: Philadelphia

I was listening to people talk about the Philadelphia gun bills at Indoor Silhouette tonight.  People seem to be generally pissed, and reluctant to head to the one club left in the city to shoot.  I heard several say that even if the state preempts the City’s ordinance, if charged, they will likely never see their gun again.  That’s probably correct.  The city’s “assault weapons ban” is so broad that it bans many common sporting guns.  Head there with a ported Ruger 10/22, and you can get busted.

I sincerely hope that someone sues the ever loving hell out of the City of Philadelphia for this.  But even in that instance, it’s city taxpayer money at stake, and I doubt enough of them will mind to make a difference.  This is one of those things that not much will ever be done about.  There will be no consequence for the actors involved for violating state law.  This is why it’s important for gun ownership to be viewed as a fundamental right by the federal courts.  It’s only then do you have a remedy to deal with this kind of malfeasance.

City Council has passed the gun control measures:

City Council passed five gun control measures today that are expected to still face a legal challenges.

Mayor Nutter has said he will sign the bills into law. The five bills limit handgun purchases to one a month; require lost or stolen firearms to be reported to police within 24 hours; forbid individuals under protection from abuse orders from possessing guns if ordered by the court; allow removal of firearms from “persons posing a risk of imminent personal injury” to themselves or others, as determined by a judge; and outlaw the possession and sale certain assault weapons.

I have absolutely no intention of obeying any of these city ordinances, and I can promise a lawsuit if they attempt to enforce them in violation of the laws of this commonwealth.  Get ready folks, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

UPDATE: Nutter signed the five pieces of shit, and ordered his partner in crime, Police Chief Charles Ramsey, to enforce them.  I feel for the police officers who will end up following orders, and possibly open themselves up to lawsuits.  Because of preemption, and the Ortiz precident upholding preemption, these laws passed by city council are essentially not law, so anyone enforcing them will be acting under color of law, and could possibly lose their qualified immunity.

Reader ErnieD e-mails this article talking about the vote:

A package of gun control bills submitted by City Councilman Darrell Clarke will apparently not come up for a vote tomorrow during Council’s weekly session.  Clarke last week said that the city Law Department was reviewing the proposed legislation, which was approved by Council’s Committee on Public Safety.  The legislation, which could have come up for a final vote by Council tomorrow, is being amended today and then held.

The legislation would limit handgun purchases to one a month, require owners to report lost or stolen guns to police, allow police to confiscate guns from people considered a risk to themselves or others, require a license from police to bring a gun into the city, ban semiautomatic weapons with clips that hold more than 10 rounds and establish a registry for ammunition sales.

It should take them about 3 minutes to review this legislation.  It’s illegal under state law and the state constitution.  It’s not that complicated.  I’m wondering if the city is worried about the lawsuits that are sure to come about if they cross this Rubicon.

Reader ErnieD further e-mails:

Did you check out this wording in the bills:

“The statutory limitations of municipalities to regulate the possession, sale and transfer of firearms, as upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, has been duly considered and incorporated within the body of this legislation. And, we take into account the paramount interests of the public safety of the citizens of our City and Commonwealth.”

Just for reference, this is the statute they’ve duly considered:

18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6120 (a) General rule.–No county, municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth.

Perhaps the City Council and Mayor Nutter need to arrange a press conference where they take turns pissing on 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6120 (a), and Article I, Section 21 of the PA Constitution, for that matter, since that seems to be about the level of respect they seem to have for it.

Thanks to intrepid reader ErnieD, I have links to all nine of the Philadelphia gun control bills that were passed out of committee at city council.  Keep in mind that all of these laws are in violation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

1. Assault Weapons Ban
2. Ban on possession for mere accusation of a crime
3. License required for possession of firearms
4. Temporary removal of firearms from dangerous persons
5. Persons subject to restraining orders not to have firearms
6. Failure to report a lost or stolen firearm
7. Registration of all ammunition sales
8. Rationing of Firearms
9. Registration of all guns by LTCF holders

Some of these are extraordinarily bad, and will ban many common target guns, and guns such as the Glock 19C.  Nutter has sworn to enforce these laws.  The question is, what are we, as gun owners, going to do about it?  Write your state reps, write the state attorney general, and politely ask if there’s anything they can do about this.  Philadelphia is part of Pennsylvania, and subject to its laws and constitution, and we shouldn’t stand for this kind of treatment from corrupt big city politicians.

UPDATE: Rereading the assault weapons ban, it’s amazing how poorly worded it is.  It bans a LOT of firearm no one would consider assault weapons, and also pretty much any ammo that’s not standard FMJ.  A creative prosecutor could argue the law bans such firearms as the M1 Garand.  Even a 1903 Springfield.  The law pretty clearly bans firearms such as the Ruger Charger.

UPDATE: Rightwing prof comments:

I hate to state the obvious, but if those people are so worried about crime, they might try locking criminals up and throwing away the keys instead of patting them on the top of the head and making them community heroes.  Remember that guy this spring who held up all of those pizza places and convenience stores here? He was convicted and sentenced to 223 years, and the prosecutor is appealing the sentence because he says it should be 455 years.

Maybe our prosecutor could go to Philly and give a seminar on crime prevention.

No kidding.

City Council is preparing to pass gun control in Philadelphia:

Mayor Nutter has indicated that he will likely sign the bills and begin enforcing the gun laws even if, as some believe, the lack of Harrisburg approval makes them illegal.

And Clarke expects the state to fight the city’s efforts:

“We anticipate that the state, along with the National Rifle Association, will very quickly challenge our ability to implement those bills.”

My letter to Attorney General Corbett, asking him to investigate the possibility of prosecuting anyone attempting to enforce these provisions, which are illegal and unconstitutional under Pennsylvania law, will be in the mail before the ink is dry on Nutter’s signature.