A Philadelphia ordinance requiring residents to report to authorities when firearms are lost or stolen has been ruled illegal by a Pennsylvania court.
A three-judge panel on Monday reversed a lower court order and placed a permanent injunction on the city’s 2009 gun control ordinance, preventing the city from enforcing the measure. The case stems from a man charged with violating the “lost and stolen” reporting mandate, and Philadelphia authorities had sought a $2,000 fine for violating the ordinance.
The panel also argued Philadelphia was preempted by state law and required the approval of firearm control from the General Assembly, according to court records.
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Judges referenced a 1996 state Supreme Court decision that said assault weapons restrictions in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were not allowed due to the Uniform Firearms Act placing authority to regulate guns on the state Legislature.
But despite ruling against the firearms ordinance, Senior Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter noted there has been an “overwhelming blight of gun violence occurring in the City of Philadelphia” and urged the state Supreme Court to reconsider the state’s preemption law to allow for “narrowly tailored” local gun laws.
Representatives for Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney expressed disappointment in the ruling but praised Leadbetter’s opinion, adding that an appeal to the ruling is forthcoming. “We maintain that our Lost and Stolen ordinance is legal,” said Kevin Lessard, a spokesman for the mayor.
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“Mayor Kenney completely agrees with the sentiment raised by Judge Leadbetter in her concurrence, where she notes that the gun violence experienced in the city of Philadelphia justifies stronger gun safety laws than may be necessary statewide and that we should not deny basic safety to our residents when they desperately need it,” Lessard added.
A lawsuit filed in 2020 by the city and additional plaintiffs challenging the state’s preemption law on municipal gun regulations is pending in the Commonwealth Court.
