PA Bill Number: SB1198
Title: In plants and plant products, providing for plant and pollinator protection; conferring powers and duties on the Department of Agriculture and ...
Description: In plants and plant products, providing for plant and pollinator protection; conferring powers and duties on the Department of Agriculture and .. ...
Last Action: Referred to AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Last Action Date: May 17, 2024
Misfire: The gun lobby miscalculates on a sneaky bill :: 06/30/2015
The U.S. Supreme Court has not been the only judicial body issuing big opinions. Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court voided a 2014 law last week that gave the National Rifle Association the right to sue municipalities over their gun laws and to force taxpayers to pay legal costs if the challenges were successful.
Act 192 was an ill-advised and sneaky piece of legislation, with the gun measure tacked onto an otherwise benign bill that increased penalties for people convicted of stealing secondary metals such as aluminum and copper. It was passed amid the mayhem of the last day of the legislative session and signed by Gov. Tom Corbett.
When the act took effect in January, more than a dozen municipalities repealed their gun ordinances for fear of financially catastrophic lawsuits. Pittsburgh, however, stood strong and — along with Harrisburg, Philadelphia and five Democratic legislators — appealed to the court, which sensibly concluded that “the process through which Act 192 became law violates the principles of good government, and indeed, the Pennsylvania Constitution.”
The judges found that the act “clearly, palpably and plainly” violated Pennsylvania’s requirement that legislation govern a single subject, or at least subjects that have a strong link. The inartful dodgers defending Act 192 struggled to establish that link as “amending the crimes code.” The judges, not born yesterday, sniffed at that, saying that is no better a connection than the laughable “amending legislation.”
After the ruling, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto cheered the court for “standing up for citizens and public safety instead of special rights for the gun lobby.” The Second Amendment still stands, however, and Pennsylvania’s legitimate firearm owners need not fear that someone is going to take their guns away. But this deceptive, back-door act deserved to be shot down.
