PA Bill Number: HB2235
Title: Providing for regulation of the meat packing and food processing industry by creating facility health and safety committees in the workplace; ...
Description: Providing for regulation of the meat packing and food processing industry by creating facility health and safety committees in the workplace; ... ...
Last Action: Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY
Last Action Date: Apr 25, 2024
(PA) Hanover Township approves hunting in bid to conform to state gun law :: 06/07/2015
Despite that there really are no hunting grounds in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, township officials altered a law to make the outdoor sport legal – though a celebration of the hunt was not their motivation.
Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to place hunting on state game lands or other legal ground as one of the two exceptions to discharging a firearm in the township. Previous exceptions included those made for law enforcement and self-defense.
Council Chairman Bruce Paulus explained the ordinance addition as a way for the township to comply with the Pennsylvania Uniform Fireams Act without risking lawsuits from gun lobby groups that dispute the restrictions.
"There's really no hunting locations perse in the township," Paulus said. "But we have to abide by the state law. I don't want any suits against us."
But the Second Amendment advocates who brought the ordinance – and a previous one about possession of a firearm in a township park – say the exception isn't enough to comply with state law.
Tom Campione, director of legislative affairs for Pennsylvanians for Self Protection and leader of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party, warned the township in a May 28 letter that by keeping restrictions on the books, they were still open to the lawsuits Paulus said he wanted to avoid.
"We are hopeful that Hanover Township will come to compliance and will do so quickly, since as an organization with at least one member in your township we have standing under Act 192," Campione wrote, referring to the law passed Jan. 5 that broadens who can sue individual municipalities over their gun laws.
Township solicitor Jackson Eaton said he does not believe that the township is violating state law with their discharge ordinance and has no plans to toss it despite Campione's insistence.
Lifting restrictions on discharge won't lead to a Wild West shooting gallery, according to Campione. That's because reckless discharge of a firearm is already against the law, he notes.
"Reckless endangerment, which is a criminal offense, is … far more punitive than your summary offense," Campione's letter states.
Paulus said Campione and others like him seem driven to "flex their muscles" on the topic, though he emphasized that township officials had every intention of following the law. He noted that a few larger cities -- Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Lancaster among them – are not backing down from the laws on their books despite a lawsuit filed earlier this year from the NRA. Paulus said he hopes the result of that lawsuit provides answers to any lingering questions about what lawmaking power is within the right of a municipality.
Eaton said the township modified other municipal code to adhere to state law late last summer after a resident brought the issue to council's attention. In that case a provision prohibited possession of a gun in a township park was struck down.
Campione has visited a number of Lehigh Valley municipalities with the intent to keep gun laws in line with the state. Allentown was among the larger Lehigh Valley municipalities to revoke their law in order to avoid any costly court time.
In his letter to township officials, he said he plans to continue that mission.
"Lastly, please be advised that Pennsylvanians For Self Protection along with a number of other Second Amendment groups and our attorney Joshua Prince, are committed to ensuring that all cities and municipalities across the Lehigh Valley comply with state law," Campione wrote.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/catasauqua/mc-hanover-twp-gun-laws-20150605-story.html
