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
Tell your legislator to protect your gun rights: Joshua Prince :: 05/05/2017
If you have read recent articles, which quote Shira Goodman of CeaseFirePA, you probably believe that bills that have recently come before the state House and Senate, barring municipalities from enacting firearms ordinances stricter than state gun laws are something new.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Since 1974, firearm preemption has not only precluded all local forms of government from enacting and enforcing any form of firearm regulation but additionally criminalizes the enactment and enforcement of a firearm regulation as a misdemeanor of the first degree - our highest grade misdemeanor in Pennsylvania.
In 1988, the General Assembly amended the firearm preemption statute to include ammunition.
More importantly, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Ortiz v. Commonwealth held that pursuant to Article 1, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, "the General Assembly, not city councils, is the proper forum for the imposition of such regulation."
Strengthening gun laws to stop needless deaths should be a unanimous position for all people of goodwill and sound judgment.
Thus, not only is CeaseFirePA supporting violations of constitutional rights of individuals in Pennsylvania, it also soliciting local governments to commit criminal acts.
Now, that's irony.
But it is for the greater good, right? Mrs. Goodman claims that Pennsylvania is "a dangerous place for African-Americans."
And that while the "Legislature has the power to enact policies that could reverse this trend, it not only fails to enact them, but fails to give our cities the tools to better to protect their own people."
What Goodman fails to inform everyone of is the fact that several municipalities are in violation of our firearm preemption law; and yet, those ordinances have done nothing to limit crime, as acknowledged by her own statement.
Furthermore, she fails to advise that a municipality can only enact summary offenses (e.g. traffic ticket) for violations of a local government ordinance.
Tell your lawmakers not to hand an election season gift to the NRA: Shira Goodman
Just like in 2014, the NRA is trying to ram a bad bill through the General Assembly.
She would have you believe that the felonies for murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault, and all the misdemeanor offenses, along with all the inchoate crimes of attempt, solicitation and conspiracy, are insufficient; yet, a traffic ticket is going to dissuade a criminal from committing a criminal act.
Moreover, if local governments were permitted to regulate firearms and ammunition, it would result in a patchwork of laws across the Commonwealth that would ensnare law-abiding citizens, who have no intent to violate the law.
What is clear is that the truth is something that eludes CeaseFirePA. If they want to have an open discussion on crime reduction, then they must start by being upfront and honest, instead of trying to deceive the residents of Pennsylvania.
Joshua Prince is a principal of the Firearms Industry Consulting Group, a division of Prince Law Offices. he writes from Bechtelsville, Pa. Readers may email him at Joshua@PrinceLaw.com
