Philadelphia cannot set its own gun laws

[Pat McCotter]

Philadelphia cannot set its own gun laws: court
Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:16pm EDT
By Jon Hurdle

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania state court ruled on Friday that Philadelphia does not have the right to set its own gun laws, striking down five measures passed by the city council last year.

In the latest blow to U.S. gun control advocates, the Commonwealth Court rejected a petition by two Philadelphia City Council members seeking a declaration that the city be allowed to pass gun laws separate from the state's.

The council members had argued that the state legislature had created a "state of danger" by failing to protect citizens from gun violence.

A five-judge panel on the second-highest court in the state upheld earlier rulings saying that Pennsylvania law pre-empts city statutes.

"While we understand the terrible problems gun violence poses for the city and sympathize with its efforts to use its police powers to create a safe environment for its citizens, these practical considerations do not alter the clear pre-emption imposed by the legislature," the court wrote in a 21-page opinion.

The city's laws, which have not been implemented, included a ban on assault weapons and a provision that gun purchases be limited to one per person each month.

U.S. gun-control advocates suffered a major reversal in June when the U.S. Supreme Court held that individual Americans have a right to own guns, a finding that struck down a strict gun control law in Washington, D.C.

The 5-4 ruling established the court's position on a long-running debate over whether the right to bear arms enshrined in the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment referred to individuals or militias.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter blasted the refusal of state lawmakers to pass laws that would allow cities to control the violence that causes hundreds of deaths a year and has given the city one of the highest murder rates in the country.

He blamed this week's fatal shooting of a Philadelphia police officer on the state's lax gun laws that he said allowed the assailant to use an illegal weapon.

State lawmakers were being "stunningly hypocritical" by claiming to support the police while failing to pass what Nutter called reasonable gun laws.

"You are either on the side of the criminals or you are on the side of the law-abiding people of Philadelphia," Nutter told a news conference.

[J’raxis 270145]

Starting to turn around finally...

[MaineShark]

State lawmakers were being "stunningly hypocritical" by claiming to support the police while failing to pass what Nutter called reasonable gun laws.

Wouldn't "Nutter Calls For Gun Control" be a great headline?

His name is very apt...

Joe

[error]

Well, Nutter certainly lives up to his name, standing up for the criminals.

[margomaps]

[Nutter] blamed this week's fatal shooting of a Philadelphia police officer on the state's lax gun laws that he said allowed the assailant to use an illegal weapon.

Whaaaah??  I don't have any idea what he's talking about.  How is it that a law can "allow an assailant to use an illegal weapon"?

[Pat McCotter]

Well, Nutter certainly lives up to his name, standing up for the criminals.

Yep. I wonder if he really understands what he said here:

"You are either on the side of the criminals or you are on the side of the law-abiding people of Philadelphia."

[Bill St. Clair]

I wish Colorado had a five-judge panel like the one in Pennsylvania. Denver has gotten away with restricting state gun law that forbids restrictions. Judges decided that it was special.