The Return of Local Gun Control After A Setback For The NRA

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Last week, a Commonwealth Court panel ruled that Act 192 — a state law that made it far easier for the National Rifle Association to challenge local gun control ordinances — is unconstitutional. It was a a rare victory for gun control advocates in Pennsylvania. After Act 192 was adopted by the legislature in 2014, dozens of local municipalities repealed their gun control ordinances, rather than risk getting sued by the NRA, and getting stuck with big legal bills. If the Commonwealth Court’s ruling stands, the old status quo would return. At Newsworks, Bill Hangley explores what the impact of the ruling is likely to be:

“Our borough council was very disappointed to have to repeal the ordinance,” said Ed Foley, mayor of Jenkintown, one of the many municipalities that took its gun-control ordinances off the books in response to the passage of the state law. “We’ll look into reinstating it as quickly as we can.”

“People want to put those ordinances back on the books. Some will do so quickly. Some will wait and see if there’s an appeal,” said Shira Goodman, head of the gun control advocacy group Cease Fire PA. “Many of these towns felt they were forced into a corner, acting under duress.”

The overturned law, known as Act 192, gave gun rights groups the power to sue towns and municipalities whose gun laws contradict the state’s, without having to find a resident who could show “harm” caused by the local law. Act 192 also required that local governments that lost in court pay the victor’s legal fees.

Philadelphia didn’t back down after Act 192 was passed, but plenty of smaller municipalities did. And since there are no metal detectors at the city borders, municipal-level gun laws can obviously impact neighboring communities. Presuming the State Supreme Court upholds this decision, those towns could be emboldened to put their old laws back on the books — and perhaps to explore new ones.

http://www.phillymag.com/citified/2015/06/29/the-brief-local-gun-control