We all knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time. The General Assembly is seeking to expand standing under the firearms preemption laws less than a month after the Commonwealth Court’s ruling on Act 192.
Last year, Governor Corbett signed Act 192 into law. Since 1974 it has been illegal for local governments to regulate the ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms in any manner. Many local governments have done so anyway. Legal challenges have occasionally come up short, not because the courts found the local laws to be legal, but because the courts found that the plaintiffs didn’t have standing to sue. Some courts have suggested you need to be charged and punished with an illegal law before you can challenge it. For most, at that point it is too little too late. Act 192 provided standing to membership organizations and Pennsylvanians eligible to own firearms, which would allow the courts rule on the merits of these claims.
The Commonwealth Court recently ruled that Act 192 was unconstitutional. Not because of what it says. Not because of the law itself. The Commonwealth Court found the law to be unconstitutional because the preemption provision was grouped together with another law. Had the law been introduced and passed on its own, there would be no issue whatsoever.
PA State Rep. Mark Keller
Now we shall see. In a memorandum dated July 8, 2015, Pennsylvania Representative Mark Keller announced his intentions to re-introduce “legislation providing for better enforcement of Pennsylvania’s current state preemption over local firearms and ammunition regulations.”
Keller’s bill would be similar to Act 192. The legislation would enhance standing and would provide compensation for challengers who succeed with these costly, time-consuming claims.
Let’s not forget that Act 192 passed by such a wide margin, that this new legislation could potentially withstand a veto from Governor Tom Wolf.
U.S. Law Shield of Pennsylvania was the first membership organization to bring a legal challenge asserting the provisions of Act 192. Through Relator Todd Hoover, we challenged five of Harrisburg’s illegal gun ordinances. Our lawsuit moves forward with or without Act 192 [see Denied. Again. Again. Again.]. We have been successful every step of the way.
We encourage Penn LAGOs to voice their opinions to local representatives immediately and often.