Re: Municipalities in violation of §6120 (Preemption)
Here is the text of the letter I have drafted and will be mailing on Monday. Please give me any feedback before then.
Councilman Patrick Dowd
510 City County Building
414 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
RE: Enforcement of illegal ordinance(s) leading to tax-payer funded lawsuit payouts
Councilman Dowd:
It has come to my attention that the Pittsburgh City Police recently (sometime between 3AM and 4AM at the McDonalds on Forbes Avenue in Oakland) cited an individual for violating city ordinance 607.06:
Code of Ordinances of City of Pittsburgh
CHAPTER 607: FIREARMS, AMMUNITION AND OTHER WEAPONS
§ 607.06 CARRYING OF OPERABLE FIREARMS PROHIBITED.
No person shall carry in any vehicle or concealed or unconcealed on or about his person except when on his or her land or in his or her own abode or fixed place of business any firearm; provided that this section shall not apply to:
(a) Those persons specifically exempted under 18 P.S. Sec. 6106(b)(1-10); or
(b) Any person issued a valid license to the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act when carrying the type of weapon for which such license was issued.
(Ord. 11-1980, eff. 7-25-80; Am. Ord. 30-1993, eff. 12-9-93)
Enforcement of this ordinance is illegal as per the preemption clause of the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act (UFA) which prohibits municipalities such as the City of Pittsburgh from regulating the carrying of firearms:
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes
Title 18: Chapter 61:
§ 6120. Limitation on the regulation of firearms and ammunition.
(a) General rule.--No county, municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth.
This preemption clause has been upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Ortiz v. Commonwealth, - Pa. - (1996).
While the UFA does require a License to Carry Firearms (LTCF) for concealed carry, there is no state law requiring an LTCF for carrying a firearm unconcealed (i.e, openly) outside of the city of Philadelphia. Further, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has confirmed in the case of Commonwealth v. Hawkins, - Pa. - (1996) that unconcealed (open) carry outside of Philadelphia does not require an LTCF:
In all parts of Pennsylvania, persons who are licensed may carry concealed firearms…Except in Philadelphia, firearms may be carried openly without a license…(only in Philadelphia must a person obtain a license for carrying a firearm whether it is unconcealed or concealed; in other parts of the Commonwealth, unconcealed firearms do not require a license).
Because there is no state law against carrying an unconcealed weapon without an LTCF, and because the preemption clause of the UFA prohibits the city (or county) from enacting such a requirement, a person who carries an unconcealed weapon in the City of Pittbsurgh without an LTCF is not violating any legitimate law or ordinance.
In spite of this, an individual was illegally cited by the Pittsburgh Police for violating city ordinance 607.06 in relation to carrying an unconcealed firearm. This person is most likely going to sue the city. He will most likely win as both statutory and case law are clearly on his side. This will most likely result in some of my tax dollars having to be used to pay damages to the individual as a result of the lawsuit.
Given how financially strapped the city already is, I urge city council to please repeal this illegal ordinance (and all other ordinances which are in violation of the UFA’s preemption clause such as § 607.08, § 607.09, § 607.10, § 607.11, etc.) as soon as possible.
Further, until the ordinances can be repealed, I ask you to encourage the Mayor and Chief of Police to direct all city police officers to stop enforcing these illegal ordinances until such time as they can be repealed.
The City is already in enough of a financial bind. We do not need to put ourselves further in the hole by enforcing illegal ordinances and, thus, opening ourselves to lawsuits.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
{my real name}
Cc: Mayor Luke Ravenstahl
Council President Doug Shields
Chief of Police Nathan Harper
City Solicitor George Specter
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