City of Easton and Salisbury Township - Preemption Violations

[zackattack784]

I noticed Easton has their city ordinances posted online and after looking through them found, what appears to me, a preemption violation regarding public parks.

Chapter 404 Section 404-4
G. Weapons. No person other than those authorized by the City shall carry or discharge firearms, bow and arrows, or other lethal weapons.
[Amended 1-28-1976 by Ord. No. 2343]

The only part that has me confused is the part about being "authorized by the City." My only guess is that since this ordinance goes back to 1976, it was before the time of preemption and has probably never been used, though technically still on the books.


Here is the one for Salisbury Township:
I don't have the time at the moment to challenge the Easton one, but I would be interested in fighting this one. Here's what it says:

§112. Rules and Regulations Governing Township Parks and Recreation Areas
A. Any of the listed acts are prohibited within any Salisbury Township park or
recreation place unless noted otherwise:

(4) Carrying, setting off, or discharging any firearms, air rifles, air pistols, slingshots or fireworks, including sparklers.

Seems like a preemption violation to me. What do you think?

[Jorg Schlagzeuger]

I agree with your take. What to do? I personally believe in taking a tactful and professional approach by giving the township a reasonable amount of time to address the problem once it's identified. (OC BBQ's & the such, in my opinion, should not be the first step toward a resolution.) I would suggest going to a township board of commissioners meeting and bringing the concern to their attention. Once it's on the record, ignorance can't be claimed. (If you've never been to one, you might want to sit in on one first, before you plan to address the board, to get a feel for what they're all about.)

I've been having good results with this approach in my own township over a similar violation (park rules). As of the last meeting (almost two weeks ago), the township supervisor has acknowledged the problem and is taking steps to correct it. (It's not fixed yet, so it's not a done deal as of today.)

[zackattack784]

I contacted the Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners yesterday and this was the response I received today.

Dear Mr. zackattack784:

The Ordinance that you are referring to was passed in 1978. Because this issue has surfaced in the past few months in discussions with other municipal managers, I brought this to the attention of our Solicitor to look at the current language. As I understand, although the Uniform Firearms Act bestows the right to the State to regulate the possession, use, and licensing of firearms, the act does not preclude any law enforcement agency to create and maintain a registration of firearms or require lawful demand to produce a license. if the Board would even want to maintain any rules regarding firearms, our Solicitor will review the State Act and advise them accordingly. Nonetheless, we are in the process of revising the Ordinance as the language was derived prior to the passage of the UFA. Thank you.

Randy Soriano
Township Manager
Salisbury Township
2900 S. Pike Avenue
Allentown, PA 18103
(610) 797-4000 ext 5813
rsoriano@salisburytownshippa.org

I quickly replied to his email thanking him for the quick response and I included a copy of section 6111.4, which prohibits registration. Hopefully this ordinance is changed in the near future. I'll keep you guys updated!

[kadar]

the act does not preclude any law enforcement agency to create and maintain a registration of firearms

18 Pa.C.S. § 6111.4: Registration of firearms

Notwithstanding any section of this chapter to the contrary, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to allow any government or law enforcement agency or any agent thereof to create, maintain or operate any registry of firearm ownership within this Commonwealth. For the purposes of this section only, the term "firearm" shall include any weapon that is designed to or may readily be converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive or the frame or receiver of any such weapon.

His answer to you sounded like he has some sort of hidden agenda.

[zackattack784]

18 Pa.C.S. § 6111.4: Registration of firearms


His answer to you sounded like he has some sort of hidden agenda.

I quickly replied to his email thanking him for the quick response and I included a copy of section 6111.4, which prohibits registration. Hopefully this ordinance is changed in the near future. I'll keep you guys updated!

I'm not too concerned about it though to be honest. Obviously I'll keep tabs on what is happening but I find it very unlikely they'll ever put firearm registration on the agenda, let alone pass an ordinance requiring it. He mentioned he was running things by the solicitor. Assuming the solicitor isn't a total moron he should be able to reconfirm the statute I sent to Mr. Soriano.

[P7hk9]

[QUOTE=zackattack784;1504736The only part that has me confused is the part about being "authorized by the City." My only guess is that since this ordinance goes back to 1976, it was before the time of preemption and has probably never been used, though technically still on the books[/QUOTE]

When was 6120 enacted? Schneck v City of Philadelphia was over Philly's attempt to restrict firearms, and that was in 1978, so 6120 had to be in effect before that.

Is there even a quick way to find out when a law was enacted?

[zackattack784]

I fired off another email yesterday to check on the status of this preemption violation and here's the exchange:

Mr. Soriano:

I'm writing this email as a follow up to my email in February (which is quoted below) regarding the Township Ordinance which prohibits the carrying of firearms in township parks. You mentioned you were in the process of revising the ordinance to be in compliance with state law, specifically 18 Pa.C.S. § 6120. Reviewing the Board of Commissioners meeting minutes from the last two months, I cannot find any mention of amending this ordinance. Is this still being discussed? When will this ordinance be changed?

Thank you,
zackattack784

Dear zackattack784:

We did not forget and since we need to amend other portions of our Park rules(which will require discussions with the recreation advisory committee) we are going to wait until that is completed and incorporated as well. As for the firearms issue our Chief of police acknowledges that the Ordinance as it stands cannot prohibit firearms in our parks. He has suggested replacing the word “firearms” with “shotgun”. Our Solicitor will need to review the draft as soon as the other language is revised dealing with other sections of the Ordinance. Thank you.

Mr Soriano:

I would urge those in charge of revising the ordinance to consult the advice of the solicitor, rather than the Chief of Police. 18 Pa.C.S. § 6120 states: "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."

Firearms, as used in this section means: "Any weapon which is designed to or may readily be converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive; or the frame or receiver of any such weapon (18 Pa.C.S. § 5515)."

Shotguns and rifles are included in this definition, and as such, their possession may not be regulated. Discharging these weapons may be regulated, but their possession cannot.

This is a very serious matter which I hope the Board of Commissioners does not take lightly. Passing or revising an ordinance in violation of the Uniform Firearms Act is a misdemeanor of the first degree (18 Pa.C.S. § 6119) and opens up those responsible for charges of official oppression, a misdemeanor of the second degree (18 Pa.C.S. § 5301).

Thank you for your time and I hope this problem can be resolved quickly.

Respectfully yours,
zackattack784

I would urge anyone in the area to send an email or a letter to the township in order to put the pressure on them to change this ordinance. From the looks of it they are just dragging their feet.

[pamedic]

Email sent to Mr. Soriano!

[zackattack784]

Email sent to Mr. Soriano!

Thank you! Rep sent!