Lower Makefield Township Preemption Violation

[aalmcc4]

I'm sure you were joking, but PLEASE, anything approaching any idea like an "open carry night" would be the absolute worst thing any of us could do. That is not the way to address these issues.

By the way KCR, your letter was respectful, professional ,serious and on point. That is how we need to project ourselves. Thank you.

[Falcon118]

soooooo what you are saying is excercising our rights is wrong? You are of course entitled to your opinion, and it is your right not to carry if you choose, but as for me, I will continue to exercise my rights, and if an open carry event is held, I will make every attempt to be there. Telling people that an open carry event is the "Worst thing we could do" doesn't sit well with me.

[theo]

I think you have the wrong township. Pete Stainthorpe is the vice chair in Lower Makefield.

KCR... first

Kudos on jumping on this. I have lived and worked in the Newtown/Yardley area my whole life and carry in Tyler State Park (Newtown) as well as Washington Crossing (Makefield) thinking I would be without incident.

Secondly,

A friend of mine is married to the vice chairman (Benchener).. however it may be my friends' father, I am unclear if he is a junior but seems rather young to hold that title. If no progress is made drop me a line, I can at least get him to hear me out.

Way to go KCR!


-Rob Gregory

[theo]

PLEASE tell me you were joking. If you are against people excercising their rights, I think you might have joined the wrong forum.

I'm sure you were joking, but PLEASE, anything approaching any idea like an "open carry night" would be the absolute worst thing any of us could do. That is not the way to address these issues.

By the way KCR, your letter was respectful, professional ,serious and on point. That is how we need to project ourselves. Thank you.

[kcr121]

UPDATE:

I sent the following email to the members of the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors and the township's solicitor David Truelove:

From: <kcr121>
Sent: Monday, August 01, 2011 11:27 PM
To: gcaiola@lmt.org; pstainthorpe@lmt.org; rsmith@lmt.org; dmclaughlin@lmt.org; mmaloney@lmt.org
Cc: dtruelove@hillwallack.com
Subject: Lower Makefield Township Parks and Recreation Prohibition of Firearms

Gentlemen,

I am following up on a letter I wrote to the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors on May 21 referencing a Township ordinance that is not in compliance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A copy of the letter is attached to this email as a PDF file for your reference.

I understand that the ordinance was discussed at the June 1 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, but no resolution was reached. Please advise if there has been any further effort to address this issue.

<kcr121>

This is the reply I received from the solicitor:

From: David J. Truelove [mailto:dtruelove@HillWallack.com]
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 9:31 AM
To: <kcr121>
Subject: RE: Lower Makefield Township Parks and Recreation Prohibition of Firearms

The township has not enforced this ordinance for years, and will continue that practice. No other action is necessary.

David J. Truelove, Esq.

Here's the portion of the audio from the June 1 meeting of the Board of Supervisors where they discuss the ordinance, and the solicitor acknowledges that it's invalid:






If you're reading this, contact the members of the Lower Makefield Board of Supervisors and the solicitor to express your displeasure that the Township is knowingly violating the laws of our Commonwealth. Email and mailing addresses are in the original post.

The next meeting of the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors is on Wednesday, 8/17/2011 at 7:30 PM at 1100 Edgewood Road, Yardley PA 19067.

[theo]

For those of you who don't live in LMT, the meetings are now posted on their website. Supposed to be live and archived.

http://www.lmt.org/


.

[ByblosHex]

Lower Makefield needs a government and solicitor change apparently. Make sure you vote in the next election, and let them know why.

[kcr121]

Looks like I'm going to need some assistance on this one. I've had some emails back and forth, mainly with the solicitor, where he has stated explicitly that he believes that the township is not in violation of 18 PA C.S. §6120 (a) if they aren't enforcing the township ordinance that prohibits the lawful carry or possession of firearms in parks.

The impression I get from the board members is that they're hesitant to even discuss anything that's perceived as a gun issue.


Again, here are the email addresses of the members of the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors and the solicitor:

Greg Caiola
Chairman of the Board
gcaiola@lmt.org

Pete Stainthorpe
Vice Chairman
pstainthorpe@lmt.org

Ronald Smith
Secretary
rsmith@lmt.org

Daniel McLaughlin
Treasurer
dmclaughlin@lmt.org

Matt Maloney
Supervisor
mmaloney@lmt.org

David J. Truelove
Solicitor
dtruelove@hillwallack.com

[gnbrotz]

Looks like I'm going to need some assistance on this one. I've had some emails back and forth, mainly with the solicitor, where he has stated explicitly that he believes that the township is not in violation of 18 PA C.S. §6120 (a) if they aren't enforcing the township ordinance that prohibits the lawful carry or possession of firearms in parks.

If they're not going to enforce a measure (ANY measure) on the books, what's the point of having it? I've sometimes heard excuses of the "expense" to undo it. How much does it cost to take five minutes and vote to rescind the applicable section of the offending ordinance? Can a resident decline to observe a township ordinance if they feel it's too expensive for them to do so?

[kcr121]

If they're not going to enforce a measure (ANY measure) on the books, what's the point of having it? I've sometimes heard excuses of the "expense" to undo it. How much does it cost to take five minutes and vote to rescind the applicable section of the offending ordinance? Can a resident decline to observe a township ordinance if they feel it's too expensive for them to do so?

Here's the question I posed to them most recently (and haven't received any response) - what happens when there's a new Board of Supervisors and a new police chief who decide to enforce the ordinance? Does the township have taxpayer funds set aside for the inevitable lawsuit?