After our recent success in this thread, next up is Lower Makefield Township's preemption violation:

CHAPTER 141. PARKS AND RECREATION AREAS

§ 141-26. Firearms, hatchets, axes, saws and knives or weapons.

No person shall:
A. Bring into or upon the park system nor have in his or her possession nor discharge or set off anywhere within the park system any revolver, pistol, rifle, shotgun, air rifle or pistol or any gun, rifle, firearm or bow and arrow or other weapon that discharges projectiles either by air, explosive force or by any other substance.
I sent the following letter to the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors, and sent courtesy copies to the township's Park and Recreation Board and solicitor David Truelove:

Board of Supervisors
Lower Makefield Township Building
1100 Edgewood Road
Yardley, PA 19067

Gentlemen:

I am writing to bring to the attention of the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors an ordinance of the Township relating to parks and recreation areas that appears to be in violation of state law. The Lower Makefield Township Code, Chapter 141, subsection 26 (a) states the following:

“No person shall…[b]ring into or upon the park system nor have in his or her possession…any revolver, pistol, rifle, shotgun…firearm…or other weapon that discharges projectiles either by air, explosive force or by any other substance.”

It is my belief that this ordinance is in violation of Title 18, section 6120, subsection (a) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes which states:

“No county, municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms…when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this commonwealth.”

The preemption statute in 18 PA C.S. §6120 (a) was passed in 1995 under the Uniform Firearms Act. It appears that Chapter 141 of the Lower Makefield Township Code was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in April of 1979. However, there was no grandfathering of existing limitations, so in any event, Lower Makefield Township Code §141-26 (a) as it stands today is improper and unenforceable under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

I respectfully request that that the Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors please look into this matter and advise when it has been resolved.

Sincerely,


[kcr121]

cc: Lower Makefield Township Solicitor David Truelove
cc: Lower Makefield Township Park and Recreation Board
Here are the addresses for the above officials:

Board of Supervisors
Lower Makefield Township Building
1100 Edgewood Road
Yardley, PA 19067

Park and Recreation Board
Lower Makefield Township Building
1100 Edgewood Road
Yardley, PA 19067

David Truelove
Lower Makefield Township Solicitor
Hill Wallack LLP
777 Township Line Road, Suite 250
Yardley, PA 19067

Additionally, here are the email addresses for the members of the Board of Supervisors:

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

I encourage anyone reading this to contact the above officials and request that they bring Lower Makefield Township's code into compliance with the laws of our Commonwealth. Any correspondence I receive will be posted in this thread.