Springfield rights violation?

[ksf141]

Recently moved to springfield and noticed this ordinance on the township website. It includes "carry" and "posess". Isnt that a direct violation of 2nd amendment rights? School me if im reading this incorrectly.

Ordinance #1466
Article 1 Firearms
48-1 Discharge, carrying, or possession of firearms restricted. No person shall, except in necessary defense of person or property, carry, possess, fire, or discharge any gun, firearm, bow and arrow, BB gun, air gun, spring gun, paintball gun, or any implement which impels with force a metal pellet or projectile of any kind, within the Township of Springfield; provided, however, nothing herein shall be interpreted to prohibit the firing or discharge of said implements at properly constructed and supervised ranges which have been approved by the Chief of Police of the Township of Springfield. Adopted this 11th day of September, 2007 by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Springfield.

[XavierBK]

That ordinance is illegal according to the PA UFA:

PA Uniform Firearms Act
http://acslpa.org/pa_uniform_firearms_act.htm
TITLE 18
PA CRIMES CODES


§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.

[thundrr1]

Being discussed here............

http://forum.pafoa.org/concealed-ope...violation.html

[internet troll]

Yes it is. Soberbyker has been working on this and has sent emails to them about the preemption.

http://forum.pafoa.org/concealed-ope...violation.html

[thundrr1]

Being discussed here............

http://forum.pafoa.org/concealed-ope...violation.html

[Sshuker]

Go to a township meeting.

Propose an amendment to Ordinance #1466 to delete the words "carrying, or possession" and "carry, possess".

Bring plenty of copies of the ordinance and §6120. Be dressed well, polite, sign in, wait your turn and simply present the issue. You are not there to argue with them. They will not be prepared to even talk about it until they have had their solicitor review it. So, do not expect immediate action on it at that meeting, but they will give it to their solicitor for review.

Find some 'news' person (and I say it that way for a reason). I am including even a pro gun blogger that has good enough phone shills to call and inquire about a submission to amend a claimed unlawful ordinance.

This should be all it takes to see if the language was just copied form something else without considering it or if they are intending to push the limits and are happy to wait for the ordinance to be tested in court.

I you can not find any 'news' person to call them, get in touch with me. I can call as an interested attorney, considering getting into the matter, just inquiring on if my involvement is needed. If you do need me, get the names of all of the board members and the solicitor and any contact information you can for them.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

[90volts]

If you need backup or moral support let me know. Ijust moved into springfield and just started carrying again after a few years.

[90volts]

This was listed as a "highlight" of ordinances.
from here : http://www.springfielddelco.org/comm...public-safety/

Ordinance #1466
Article 1 Firearms

48-1 Discharge, carrying, or possession of firearms restricted. No person shall, except in necessary defense of person or property, carry, possess, fire, or discharge any gun, firearm, bow and arrow, BB gun, air gun, spring gun, paintball gun, or any implement which impels with force a metal pellet or projectile of any kind, within the Township of Springfield; provided, however, nothing herein shall be interpreted to prohibit the firing or discharge of said implements at properly constructed and supervised ranges which have been approved by the Chief of Police of the Township of Springfield. Adopted this 11th day of September, 2007 by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Springfield.

But this was listed in the actual ordinance online.
from here : http://www.ecode360.com/9326871

Article I: Firearms
[Adopted 10-19-1960 by Ord. No. 680; amended in its entirety 10-8-2013 by Ord. No. 1541]
§ 48-1 Discharge of firearms and other weapons restricted.
A.

No person shall discharge, cause to be discharged or fire any firearm, including, but not limited to, any pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or any weapon which is designed to or may readily be converted to expel any projectile by action of an explosive, within the Township of Springfield.
B.

No person shall shoot or cause to be shot by use of a bow or any other instrument, any pointed arrows when said arrows are pointed with stone, wooden or metal tips.
C.

No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any air rifle, air gun, BB gun, spring gun, paintball gun or any implement or weapon which is designed to impel with force a projectile of any kind, within the Township of Springfield.
D.

Hunting of game or wildlife shall be prohibited within and on all property owned by the Township of Springfield.
E.

The prohibitions of this Article I, § 48-1, shall not apply to the discharge or shooting of firearms or other weapons in the use of force in self-protection, for protection of other persons, for protection of property, or in the performance of a law enforcement duty. The Chief of Police may give prior written approval for the discharge of firearms or the shooting of arrows at properly constructed and supervised ranges, or the discharge of firearms during any military or law enforcement honor guard exercise.

When I can, I will head over and see if I can get a clarification from someone.

[soberbyker]

Yes it is. Soberbyker has been working on this and has sent emails to them about the preemption.

http://forum.pafoa.org/concealed-ope...violation.html

Yes I was working on this and it initially seemed promising but that has since disappeared. Anyone else who wants to try please do so, the more the merrier.

[soberbyker]

This was listed as a "highlight" of ordinances.
from here : http://www.springfielddelco.org/comm...public-safety/




But this was listed in the actual ordinance online.
from here : http://www.ecode360.com/9326871



When I can, I will head over and see if I can get a clarification from someone.

The only problem here would be the carry/possess part of the ordinance. Townships, boroughs, cities, are allowed to regulate the discharge of firearms within their borders.