ATTN: Lancaster City Gun Owners

[MrBlackHawk]

“Lost or Stolen” Ordinance Revived in Lancaster
Please Stand-Up and Make Your Voices Heard!
Yesterday, Mayor Richard Gray (D) reintroduced a proposal that would require gun owners to report a lost or stolen firearm within a 72-hour period or face fines and possible imprisonment. This law not only violates Pennsylvania’s state preemption laws, but it makes innocent law-abiding victims into criminals.

The proposal will be considered by the Lancaster City Council on Tuesday, May 26. A vote by the City Council is expected on Tuesday, June 9.

Please make plans to attend the May 26 City Council meeting to show your support for the Second Amendment and, if possible, voice your opposition to this illegal and unwarranted proposal. The meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the Council’s Chambers in the Southern Market Building located at 100 South Queen St. in Lancaster.

If you are unable to attend, please contact the City Council TODAY at (717) 291-4785 and respectfully urge them to oppose the Mayor’s ordinance. Email addresses for the City Council can be found below. Also, please contact Mayor Gray by phone at (717) 291-4701 or e-mail mayorsoffice@cityoflancasterpa.com and ask him to withdraw his proposal.

Louise B. Williams, President
LBWilliams1@aol.com

Patricia A. Coller
pacoller@live.com

Joseph R. Morales
joemorales.sr@verizon.net

Nelson M. Polite, Sr., Vice-President
Politesr14@aol.com

Tim J. Roschel
Troschel@aol.com

Kendra J. Saunders
Kendrajeansaunders@yahoo.com

Jose E. Urdaneta
Jurdaneta@urdaneta.net

[jack76590]

As I posted elsewhere how can Lancaster City require a Lancaster City resident to report a lost or stolen handgun if the gun is lost or stolen outside the jurisdiction of Lancaster City? So how is Mayor Gray going to prove you lost your gun inside his jurisdiction.

I sent a copy of the following to the legislative people listed by prior poster. Thanks for contacts.

"Some questions regarding jurisdiction. Do you believe Lancaster City has jurisdiction to require any of the following.

1. Require a Lancaster City resident to report a lost or stolen handgun, if the gun is lost or stolen outside the City of Lancaster.

2. Require a non Lancaster City resident to report a handgun lost or stolen within the City of Lancaster.

3. Require a Lancaster City resident to report a handgun lost or stolen within the City of Lancaster."

[MrBlackHawk]

plain and simple, they DONT have the authority to impose this law. the mayors comments to the local paper were that he welcomed the lawsuits. this coming from the mayor of a city that is all but broke and is taxing the hell out of it's residents. he wants to enact this ridicules law and then fight the NRA on it with the tax payers money.

[c45man]

Lancaster City and its clown mayor can pass any law they want. By Pennsylvania law, city ordinances can only be classified as summary offenses. That is on the same level as a traffic citation. Even if found guilty the defendant could appeal. Once appealed to the Court of Common Pleas for Lancaster County, it would be up to the County District Attorney to challenge the appeal. It is doubtful that such a challenge would occur. District Attorneys go by state rules of criminal procedure, not the whims of a political hack mayor and counsel. Besides that, no district attorney wants to be embarrassed by losing an open and shut case on a superior court challenge.
Even the district attorney of Philadelphia, hardly a friend of gun owners, stated that she would not enforce such an ordinance if passed by Nutter's gang. There is no case prescedent to support enforcement.

[wallyone]

I got that e-mail from the NRA the other day and e-mailed all the council members and the mayor's office. I'm sure they all read that.
As the e-mail says the mayor reintroduced this proposal, he had tried it before about the same time some other places tried and faced more of a challance then it was worth that it was dropped. The samething will happen this time. Will end up a waste of time just to make it look like the mayor is trying to make a differance, when in reality this would do nothing at all to stop crime.
My question too as someone who lives just outside of the city limits is who would I have to report my loss to, would it be my responceably to contact the city or would my report to my police department cover it.

[TXDMERC73]

only a city like pittsburgh or philly can impose their own gun laws i dont think lancaster is a first class city

[c45man]

there is only one city of the first class in the commonwealth, that being Philadelphia. Philadelphia can only pass its own gun laws if the state legislature and governor approve. That is why Mayor Nutter has been whining to the state house to allow Philadelphia to enact legislation restricting gun sales to one a month for the residents of their city.
The antics used by the mayor of Lancaster is nothing short of political grandstanding, in other words hot air.

[1SweetV6]

What I don't get is why would some one NOT report a stole gun?!?! It doesn't make any sense to me that if it your an honest person that u would not report it. I can see why thy think this law would help. The reporting a stolen law not the one about buying guns or anything I missed. I can see why they would think it would keep some one from buying 5 guns & then having them "stolen" but they person went out & bought 5 more. Then some how they got "stolen" also. We all know the person is selling them to people that should not have them.

[Curmudgeon]

What I don't get is why would some one NOT report a stole gun?!?! It doesn't make any sense to me that if it your an honest person that u would not report it. I can see why thy think this law would help. The reporting a stolen law not the one about buying guns or anything I missed. I can see why they would think it would keep some one from buying 5 guns & then having them "stolen" but they person went out & bought 5 more. Then some how they got "stolen" also. We all know the person is selling them to people that should not have them.

And there is already a law against making a "strawman purchase".

There is also a law against selling a firearm without going through a FFL.

There is also a law against selling to a prohibited person.

All this will do is make an honest citizen who becomes a victim of firearm theft
into a criminal until he reports the theft.

It also allows the politicians, who are responsible for governing our municipalities, to use this as a "smokescreen" claiming, "Look, we had to do something, we wrote a law!" Meanwhile, criminals continue to act with impunity because of an overall lack of enforcement.

If a criminal is not going to obey these laws, what is the sense in violating the state preemption law to add another?

Now, you answer me that one.