l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 USANews 讨论区 】
发信人: lczlcz (lcz), 信区: USANews
标 题: NRA把宾州的3个城市告了
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Wed Jan 14 12:55:06 2015, 美东)
APNewsBreak: NRA suing Pennsylvania cities over gun laws
January 14, 2015 - 12:06 PM
MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press
Armed with a new state law, pro-gun groups are rapidly scaling up their
attack on municipal firearms ordinances in Pennsylvania, with the National
Rifle Association filing suit over gun-control measures in three cities.
The cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Lancaster have "openly defied" a
40-year-old state law that forbids municipalities from regulating firearms,
said Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative
Action.
The lawsuit against Lancaster was filed late Tuesday and was released by the
NRA on Wednesday. The group also filed legal paperwork in Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh courts and was awaiting confirmation those lawsuits had been
accepted.
Another group, Houston-based U.S. Law Shield, sued the capital city of
Harrisburg on Tuesday over its gun laws.
Pennsylvania has long barred its municipalities from approving ordinances
that regulate the ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of guns
or ammunition. But scores of cities and towns ignored the prohibition, and
gun-rights groups complained the local measures were difficult to challenge
successfully in court because judges have ruled that plaintiffs could not
prove they were harmed by them.
Under a state law that took effect last week, gun owners no longer have to
show they have been hurt by a local ordinance to successfully challenge it.
The new law also allows organizations like the National Rifle Association to
sue on behalf of any Pennsylvania member. If successful, the challenger can
also seek legal fees and other costs.
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Lancaster are fighting the new law in court,
contending lawmakers didn't follow constitutional procedure for passing
legislation.
Philadelphia officials have long said the local measures are needed to
combat persistent gun violence that claims hundreds of lives each year. In
2010, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed city ordinances that limited
people to buying one gun a month and banned assault weapons, but the NRA —
deemed to lack standing — lost its bid to get three other city gun laws
thrown out.
In the small city of Lancaster, the NRA is challenging an ordinance that
requires residents to tell police if a gun they own is lost or stolen. Such
ordinances are common in cities throughout Pennsylvania.
Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, who is named as a defendant along with City
Council and the city itself, did not immediately respond to an email request
for comment made through his chief of staff.
Cox, the NRA official, said local laws "do not make people safer" and, in a
statement, accused officials of "politically grandstanding at taxpayers'
expense."
The NRA plans to go after other municipalities whose gun ordinances are
barred by state law, said the group's attorney, Jonathan Goldstein.
"We expect every municipality to repeal ordinances that are pre-empted. If
other folks don't get on board with what the law requires, they can expect
to hear from us in due course," he said.
Under threat of litigation by another attorney, Joshua Prince, more than 20
Pennsylvania municipalities have already moved to repeal their firearms
ordinances instead of defending them in court. |
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