Recently, a judge officially blocked a ban against guns that has been set in place via executive order by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D), taking place just a single week after the extremely liberal mayor officially signed the EO.
Late last week, Kenney tried to effectively outlaw all firearms, even for those who went through correct channels to legally own their guns, at any and all city recreational facilities, despite the laws for the state barring any such regulation. The order was rapidly hit with opposition coming from nonprofit gun group Guns Owners of America (GOA).
One Democrat Judge, Joshua Roberts, issued a “permanent injunction” against the signed order, in essence banning the enforcement of the signed EO, as reported by NBC Philadelphia.
“The law in Pennsylvania couldn’t be clearer,” stated GOA attorney Andrew Austin in a release after the ruling was announced. “No municipality – including Philadelphia – may regulate the lawful possession of firearms in any manner.”
As reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, state law for Pennsylvania specifically reads, “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.”
Kenney stated that the order was needed in order to protect the people of the city. “This gives them some protection, some peace of mind, some ability to call the authorities when some knucklehead decides they want to bring a gun into a rec center and they see it, that’s part of what this is about,” stated the mayor, as reported by the Inquirer.
“Obviously, the City doesn’t care about that law or the concrete legal precedent affirming it, and since there are no consequences for them, they will continue to try to ram through illegal rules to the detriment of their own citizens,” expressed Ausitin. “However, we’re grateful that the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas was willing to act so quickly to prohibit the mayor’s illegal action.”
Despite statements from the GOA claiming that it will not back down, the city is still expected to try and appeal the order.
“All of the anti-gun municipalities across the Commonwealth need to understand the message from this case: Gun Owners of America will not tolerate illegal bans, prohibitions, or restrictions on the Second Amendment in violation of Pennsylvania law,” expressed Dr. Val Finnell, the Pennsylvania Director of GOA. “We stopped Mayor Kenney in less than a week, and we will do the same to you.”
Finnell continued by stating that there needs to be “consequences for these illegal actions via the state’s statute of preemption. “When municipalities like Philadelphia violate the law, they should pay attorney’s fees and damages,” explained the director.
