Another effort by Philadelphia officials to reject a long-standing express provision that prevents the area from passing its own gun legislation was rejected by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The high court ruled in a , 6-0, that the city’s arguments “woefully underwrote” the legal framework for a legitimate victory and that it had never established that Philadelphia’s existing ban on local gun ordinances was to blame for the city’s gun violence.
City officials , for years , have attempted to overcome the constitutional hurdle known as nullification, which , restrictions municipalities , from passing gun control measures that are stricter than state regulations. Even so, mayors and city council members have attempted to outlaw assault-style weapons, impose a ban on gun purchases, and outlaw gun possession in parks and recreation facilities, but the courts have just recently determined that the provisions were outlawed.
Attorneys for the area and a group of people who have been victims of gun violence in this case, filed in 2020 by Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration, had argued in component that preempt violated Philadelphia’s legal rights to life and liberty and that the General Assembly had failed to pass new nationwide regulations on its own.
If allowed, city officials said they would pass new laws that would make it harder for people to buy weapons in the city while keeping them from doing so in a specific time frame. These changes would include enacting new laws that would limit the number of guns a person can buy in the city limits within a specific time frame.
But Justice P. Kevin Brobson, writing for the judge, said it was “wholly inappropriate” to say that an individual’s right were tied to a municipal ability to pass local regulations. Additionally, he claimed that the city had failed to demonstrate that the General Assembly had committed” state created harm” as a result of numerous factors that included policy making.
City leaders did not respond to requesting comments right away.
The choice, according to Adam Garber, senior director of the gun crime reduction advocacy group CeaseFire PA, which joined the town in its lawsuit, prevents local governments from addressing the state’s leading cause of death, Black people and children, in a speech.
Garber said his organization is optimistic about the success of various continuous rifle lawsuits, including Philadelphia’s work to impose reporting of lost or stolen firearms. He likewise urged the General Assembly, which includes the GOP-controlled Senate and a sluggish Democratic majority in the House, to act “before more lives are lost” in response to the judge’s ruling.
Since the town filed its lawsuit in 2020, Philadelphia’s rate of gun violence has almost doubled.
More than 430 people had been killed in deaths through Nov. 20, 2020, authorities statistics show, the vast majority by weapons.
This time, through the same time, the figures show, 228 individuals have been slain.
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