City Solicitor Shelley Smith today challenged in court the standing of the National Rifle Association to sue Philadelphia for a package of five gun-control laws passed by City Council on April 10 and signed immediately into law by Mayor Nutter. Smith told PhillyClout her preliminary objections, filed with Common Pleas Court Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan, note that the NRA challenges the legality of the gun control laws but doesn't "allege an actual injury." The NRA sued on behalf of its members in the city, two firearm organizations, two gun shops and four firearm owners.
"They don't deal specifically with the legal injury as it relates to each of the separate ordinances," Smith said. "You have to look at what every ordinance prohibits and then figure out if any of the plaintiffs can allege any specific injury." The local laws limit handgun purchases to one a month, make it a crime to not report a lost or stolen gun within 48 hours, allow police to confiscate guns with a judge's approval from people considered a danger to themselves or others, prohibit gun possession by people subject to protection from abuse orders, and ban semiautomatic weapons with clips that hold 10 or more rounds.
Greenspan on April 17 approved the NRA's request for a temporary restraining order to keep the city from enforcing the new laws. She will hold a hearing on May 19 to consider the group's request for a permanent injunction. The NRA says the laws conflict with a 1996 state Supreme Court ruling that only the state can regulate guns. Smith says the city laws do not conflict with that ruling. Further complicating matters, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey had vowed to enforce the local laws before the restraining order but District Attorney Lynne Abraham said she would not prosecute anyone arrested for violating them.
UPDATE: PhillyClout thanks the readers below for correcting our headline spelling. But we find their connection of our sloppy spelling to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to be a ridiculous stretch. Thanks fellas!
Challengs? Is that the Daily News spell checker at work?— MiddleNameHussein- Challengs - Philadelphia Daily News aka All Obama All the Time. The Mark of True Quality.— Jack Klompus
- Daily News, didnt you know the two commenters who made the spelling observation have never made a mistake.....EVER? Lets applaud these superior beings. ALL HAIL.— JackRyan
- Hard to believe it took two to write this article. Authors: If you are going to be writing about firearms, you should at least learn the terminology, for instance the difference between a clip and a magazine (http://www.thegunzone.com/clips-mags.html) Very few modern weapons require the use of loading clips anymore. As far as the laws in question, it is obvious to those watching the anti-gun crowd that these are typical silly political feel-good copy-cats from elsewhere; "one gun a month?" -- gang gun traffickers don't buy through traceable dealers, and legal gun collectors know buying more than one raises flags at the BATFE. "protected by abuse orders" -- "Hey! You can't beat me and my kids, I'm protected by an abuse order!" won't stop a drunk or drugged wife beater. If you're thinking deterrence, the judge should tell the plaintiffs publicly to buy and train to use a gun -- in the presence of their antagonists. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.— Zaphod
- Even if the spelling is wrong, and magazines are not clips, the real issue here are the laws Philly wants to pass on the their citizens have already been part of the past Brady Bill and found to have not changed or rendered any differece. If law abiding citizens left to their own, gun crimes go down, and crimes go down because bad guys have now a sense of doubt period. Why didn't the Mayor pass harsher crime laws that Richmond, Virgina has? Why not enforce the already gun laws on the book? People also need to realize that Democrats, yes Democrats always pass restrictions, but rarely bring freedom to legal law abiding citizens. Chicago, Philly and other large American cities pass restrictive laws to a free people but never if ever pass laws to put away crooks who represent the real roadblocks to a free people. Philadelphia, the home to my father, graduate of Temple U. carried a gun when he was alive for business in Charlotte,N.C. It kept him safe. The only thing kept safe by these already outmoded do nothing laws are crooks, and gun control folks and control freaks who rarely if ever speak or talk of freedom. Richmond, Virginia has laws called Project Exile. Phiadelphians let your voices be known and demand freedoms instead of restrictions. Tell your mayor to stick it where the sun doesn't shine!— bigdon
- Sorry for my spelling errors due to illness, but the message is the same. Demand Freedom! Demand that people who live and follow the laws of the land remain free to live free, and have the ability to buy legal goods from legal FFL holders.— bigdon
- The real issue here is that antigun officials like the Philadelphia Mayor and city council feel that laws are for others to obey but not them. They pass ordinances in violation of State law, then expect citizens to obey them. That is both typical and illustrative of the hypocrisy of those who would disarm ordinary citizens.— brolin_1911a1
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans.
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