Mayors blast bill targeting local gun-control laws

Four big-city mayors, including Philly's Mayor Michael Nutter, will roadtrip to Harrisburg this morning to trumpet their objections to a bill lawmakers are considering that would allow gun-rights activists to sue cities that require citizens to report when their firearms get lost or stolen.

House Bill 1523, as we first wrote about here, would allow any gun owner challenging the local ordinances to collect attorneys' fees and damages from the city that passed the ordinance. Further, an amendment added to the bill earlier this year would enable the National Rifle Association or similar groups to challenge the ordinances, at the local municipalities' expense, regardless of whether an individual gun owner contests a specific citation.

Although state lawmakers in 2008 rejected a proposal that would require the timely reporting of lost or stolen handguns statewide, 48 municipalities, including Philly, went ahead and passed local laws requiring such reporting or officially urged the state to do so.

Plenty of law-enforcement bigwigs have come out against the bill, including Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities and CeaseFirePA.

Today, Nutter will be joined by Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, Lancaster Mayor Richard Gray, and Chester Mayor John Linder in voicing objections to the bill during a morning news conference on the Capitol Building's front steps.

Authorities say timely reporting of lost or stolen guns helps them fight illegal gun-traffickers and straw buyers. Critics say it infringes on their constitutional right to bear arms and wrongly supercedes state law.