Gun group sues Lower Merion over park ordinance

LOWER MERION A state firearms group is suing Lower Merion Township to overturn an ordinance regulating guns in parks.

Firearm Owners Against Crime, a statewide nonprofit group, staged a protest in Bala Cynwyd Park this month and had promised to file a suit if the ordinance was not rescinded.

Lower Merion's ordinance says that no one can carry or discharge a gun in a park "without a special permit, unless exempted."

Township officials have said that a state-issued gun license qualifies as an exemption.

The suit says that gun owners "have a well-grounded fear of imminent prosecution" and alleges that even if the ordinance is not enforced, it "will have a chilling effect on the otherwise lawful right to sell, transfer, and possess lawful firearms."

The gun group is seeking damages, legal fees, an overturning of the ban and an injunction to prevent the township from passing any future laws regulating guns.

One of the plaintiffs, Joseph Abramson, is a resident of Lower Merion who has a concealed-carry permit for his handgun, according to the suit.

The suit was filed Friday in Montgomery County Court. The township has yet to respond. - Jessica Parks