Pennsylvania's high court hears arguments in Philadelphia's challenge to gun laws

HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments in a case concerning Philadelphia gun laws on Wednesday.

The City of Philadelphia, CeaseFirePA Education Fund and ten individuals affected by gun violence in Philadelphia filed a lawsuit in 2020 challenge the Commonwealth’s Firearms Preemption laws, which block local gun legislation.

"At the end of the day, we are hoping to target unlawful firearms. Philadelphia has one of the worst firearm rates in the country second only to Chicago," said lawyer Jasmeet Ahuja who presented oral arguments on behalf of the city and co-petitioners. "Another unfortunate statistic here in Pennsylvania, Blacks are 19 times more likely to die by firearm than their white counterparts. That shouldn’t be the case and it’s happening here in Philadelphia."

Lawyers for the Commonwealth including the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore and Pennsylvania Attorney General argued the rights of Philadelphians to purchase and carry while raising the question if the Court should be weighing in on a policy matter.

Joshua Prince submitted a brief to the Court and represents Firearm Owners Against Crime and Allegheny County Sportsman League

"First and foremost, this is a policy decision, and you heard a number of the justices say that this is something to be dealt with by the General Assembly. It’s not in their house, they have to stay in their lane," said Prince. "The City of Philadelphia is arguing if they can enact their own ordinances which could only be penalized by a summary offense, which is a traffic ticket that would dissuade criminals from committing these crimes and that’s obscene. Criminals are going to commit criminal acts and if the felonies and misdemeanors aren’t precluding them from doing that, surely a summary is not."

There are currently three ordinances on the books in Philadelphia that cannot be enforced under preemption laws.

They include requiring a permit to purchase a gun, limiting firearm purchases to one a month and extreme risk protection orders, which are similar to red flag laws.

"The access [to firearms] in Philadelphia County surpasses what we see in other counties, and I think that is something that would need to be further developed in a factual record, which is what we’re asking to do," said Diana Cortes, Philadelphia City Solicitor.

Rosalind Pichardo of Kensington is one of the ten individuals who are part of this lawsuit. She’s a survivor of gun violence and said it took the lives of her twin sister, brother and boyfriend.

"A lot of us are still mourning the loss of our loved ones and we’re trying to make a difference. When no one hears us, it makes it a lot more difficult," said Pichardo. ‘We’re not trying to infringe anybody’s right to bear arms, but we want to have people to have common sense gun ownership and make it harder for folks who shouldn’t have a gun, not to have one."

There are several more cases of ongoing litigation related to gun legislation and enforcement in Philadelphia.

They include the failure to report lost and stolen firearms, regulating the private manufacturing of firearms, a lawsuit against ghost gun manufacturers and distributors and legal action against three gun shops.

Lawyers anticipate it will be several months before a court decision.