Pittsburgh’s mayor, Bill Peduto, has been pushing for increased gun control in his city since the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in October. While Pennsylvania has a preemption law preventing local jurisdictions from enacting gun control laws that are more restrictive than state laws, the city council and Peduto decided to pick a fight in hopes that the state supreme court would invalidate preemption.
Today, Peduto signed new gun control legislation into law (an “assault weapons” ban, red flag law and armor-piercing ammo ban). A group of four Pittsburgh residents backed by the National Rifle Association immediately filed a lawsuit to block the new restrictions.
Here’s the AP’s report . . .
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh’s mayor has signed gun-control legislation passed by City Council in response to the synagogue massacre.
Opponents immediately filed suit Tuesday to block it.
Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto signed the legislation into law in a ceremony at the City-County Building. He says the community has come together “to say enough is enough.”
Pennsylvania law prohibits local regulation of guns and ammunition, and a coalition of gun-rights groups filed a lawsuit minutes after Peduto signed the bills.
The legislation restricts military-style assault weapons like the AR-15 rifle that authorities say was used in the rampage at Tree of Life Synagogue that killed 11 and wounded seven. It also bans most uses of armor-piercing ammunition and high-capacity magazines, and allows the temporary seizure of guns from people who are determined to be a danger to themselves or others.
What an attention seeking ass that mayor is. He’s going to cost his city money in this court fight he will absolutely lose and it’s all so he can get on a soap box for attention and praise from people who hate the Constitution.
He and the city counsel should be personally responsible for the costs.
1) Not his money
2) His idiot constituents love it
3) He’ll be re-elected
Why ‘aren’t’ legislators held responsible when they do stuff like this? When it comes to civilians, the laws have punishments that are clearly written and carried out if they choose break that law. With government officials, no such legal punishment apparently exists. Voting them out of office clearly isn’t a sufficient punishment and assassinating them would be absurdly extreme. There needs to be something in the middle.
Bill of Rights: “Don’t infringe on the right to bear arms!”
Government: “Oh yea? And what if I do, what are you gonna do about it?”
Bill of Rights: “…” (ah shit, I didn’t think that far ahead)
You may think it would be absurdly extreme, but we are quickly running out of other options.
The state supreme court which we are depending on in these law suits is all leftist now. A few years ago, in the Erie decision, a judge ruled that Pennsylvania residents are not “any person”, and in the early 2000s the PA supreme court ruled that the thing that looks and sounds like a registry and all the cops refer to as a registry isn’t actually a registry and therefore doesn’t violate state law. All of the major cities have illegal Lost or Stolen laws on their books and Allentown has a total carry prohibition on the books, but the courts won’t overturn any of those until they are used against someone. They won’t be used against someone until the municipalities are sure of their control of the courts. So don’t hold your breath on this lawsuit attempting to stop this clearly illegal law.
All of the major cities in Pennsylvania flaunt both federal and state drug and immigrations laws demonstrating continuously that the law only applies to the subjects, and not the masters.
Gun owners in PA had better start thinking about what “We will not comply” really means.
Spot on.
Amen!!! You are so right. Gun owners not only here in PA but every State Must take a stand and hold these Criminals in public office accountable for their criminal actions. There are no extreme measures with which we must accomplish this. What price Freedom??? If it costs our lives then so be it. We either make a stand against these unconstitutional laws now or risk our children and grandchildren’s Freedoms.
I think Florida does have a law holding municipalities financially responsible if they violate the Florida pre-emption law. But I’m not sure.
I don’t want the municipality held financially responsible, I want the officials personally on the hook for clearly illegal actions like this. If they were going to lose their own money, this crap would stop immediately
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April 9, 2019
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The 2018 Florida Statutes
Title XLVI
CRIMES
Chapter 790
WEAPONS AND FIREARMS
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790.33 Field of regulation of firearms and ammunition preempted.—
(1) PREEMPTION.—Except as expressly provided by the State Constitution or general law, the Legislature hereby declares that it is occupying the whole field of regulation of firearms and ammunition, including the purchase, sale, transfer, taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, storage, and transportation thereof, to the exclusion of all existing and future county, city, town, or municipal ordinances or any administrative regulations or rules adopted by local or state government relating thereto. Any such existing ordinances, rules, or regulations are hereby declared null and void.
(2) POLICY AND INTENT.—
(a) It is the intent of this section to provide uniform firearms laws in the state; to declare all ordinances and regulations null and void which have been enacted by any jurisdictions other than state and federal, which regulate firearms, ammunition, or components thereof; to prohibit the enactment of any future ordinances or regulations relating to firearms, ammunition, or components thereof unless specifically authorized by this section or general law; and to require local jurisdictions to enforce state firearms laws.
(b) It is further the intent of this section to deter and prevent the violation of this section and the violation of rights protected under the constitution and laws of this state related to firearms, ammunition, or components thereof, by the abuse of official authority that occurs when enactments are passed in violation of state law or under color of local or state authority.
(3) PROHIBITIONS; PENALTIES.—
(a) Any person, county, agency, municipality, district, or other entity that violates the Legislature’s occupation of the whole field of regulation of firearms and ammunition, as declared in subsection (1), by enacting or causing to be enforced any local ordinance or administrative rule or regulation impinging upon such exclusive occupation of the field shall be liable as set forth herein.
(b) If any county, city, town, or other local government violates this section, the court shall declare the improper ordinance, regulation, or rule invalid and issue a permanent injunction against the local government prohibiting it from enforcing such ordinance, regulation, or rule. It is no defense that in enacting the ordinance, regulation, or rule the local government was acting in good faith or upon advice of counsel.
(c) If the court determines that a violation was knowing and willful, the court shall assess a civil fine of up to $5,000 against the elected or appointed local government official or officials or administrative agency head under whose jurisdiction the violation occurred.
(d) Except as required by applicable law, public funds may not be used to defend or reimburse the unlawful conduct of any person found to have knowingly and willfully violated this section.
(e) A knowing and willful violation of any provision of this section by a person acting in an official capacity for any entity enacting or causing to be enforced a local ordinance or administrative rule or regulation prohibited under paragraph (a) or otherwise under color of law shall be cause for termination of employment or contract or removal from office by the Governor.
(f) A person or an organization whose membership is adversely affected by any ordinance, regulation, measure, directive, rule, enactment, order, or policy promulgated or caused to be enforced in violation of this section may file suit against any county, agency, municipality, district, or other entity in any court of this state having jurisdiction over any defendant to the suit for declaratory and injunctive relief and for actual damages, as limited herein, caused by the violation. A court shall award the prevailing plaintiff in any such suit:
1. Reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in accordance with the laws of this state, including a contingency fee multiplier, as authorized by law; and
2. The actual damages incurred, but not more than $100,000.
Interest on the sums awarded pursuant to this subsection shall accrue at the legal rate from the date on which suit was filed.
(4) EXCEPTIONS.—This section does not prohibit:
(a) Zoning ordinances that encompass firearms businesses along with other businesses, except that zoning ordinances that are designed for the purpose of restricting or prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer, or manufacture of firearms or ammunition as a method of regulating firearms or ammunition are in conflict with this subsection and are prohibited;
(b) A duly organized law enforcement agency from enacting and enforcing regulations pertaining to firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories issued to or used by peace officers in the course of their official duties;
(c) Except as provided in s. 790.251, any entity subject to the prohibitions of this section from regulating or prohibiting the carrying of firearms and ammunition by an employee of the entity during and in the course of the employee’s official duties;
(d) A court or administrative law judge from hearing and resolving any case or controversy or issuing any opinion or order on a matter within the jurisdiction of that court or judge; or
(e) The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from regulating the use of firearms or ammunition as a method of taking wildlife and regulating the shooting ranges managed by the commission.
(5) SHORT TITLE.—As created by chapter 87-23, Laws of Florida, this section may be cited as the “Joe Carlucci Uniform Firearms Act.”
History.—ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, ch. 87-23; s. 5, ch. 88-183; s. 1, ch. 2011-109.
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“Why ‘aren’t’ legislators held responsible when they do stuff like this?”
Generally speaking it’s because politicians are not ” à la carte”. If they hold enough “key” positions that their constituents support then they can do things that don’t matter to the majority of the people in that area. Someone who “does a lot of good” can get away with doing some bad.
How bad what they do is, or how good, depends on your point of view and no matter how bad what they do is you’ll always find a few people who will say “Well, yeah and I don’t agree with that but…”.
Enough people get together and hang about half of these bastards and that will stop this action all across the country. Called the Mississippi Rope dance.
i agree with Pedro. you may think it is extreme but i think it is not harsh enough for these traitors. Hang, Draw and Quarter with no burial, the remains scattered to the 4 winds far out to sea in international waters and all record of their life expunged from public record. This is the only punishment that those who seek power truly fear. Ceasing to exist where no one remembers their “greatness”, and yes i write it the way i do for a reason.
i dont hate people easily but i do hate traitors because the effects of their actions unlike those of a mass murderer effect many thousands to millions of people directly and sometimes for generations. A mass murderer effects a couple thousand at most and that is taking into account immediate family and close friends
I agree!!
I blame the voters.
I hope your not holding your breath that Anything will ever be done to these Idiot elected officials and their breaking the laws of this state or country. Nothing will ever be done because American’s have fo too long believe the B.S, Well that’s the government, what can we do?????? Even after American’e are enslaved they still won’t see it.
this Idiot Mayor might get more attention if he would shave that Ridiculous growth on his face. anyone that would allow themselves to look like that I wouldn’t trust as a Duck Crossing Guard.
You read my mind !
Living In a suburb 30 minutes away from shittsburgh, we hate this asshole.
If it makes you feel better, I live 50 minutes away, and I still hate this asshole.
I live 871 miles away, and I still hate him. 🙂
I live 7hrs away and STILL don’t like him. Lol!
7.5 and starting to wonder if NY annexed that city without telling anyone also tar and feathers required torches and pitchforks optional
Yeah I live in Westmoreland County – lotta contempt. I know the club I belong to is a participant in the suit.
These servants need to all be charged with the crime of Official Oppression.
In Pennsylvania private citizens have the right to bring criminal charges against another. No lawyer, judge or cop is necessary. There are citizens who have said that is what they intend to do. Mayor and council are looking at maybe three serious felony charges if they are brought. County attorney is already on record that what mayor and council are doing is unconstitutional.
Yes, but will any prosecutor press such a case against the mayor and city council? I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m thinking that’s a precedent no official (or judge, for that matter) will want to set.
I’m sure you people have the RECALL option don’t you. take them ALL out of office.
You’ll need the local justice of the peace and DA to sign off before youeven file it.
It looks like the governor better make good on his statement that he will take action against this mayor who took $500,000 from Blum berg to inactive this legislation.
The state is the only legislative body able to pass any laws in the state of Pennsyvania.
Bill “The Pud” Peduto
I don’t even remember any crimes committed with AP ammo. It wouldn’t be a very good choice for a mass shooting or even normal crime, no?
I think the Mandalay Bay shooter used both AP and incendiary rounds.
I think some was found in his room only. The only info I could get about the alleged AP was that is that there was “at least two rounds” of it. I got the idea it was .308 but never saw if it was real AP or just something like M80A1 or even less.
The attack on state preemption laws has been in the works for a while. It’s not just gun control. It’s all “progressive” causes that are stymied by individual negative rights.
Why does a conservative even associate with anyone who claims to be a democrat ???
Most women are Democrats, especially young women.
Plus the whole segregation thing, Irish ruined everything.
Well if this were to happen here in Floriduh..
Mr Mayor would have one foot in a jail cell. No more job. Ohhhhh more importantly a nice loss of income too.
“A group of opponents, backed by the National Rifle Association, immediately filed a lawsuit to block the new restrictions.”
NRA? What backing? Moral support, maybe, but no action. They vocalized their opposition to the Bills but did nothing(with your $$ in their pocket).
If you want to know who is using your hard earned cash to fight for your rights on this, it is the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), Firearms Policy Foundation (FPF), the Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC), and Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League.
What could the NRA or anyone else do while the proposals were before the city council or mayor? Nothing except voice their opposition. You can’t preemptively sue, you need to wait for them to be signed, then sue which is exactly what they did.
NO, the NRA did not join the suit. They did release a statement prior to the signing, but nothing since. NRA, No Real Action.
But you can now take guns premptively. Don’t you think front line MH workers and cops are going to perceive this as the law and not just an idea?
You will be arrested and then the charges fropped.
You will have to retain specialized counsel to defend you and now you have a record of arrest…even though you will be found not guilty
Then you will have to hire counsel after waiting one year and begin the expunge mentioned procesd.
They should all go to prison for knowingly breaking the law with bad intentions. Of course this will not happen because the government, as a whole, wants disarmament. The people will not defend themselves and they will not hold criminals accountable.
Last night on Comedy Central, the Jim Jeffries Show spent the entire half hour trash-talking guns and “American gun culture.” And he’s another Brit. I’m getting sick and tired of elite, pompous British blowhards coming over to our country, getting their own talk show, and then trash-talking America and American gun culture!
Do we go over to England and host talk shows telling Brits that tea should be banned?
No, so the British should stop coming to America and hosting talk shows telling Americans to ban guns, like they know better than us, like they’re our British lords and masters still like they were in 1775.
FYI, Jim Jeffries, it was “America’s gun culture” that defeated the Brits twice, in 1776 and 1812, and then came over to rescue their pathetic little island nation in WWI and WWII.
If it weren’t for America, the British would be speaking German today.
So get their British asses off of American TV talk shows and send them back to limey-town.
My mistake, Jim Jeffries is Australian, not British.
So I should have said he’s from the penal colony in the South Pacific, not the pathetic island in the North Atlantic.
Anyway, he sounds like a Brit, and his attitude on gun control is even more extreme than the British.
one of many traitors that are in both our countries that need to be made an example of
Locked and loaded.molon labe.bring your own body bags
This guy is willing to waste a bunch of taxpayer money to further his agenda. Hows that for looking out for your constituents?
Mayor Potato Head.
NYC mayor just mandated vaccines within city limits or face fines. Disarming the public and forcing injected pharmaceuticals are going hand in hand.
Maybe these “outbreaks” are because of illegal immigrants? The same people the government allows in and protects. Now they want to force Americans to put stuff in their bodies?
They used to force unwanted people to take “vaccines.” Those shots were to experiment on them, to kill them or to sterilize them. White Americans didn’t care because it was mostly done on non whites.
I wouldn’t trust a government that forces you to take shots.
Why do a lot of rich people refuse to give their kids shots? Why should your kids be forced to take shots when the whole theory says only the people without the shots are the ones going to get sick?
yep when in fact those who get the shots get sick more often than those who dont and often for longer than those who dont
Many modern vaccines are ineffective anyway, only lasting a couple of years. Plus the measles vaccine itself uses an improperly weakened form of measles so the vaccinated actually spread the disease. http://www.lewrockwell.com has many good articles on the problems with vaccines in the last few months.
I forgot to add that more people (like 50:1) have actually died from the vaccine than from the disease itself.
This is just another example of how liberals don’t respect the laws that are currently on the books…they just do what they want, and then let the court(s) decide, all the while wasting taxpayer $$$ and tying up the court system…
“and allows the temporary seizure of guns”…..What you been smoking? Temporary my a$$!
They will never learn gun control laws will not stop crime or mass shootings. Gun control only affects law abiding citizens and increases gun sales especially for criminals on the black market.
Most of the advocates of gun control are aware that the things they promote have no positive affect on gun violence. Other results motivate them. In the case of the Pittsburgh action it is a political stunt with several goals. For the Mayor, if he is to move up the political ladder, he must follow the Democratic plan. For the council showboating and name recognition so as to stay elected by the voters who have been conned into believing that a an law which is unenforcible against the perpetrators of the violence will solve at least some of the problem. If they were sincere they would have (at least) included knives.
The only way to stop this kind of conduct is to punish those who break their oaths of office which, in most cases says that the oath taker will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and/or the State of X.
To take such an oath and then violate it, and violate the public trust is criminal. We should individually be able to sue any politician who does so.
What does an Anti-American, Anti-Constitution, Anti-Freedom scumbag Socialist look like? Well just look at this Guy.
The mayor and all city council members that voted this into law should be arrested and held accountable for violating State Law.
I say we ask the esteemed (in his own mind) mayor to walk through the gang infested areas in his city unarmed at night.
We should all contact the Governor of this Commonwealth and press him to enforce the law of Pennsylvania.
He already had told this mayor that only the legislature can enact gun laws and that cities, towns, etc have no standing to do so.
Will you be arrested in Pittsburgh if you violate these “laws”? Yes you will. Will you be found nbot guilty? Yes you will.
Will you have to retain defense counsel to defend yourself? Yes you will.
Will you have an arrest record? Yes you will.
Will your arrest record impact your ability to purchase a firearm? Yes it will.
This mayor was happy to take $500,000 from the Blumberg/Soros gun ban boys.
they act like the constitution does not exist,