National Rifle Ass'n v. City of Philadelphia

977 A.2d 78, 2009 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 470, 2009 WL 1692390
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 18, 2009
Docket1305 C.D. 2008, No. 1306 C.D. 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 977 A.2d 78 (National Rifle Ass'n v. City of Philadelphia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Rifle Ass'n v. City of Philadelphia, 977 A.2d 78, 2009 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 470, 2009 WL 1692390 (Pa. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

OPINION BY

President Judge LEADBETTER.

The City of Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter and the Philadelphia City Council (collectively, the City) appeal from the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (trial court), which permanently enjoined the City from enforcing two ordinances regulating the transfer and possession of firearms. The National Rifle Association (NRA), NRA members Jon Mirowitz, Eugene Wal-worth, John Olexa and Charles H. Cox, III, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Pennsylvania Association of Firearms Retailers and two local firearm retailers, Firing Line, Inc. and Colosimo’s Inc., (collectively, Plaintiffs) cross-appeal from the trial court’s determination that they lack standing to challenge three additional gun control ordinances. We affirm.

The five ordinances at issue herein were adopted by the City on April 10, 2008, in an effort to regulate the ownership and transfer of firearms within the City limits. The Ordinances can be summarized as follows: Bill No. 080017, “Imminent Danger Ordinance,” authorizes the temporary removal of firearms from persons found by the court, upon affidavit of two police officers or a district attorney, to pose a risk of imminent harm to themselves or others; Bill No. 080018-A, “Protection From Abuse Ordinance,” prohibits persons subject to an active protection from abuse order from acquiring or possessing firearms when such order provides for confiscation of the firearms; Bill No. 080032-A, “Lost or Stolen Gun Ordinance,” requires gun owners to report their lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement officials within twenty-four hours after discovery of the loss or theft; Bill No. 080033, “Assault [80]*80Weapons Ordinance,” prohibits the possession, sale and transfer of certain offensive weapons, including assault weapons, as well as certain contraband accessories or ammunition; and finally, Bill No. 080035-A, “Straw Purchaser Ordinance,” prohibits any person when purchasing a handgun from acting as a straw purchaser and prohibits the purchase of more than one handgun within any thirty-day period, except for any person who is not a straw purchaser.

Plaintiffs filed a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, asserting that the Ordinances are unconstitutional3 and preempted by Section 6120(a) of the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act (Firearms Act), 18 Pa.C.S. § 6120(a).4 On April 17, 2008, the trial court entered a preliminary injunction temporarily restraining the City from enforcing the Ordinances. Following a hearing, by order dated June 3, 2008,5 the trial court permanently enjoined the City from enforcing the Assault Weapons Ordinance and the Straw Purchaser Ordinance, concluding that they were preempted by state law. The trial court also determined that the Plaintiffs failed to establish standing to challenge the remaining three Ordinances, thus barring Plaintiffs’ challenge to these three Ordinances on procedural grounds. Thereafter, the parties filed post-trial motions, which the trial court denied.

On appeal to this court,6 we are faced once again with a challenge to the City’s latest attempt to regulate certain activity with respect to firearms in its ongoing efforts to address the unfortunate and tragic proliferation of gun crimes in the City.7 In this most recent attempt, the City first argues that it is not preempted from regulating all conduct in the area of firearms by Section 6120 of the Firearms Act and that case law supports its adoption of both the Assault Weapons Ordinance and the Straw Purchaser Ordinance as long as they do not intrude “within the zone that has been expressly preempted by the Commonwealth,” ie., the regulation of lawful activity. City’s Brief, at 5. The City contends that by enacting the Assault Weapons Ordinance, it is merely regulating in more detail that which the state has already made unlawful under the prohibited offensive weapons statute, Section 908(c) of the Crimes Code, which bans any “implement for the infliction of serious [81]*81bodily injury which serves no common lawful purpose.” 18 Pa.C.S. § 908(c). This, the City further asserts, is a permissible exercise of its legislative power enacted “ ‘in aid and furtherance of the purpose of the general law,’ ” which it deems appropriate to protect the citizens of the City of Philadelphia and the members of the Philadelphia Police Department. City’s Brief, at 31 [quoting Western Pennsylvania Restaurant Assoc. v. Pittsburgh, 366 Pa. 374, 381, 77 A.2d 616, 620 (1951) (quotation and citation omitted)]. Finally, the City argues that because the Straw Purchaser Ordinance also regulates only unlawful activity, ie., prohibiting persons from acting as “straw purchasers,” which is defined in the Ordinance as “[a]ny person who conducts or attempts to conduct a gun purchase on behalf of another person,” Bill No. 080035-A, § 10-831(l)(c), the City is legislating in an area not preempted by the language of Section 6120 of the Firearms Act.

Plaintiffs countervailing argument is that the City is barred from enacting any gun control ordinance pursuant to statewide preemption under Section 6120 of the Firearms Act and by prior decisions of this Commonwealth. See, Ortiz v. Commonwealth, 545 Pa. 279, 681 A.2d 152 (1996); Clarke v. House of Representatives, 957 A.2d 361 (Pa.Cmwlth.2008), notice of appeal filed (74 M.A.P. 2008, October 6, 2008); and Schneck v. City of Philadelphia, 34 Pa.Cmwlth. 96, 383 A.2d 227 (1978). The Plaintiffs assert that there is no “zone” within which the City may reasonably or in any manner regulate firearms and that neither the language of Section 6120 itself nor any case law supports or suggests such an exception. In their cross-appeal, Plaintiffs assert that as gun owners and/or firearms retailers, they are aggrieved by the three remaining Ordinances, which substantially impact their right to sell, transfer, purchase, and possess firearms within the City of Philadelphia, and that these Ordinances have created a substantial, direct and immediate harm to them. Therefore, Plaintiffs argue, the trial court erred in determining that they did not have standing to challenge these Ordinances. We will address Plaintiffs’ cross-appeal first.

Under the Declaratory Judgments Act, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 7531-7541, individuals are granted the right to request a declaratory judgment if their rights are affected by a statute or municipal ordinance. 42 Pa.C.S. § 7533. “Although the Declaratory Judgments Act is to be liberally construed, one limitation on a court’s ability to issue a declaratory judgment is that the issues involved must be ripe for judicial determination, meaning that there must be the presence of an actual case or controversy.” Pennsylvania State Lodge v. Dep’t of Labor & Indus., 692 A.2d 609, 613 (Pa.Cmwlth.1997) (citation omitted). In order for Plaintiffs to sustain an action with respect to the three remaining Ordinances, they must:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

L.J. Anderson v. City of Pittsburgh
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2022
S. Crawford v. The Com. of PA - 562 M.D. 202
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2022
City of Philadelphia v. R.T. Armstrong
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2022
FOAC v. City of Hbg, Aplts.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Firearm Owners Against Crime v. Lower Merion Township
151 A.3d 1172 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2016)
Leach v. Commonwealth
118 A.3d 1271 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2015)
Dillon v. City of Erie
83 A.3d 467 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)
Robinson Township v. Commonwealth
52 A.3d 463 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2012)
Commonwealth v. Hernandez
39 A.3d 406 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2012)
NATIONAL RIFLE ASS'N v. City of Pittsburgh
999 A.2d 1256 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2010)
National Rifle Ass'n v. City of Philadelphia
977 A.2d 78 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
977 A.2d 78, 2009 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 470, 2009 WL 1692390, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-rifle-assn-v-city-of-philadelphia-pacommwct-2009.