Sheriffs traveled from across Pennsylvania to support the Perry County Sheriff in court. Sheriff Carl Nace is facing a lawsuit from the county's auditors, who are demanding the names of concealed carry permit holders.
The county auditors say they need the permits to audit the sheriff's office, so they filed a lawsuit against the sheriff. Sheriff Nace told them that information is protected under the state criminal code.
"We have no idea why the auditors believe they need this information," says Joshua Prince, Nace's attorney. "There was a separate auditing company, Robert Morris, who did an audit with the redacted information and had no difficulty whatsoever in performing the audit."
Sheriff Nace's attorney filed a preliminary objection to dismiss the case. He says the lawsuit has no legal basis.
Supporters accuse the auditors accuse the auditors of having an anti-gun agenda.
"They're just using Perry County as a test case, and I'm afraid we need to fight for everything that we got," says Ted Albright of New Bloomfield, Perry County.
The auditors' attorney did not comment. Inside the hearing, the two sides debated over the confidentiality given to permit holders in the criminal code. The judge is expected to issue a decision soon.