HARRISBURG, Pa. — The lawsuit filed by a gun rights group against the City of Harrisburg over its gun ordinances was dealt a blow by Federal Judge Yvette Kane yesterday. The suit, which came about when a gun rights group, Firearm Owners Against Crime , filed a lawsuit against Harrisburg alleging that five of the city’s gun ordinances were more stringent than state laws. Act 192 allowed legal gun owners to sue municipalities over their gun regulations. A particularly onerous piece of legislation, it also forced the municipalities to pay the legal fees of the people suing them. Act 192 was since ruled unconstitutional by Commonwealth Court. An appeal to that ruling is now pending before the state Supreme Court.
Kane ruled that, for lack of legal standing, Firearm Owners Against Crime challenges to three of the ordinances; a ban on the possession of firearms by minors, mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms and the ability of the mayor to restrict gun possession during a state of emergency, would not be heard in federal court.
Further, the remaining challenges, to ordinances that ban guns in parks and ban the discharge of firearms in the city except at firing ranges, need to be amended to prove legal standing in order to be heard in federal court.
Kane’s order can be read here: https://dockets.justia.com/docket/pennsylvania/pamdce/1:2015cv00322/102030
