Judge Tosses Lawsuit Against Philly Gun Ordinance Without Explanation

Pennsylvania’s firearm preemption law is pretty clear and easy to understand: “No county, municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth.”

Despite that plain language, the city of Philadelphia decided to enact an ordinance last year banning the manufacture and sale of any devices that can increase a gun’s rate of fire. Bump stocks aren’t banned in Pennsylvania, so the local ordinance banning their possession in Philadelphia faced a legal challenge, with plaintiffs arguing that the ordinance runs afoul of the state’s preemption law since it touches on the lawful ownership of firearms. Now a judge in Philadelphia has dismissed the lawsuit without even bothering to explain her reasoning. 

Common Pleas Court Judge Caroline Turner’s one-sentence order, which provided no explanation, dismissed the complaint filed in July 2024 by city residents Vern Lei and Ross Gilson arguing that the ordinance signed by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker a month earlier was a violation of their right to bear arms under the Pennsylvania Constitution.

The ordinance, which passed through City Council unanimously, prohibits anyone in Philadelphia from manufacturing or buying devices that are designed to accelerate how fast a semiautomatic gun can fire. That includes bump stocks, which are meant for rifles, and switches, which can be attached to handguns. 

I don’t think Philly has the power under the state’s preemption law to ban switches either, but those devices are already illegal under federal law, which means that District Attorney Larry Krasner can always refer cases involving the possession of those devices to the local U.S. Attorney. Whether the soft-on-crime Democrat would actually take that step is another question altogether, but it’s at least an option that’s open to him.

Bump stocks, though, are legal to possess under both state and federal law. Now, I suppose an argument can be made that since they’re accessories, not firearms themselves, Philly can prohibit their manufacture or purchase. A state appellate court has upheld Philly’s ban on “ghost guns” under that theory; arguing that the ordinance doesn’t regulate firearms, it just prohibits the conversion of some parts into a working firearm.

It’s important to note that the ordinance dealing with devices that increase a gun’s rate of fire doesn’t actually ban the possession of these devices Once a bump stock is attached to a firearm, though, Pennsylvania’s preemption law would appear to negate the prohibition, since cities are not allowed to regulate the lawful ownership or possession of a firearm in any manner. 

While Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker applauded Turner’s decision, the Gilson’s attorneys say they’re already appealing the judge’s dismissal of their case. 

Andrew B. Austin and Daniel J. Auerbach, the lawyers for Lei and Gilson, on Thursday appealed the ruling to Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

“The Courts in Pennsylvania have clearly held that the City is not permitted to regulate in any manner, so we were obviously surprised by the result, and we are confident it will be overturned by the Commonwealth Court,” Austin said in an emailed statement.

Ideally, the Pennsylvania legislature would tweak the existing preemption law so that it also applies to firearm components and accessories, as well as the manufacture and sale of the items covered by the statute. With a Democrat governor and a divided statehouse, though, that’s not going to happen in the near future, and Philly may actually have found a way to get around the state’s preemption law… at least in limited circumstances. 

Editor’s Note: Radical leftist judges are doing everything they can to hamstring our Second Amendment rights.

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