pittsburgh lawsuit gun control
Former Pittsburgh Mayor William "Arrest Me" Peduto (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

From the Firearms Policy Coalition . . .

PITTSBURGH, PA (April 9, 2019) — Today, attorneys Joshua Prince and Adam Kraut of Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C., filed a new lawsuit against the City of Pittsburgh, Mayor Bill Peduto, and six City Council members over the City’s latest gun control legislation. The case, which seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent enforcement of the laws, was filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of three individuals and advocacy organizations Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), Firearms Policy Foundation (FPF), the Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC), and Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League. The complaint can be viewed or downloaded at PittsburghCase.com.

Under state law, 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.” But, Prince said, the City of Pittsburgh is more concerned with passing unconstitutional and unlawful gun control than complying with the law.

“Mayor Peduto and the Pittsburgh City Council are violating numerous provisions of the Crimes Code, by seeking to impede the exercise and enjoyment of numerous rights and privileges protected by the Pennsylvania Constitution and statutory law,” said Prince. “Contrary to what the Mayor and City Council apparently believe, they are not above the law. This lawsuit seeks to protect the rights of Pittsburgh residents and visitors and restore the rule of law.”

“Peduto and his ‘gun-grabbing gang of six’ at the City Council know that they just violated the Pennsylvania Constitution and statutory law,” explained FOAC President Kim Stolfer. “These political puppets of the gun control lobby have victimized the people of Pittsburgh and burdened the taxpayers with an unconstitutional and unlawful pile of radical garbage. Our case aims to take out their trash.”

“These elected officials are knowingly and deliberately defying the laws of the Commonwealth and violating their oaths to uphold and defend the Constitutions of Pennsylvania and the United States,” observed Klint Macro, president of ACSL. “This case is the right thing to do as it seeks to hold these office holders accountable and defend the constitutional and statutory interests of the people that they are attacking by passing this legislation. Elected officials must stop assaulting the rights and liberties of law-abiding citizens.”

“Pittsburgh’s mayor and city council apparently need to be reminded that constitutional structure and the rights of the people prevail over their radical policy agenda,” said Brandon Combs, president of Firearms Policy Coalition and chairman of the Foundation. “We are delighted to assist with their legal education and defend the good people of Pittsburgh against these morally corrupt politicians.”

In a separate but related action, ACSL will also file a petition for contempt of court over what they allege are violations of a 1995 settlement agreement. ACSL’s petition will request that the court fine and sanction the City of Pittsburgh, award attorney fees and costs, and hold the Mayor and Council-members severally and jointly liable for violating terms of a longstanding court order that required them to “abide by and adhere to Pennsylvania law.” The parties in that prior action stipulated that the City’s Ordinance 30 of 1994 was preempted by Article 1, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution and 18 Pa.C.S. § 6120, as it regulated the possession and transfer of what the City classified as ‘assault weapons,’ ammunition and firearm accessories. The City’s new gun control laws, ACSL says, violate that Settlement Agreement.

The coalition lawsuit is also supported by pro-Second Amendment organizations USCCA (US Concealed Carry Association) and 2AO (Second Amendment Organization).

Firearm Owners Against Crime (http://foac-pac.org) is a non-partisan, non-connected all-volunteer Political Action Committee organized to empower ‘all’ gun owners, outdoors enthusiasts and supporters of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 1 Section 21 and 25 of the Pennsylvania Constitution with the tools and information necessary to protect freedom from transgression.

Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League (www.acslpa.org) is an organization whose mission is to, inter alia, defend and protect, by means of educating public officials and the general public, about the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, especially the Second Amendment and Article 1, section 21, respectively.

Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)4 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially the fundamental, individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Firearms Policy Foundation (www.firearmsfoundation.org) is a 501(c)3 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPF’s mission is to defend the Constitution of the United States and the People’s rights, privileges and immunities deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition, especially the inalienable, fundamental, and individual right to keep and bear arms.

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37 COMMENTS

  1. When will they file an application for a temporary injunction? IT would seem to be pretty straight forward.

    • From the Prince Law Offices site: “A second action, brought by FOAC, FPC, FPF, and several individuals, in a 407 paragraph, 94 page Complaint, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against the City of Pittsburgh, Mayor Peduto and the individual City Councilmembers that voted in favor of the anti-gun enactments.”

  2. Bill, thanks for wasting the taxpayer’s money with your virtue signaling. If you want to convey a message, buy a T shirt.

    • Holding them in contempt of court for violating the 1995 settlement with daily fines to be paid out of their own pockets would get their attention quickly.

        • The gun control groups didn’t pick up the tab for the woman who sued lucky gunner and was held responsible for their legal fees.

      • so the law either needs to be made so that he has to pay out of his own pocket or in the case of a traitor such as soros funding it set it so even soros balks at it

  3. If found in contempt of court, they should be fined-jailed and removed from office. This would help discourage this foolish and treasonous behavior.

  4. “City of Pittsburgh, Mayor, and ‘Gun-Grabbing Gang of Six’ City Council-Members Sued Over New Gun Control Laws”

    I hope they get their clocks cleaned…it’s high time to send an affirmative message, once and for all…nothin’ says “I won’t do that again” like an empty wallet and a big hole in the seat of your pants…

  5. Until they start getting hung instead of using the city coffers to cover their butts there is no disincentive to not keep breaking the law. Hang one city council and how many more would suddenly think twice about using their office as a piggy bank? I hope we’re not there yet, but damn if i tried so blatantly to break the law I wouldn’t get 2 steps with catching a blue boy beatdown.

    • In this particular case I’m fine with punishing the whole city. Entire leftist cities should be made to suffer from trying to push this stuff on the rest of the state.

      • The people who vote for the gun grabbers also conduct prayer marches and beg their undisciplined offspring to stop shooting each other. What they refuse to do is tell them they must choose between their families on one hand or gangs and a life of crime on the other. They can have one but not both.

        • Their families started the gangs… lol. They believe it’s a positive thing for their community.

          Aint racism grand… oh yea… only whites can be racist…

        • “The people who vote for the gun grabbers….” generally don’t pay taxes and therefore would STILL bear no burden of the consequences. There, FIFY.

      • Nope, I saw it. But the NRA only said they support, as in “Good for you, Keep up the good work” but failed to get off the bench and join the offensive.

        “The case, which seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent enforcement of the laws, was filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of three individuals and advocacy organizations Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), Firearms Policy Foundation (FPF), the Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC), and Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League.”
        “The coalition lawsuit is also supported by pro-Second Amendment organizations USCCA (US Concealed Carry Association) and 2AO (Second Amendment Organization).”

        At no point do the participant acknowledge any support from or by the NRA. It is merely virtue signaling from the NRA, without any material effort on their part in the suit.

        • The Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League is an NRA affiliate.

          And if “support” is virtue signaling, then I virtue signaled my daughter through four years of the most expensive college on Earth.

    • Interesting how kooky folks actually look kooky isn’t it? Hipster glasses? Check. Hipster beard? Check. Hipster goofy look about him? Check.

      • Pittsburgh has turned to hipsters and gentrification for their tax base since most industry has closed up. There are only 2 or 3 steel operations left in Allegheny County, and none of them are fully integrated. A coke works, a melt shop, and a flat rolled plant are all that’s left of USS.

  8. Sued? They should be arrested for knowingly, willingly, and proudly conspiring to violate state law.

  9. Early on one of the council idiots stated that they knew they were breaking the law but did not care because they were “on the right side of history.” I’m no lawyer but that sounds like criminal conspiracy and is probably a serious felony.

  10. “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult.”

    CS LEWIS

    • Thanks @Sound Awake – that’s an amazing quote! Indeed their conscience clears the way for them to commit an endless assault on our rights because they “know better than us”

  11. Harrisburg ( the capital) did the same in 2015 and an injunction against enforcing the 3 laws they passed was set.

    Can’t find anything on the progress of the suit so far. My guess is Harrisburg is fighting every bit of the suit by any means possible but they can’t enforce them so that’s good.

    There’s some other gun laws being touted in the Legislature. We do have a liberal Gov because the GOP can’t manage to select and electable Gov but we have a GOP majority legislature which knows which side the hunting state of Pa is buttered on.

    Plus they know we would just ignore any of their BS. Our Sheriff in Lebanon is firmly behind the 2a. He has made declarations of disobedience to any gun laws but I think he would definitely drag his feet and so would many others. This hunting country, farming country and just plain rural conservatives. PA goes Democrat only because of the ethnic majorities in the big cities and the Democrats stranglehold on the voting system.
    There are voting districts in Philly that had 110% voters participation in 2012.
    That tells you all you need to know.

  13. They won’t change unless it hurts them in the pocketbook. They knew what they did was illegal, but they also knew that taxpayers always foot the bill.

  14. Metcalfe has started a draft proposal in the legislature to have Peduto impeached. Not sure how that mechanism works, or if it is just grandstanding but any pressure that can be brought to bear on the mayor is good pressure. Our shitty governor should be included in the suit for supporting this unconstitutional move.

  15. Hang This On Them :

    2014 Pennsylvania Consolidated StatutesTitle 18 – CRIMES AND OFFENSESChapter 53 – Abuse of OfficeSection 5301 – Official oppression

    Universal Citation: 18 PA Cons Stat § 5301 (2014)§ 5301. Official oppression.A person acting or purporting to act in an official capacity or taking advantage of such actual or purported capacity commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if, knowing that his conduct is illegal, he:

    (1) subjects another to arrest, detention, search, seizure, mistreatment, dispossession, assessment, lien or other infringement of personal or property rights; or

    (2) denies or impedes another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power or immunity.

  16. Not only are they wasting taxpayers money, they are wasting money of private citizens that are forced to bring expensive lawsuits against such blatantly unconstitutional laws. These elected officials should be held personally responsible for the legal fees associated with such court cases when they are thrown out for violating the Constitution. Then these gun-grabbers would start thinking twice about passing blatantly unconstitutional laws.

  18. The democrat Party historically has never supported civil rights. And they have historically broken civil rights law. The question is will any person in power arrest them? Will the operating budget of the city be confiscated as punishment? Will any money the city receives from the state be withheld?

    Only these things will get there attention. Arizona was such laws that withhold state funds from cities that are out of control. In Kentucky these laws are in the state constitution.

  19. They violate the law and tell you to comply with Red Flag laws. You’re screwed under the Colorado Red Flag law. Your chances of getting your firearms back in Colorado is about zero.

    Two standards of law in America. One for the Cops and Elites and one for us.

    At what point will you say no more?

    My line is drawn. I WILL NOT COMPLY!

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