It seems that a lawsuit and some publicity still has the power to concentrate the bureaucratic mind. At least they do in the case of Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny who recently adopted an unconstitutionally wide interpretation of Pennsylvania’s gun control laws to ensure that firearms dealers are in compliance with all state and federal laws.

Sheriff Kilkenny, who doesn’t seem to have a good working knowledge of the Fourth Amendment, decided that a new reading of state statutes gives him the right to search all 92 federally licensed gun dealers in his county to ensure they’re following the applicable laws. Without a warrant.

That expansive view of his powers prompted a lawsuit from the Second Amendment Foundation. Less than a week later. The sheriff has agreed to halt all such warrantless searches under a court order until the lawsuit is resolved.

Here’s SAF’s announcement of the agreement . . .

One week after the Second Amendment Foundation challenged Pennsylvania’s promulgated firearms regulation and its enforcement by the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the sheriff has agreed to a court ordered stay enforcement of his policy of inspecting gun shops without a warrant.

The action is known as Schmidt, et al. v. Paris, et al. Joining SAF are Shot Tec, LLC and a private citizen, Grant Schmidt. They are represented by attorneys Joshua Prince and Dillon Harris, Civil Rights Defense Firm, of Bechtelsville, Pa. Defendants are Col. Christopher Paris, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) and Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny, in their official capacities. The action was filed in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

In a stipulation of the parties filed Friday, Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny will stay enforcement of the search policy, but noted he “intends to respond in opposition to the Petition for Review, and this Stipulation shall not be interpreted as a waiver or limitation on the Sheriff’s ability to oppose and raise his defenses to the substance of the Petition.” Commissioner Paris has no objection.

“We’re delighted that Sheriff Kilkenny has agreed to pull back from enforcing his policy of conducting warrantless searches of licensees,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Respect for constitutional rights is paramount. The Sheriff’s policy raised constitutional concerns that we had outlined in our petition. While this case may take a while to litigate, during the process, licensees won’t need to worry about the Sheriff’s department violating their constitutional rights through the enforcement of the Sheriff’s policy.”

“It is important that this challenge make its way through the court in a timely fashion,” added SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “but in the process, no actions should be taken which remotely suggest this policy is okay and will ultimately prevail. A warrantless search violates the Fourth Amendment, and that is never okay.”

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60 COMMENTS

      • If, indeed, they do. Not City Police Chiefs, though (appointed by Mayors). Or State Highway Patrol Commanders (Governors). Or Federal Agencies (food chain goes up to POTUS).

        Here in Los Angeles, we have a weird system – concocted over time by Democrats in power, of course – in which the L.A. Board of Supervisors now has the power to remove the Sheriff. This was done recently in response to former Sheriff Villanueva’s resistance to the Board’s mask mandates. And who are these five persons currently serving?

        https://bos.lacounty.gov/executive-office/about-us/board-of-supervisors/

        HILDA SOLIS (D) – Latina woman, outspoken support of gun control, abortion, and “equity”. Worked in Obama’s administration. Authored the motion to mandate L.A.’s 100K+ employees to take the COVID jab or risk termination.

        HOLLY MITCHELL (D) – Black woman, openly declared law enforcement and Sheriff Depts in CA as “white supremacist organizations”. Hates LE.

        LINDSAY HORVATH (D) – Female, once played in a theatrical performance of The Vag!na Catalogues, was actively successful in downsizing the LAPD force in West Hollywood. Hates LE.

        JANICE HAHN (D) – Female, pushes gun control and promotes gun buyback measures. Her father was a Board member for 40+ years, her uncle was an L.A. City Councilman, and her brother was an L.A. Mayor. Draw your own conclusions…

        KATHRYN BARGER (R) – Female, the only Republican, but votes mixed, even supporting L_G-B-T-Q+ causes. She is the current Chair of the Board, and oversaw the push to oust Villanueva in the last election to make way for Sheriff Luna, who has openly stated his opposition to community residents carrying CCW permits.

        • Lord help any organization controlled by women. Particularly prog broads (obviously). Or government schools.

      • My comment was removed (sigh, really?) Let’s try this again.

        If, indeed, they do. Not City Police Chiefs, though (appointed by Mayors). Or State Highway Patrol Commanders (Governors). Or Federal Agencies (food chain goes up to POTUS).

        Here in Los Angeles, we have a weird system – concocted over time by Democrats in power, of course – in which the L.A. Board of Supervisors now has the power to remove the Sheriff. This was done recently in response to former Sheriff Villanueva’s resistance to the Board’s mask mandates. And who are these five persons currently serving?

        https://bos.lacounty.gov/executive-office/about-us/board-of-supervisors/

        HILDA SOLIS (D) – Latina woman, outspoken support of gun control, abortion, and “equity”. Worked in Obama’s administration. Authored the motion to mandate L.A.’s 100K+ employees to take the COVID jab or risk termination.

        HOLLY MITCHELL (D) – Black woman, openly declared law enforcement and Sheriff Depts in CA as “white supremacist organizations”. Hates LE.

        LINDSAY HORVATH (D) – Female, once played in a theatrical performance of The Vag!na Catalogues, was actively successful in downsizing the LAPD force in West Hollywood. Hates LE.

        JANICE HAHN (D) – Female, pushes gun control and promotes gun buyback measures. Her father was a Board member for 40+ years, her uncle was an L.A. City Councilman, and her brother was an L.A. Mayor. Draw your own conclusions…

        KATHRYN BARGER (R) – Female, the only Republican, but votes mixed, even supporting L_G-B-T-Q+ causes. She is the current Chair of the Board, and oversaw the push to oust Villanueva in the last election to make way for Sheriff Luna, who has openly stated his opposition to community residents carrying CCW permits.

      • Wait, so…the first was posted, then disappeared. The second was held for moderation, then *both* now appear hours later.

        WordPress, amirite??

        • “Wait, so…the first was posted, then disappeared. The second was held for moderation, then *both* now appear hours later. WordPress, amirite??”

          Likely seeing the vaunted AI in action.
          (an exercise of which was just recently found to have fabricated legal research for presentation at trial)

    • By and large, Sheriff’s are more trustworthy because they are elected by the people, not appointed by the Mayor. But every now and then, in areas where a large segment of the population are in infected by Liberalism, like in this county, you get a bad one.

      • Great theory but at all levels, local law has a nasty habit of deferring to “the professionals” – IE: fedgov 3letter agencies pretending to be “law enforcement”. Where the proper response would be “GTFO of my jurisdiction”.

        Fed grant $ and all (including Dept of “Justice”/FBI intimidation).

    • This finally answers the question of who exactly “killed Kenny”. Now we know that Sean KilKenny.

  2. I just can’t fathom the mentality of the left wherein they completely ignore their oath to support and defend the Constitution. Have they no honor? (that’s rhetorical)

  4. Is ATF required a warrant to inspect FFLs? Or, do FFLs waive* their 4th Amendment protection, simply because they are regulated by ATF? Is all that is necessary to have your rights violated is for a person apply for government permission to do something?

    *The founders intelligently, properly, and unassailably noted in the DOI that that natural, human and civil rights are “unalienable”; cannot even be surrendered by the individual. Today, “unalienable” and “inalienable” are considered to mean the same thing (like “flammable” and “inflammable”), but the difference is monumental.

      • “The 4473 form and everything with it is unconstitutional.”

        Which is why I keep hammering that we should eliminate the source of “authority”, rather than chase chickens around the ranch.

        • Yahtzee. All Tyranny needs to be Triumphant…Is for good people to do nothing to Stop IT.

        • It give the shops time to get rid of their magazines like ‘Massive Knockers’, so there is that… 🙂

    • i can’t find much deviation. basically interchangeable with “in” preferred in modern writing as “in” is a latin form that came (to english) via french, un is an english form. for that reason i like it better but since 1830 it’s pretty well relegated to quoting the constitution.

    • Sam, NO the ATF is no mandated to obtain a warrant to inspect the files of a FFL. They do so under the mandate of being the issuer of the license and making sure the FFL is in compliance.

    • Millions did before and during WWII. Many because they believed in it and wanted to. Others because they couldn’t believe it would get ‘That Bad’, and others out of fear. Regardless of why. Tyranny and Evil always work hand in hand to oppress it’s Subjects.

  6. people like this wouldn’t recognize the constitution if you shoved it up their butts.

    • the constitution , its just shit paper anyway so shoving up their butts would be appropriate.
      We have one Right, the right to keep our mouth shut until they beat it open. That is the only right any human anywhere has.
      The rest are “gifts” from a giverment.

    • Also notice that even this narrator refer to RFK as “center-left”. Why is that? No one is EVER “center-right”. There’s only “extreme-right” & center-left”. Nothing else.
      We do this to ourselves.

  8. Montgomery Co., PA is literally run by an organized crime racket that kidnaps and murders people to steal their estates via control of the courts. The Netflix movie “I Care A Lot” was directly inspired by Montgomery Co. Of course Montgomery Co. wants their cattle disarmed.

  9. Wait a sec, I was under the impression that cops knew everything about the law and guns!!!

    I am sure that when these police officers perform a search without a warrant their lawyer gets that thrown out of court?

    • It’s Pennsylvania, so no.

      Yes, I just dissed PA. And there’s more mocking to come. PA voters need to do better. Yeah, I just went there. Come at me.

  11. Well it’s about time the NRA got involved in protecting our rights.

    “One week after the SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION challenged Pennsylvania’s promulgated firearms regulation and its enforcement by the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the sheriff has agreed to a court ordered stay enforcement of his policy of inspecting gun shops without a warrant.”

    …oh wait…nevermind!

    Moral of the story? “NRA you s$ck!”

    • Are you been into gun rights starting this morning? The NRA was there when you were in diapers.

      Stop parroting CNN/MSNBC/etc disinformation.

    • Osprey, you have a deep seated hatred of the NRA. Time to take your medication.

      • Walter,

        I won’t presume to speak for Osprey, but i can say absolutely that I have no hatred for the NRA. They were, and I would argue still are, the premiere gun safety and gun training and gun education organization around. What they are demonstrably NOT is clear in their principles, or effective at lobbying (without giving away the store). I wish they’d return to their original purpose.

        What I do have a deep-seated hatred for is Wayne LaPierre and his 40 Thieves, and they way they p*** away the members’ money doing everything BUT their jobs. Get rid of Wayne and the 40 Thieves, and I would happily rejoin tomorrow. Until that goniff is gone, they get not dime one from me. Feel free to disagree but . . . that’s my take.

        • Lamp, while the NRA is not perfect, I think I’d like to stick with what we have in the NRA. They are pretty effective in court and lobbying is ALWAYS a two way street. You often have to give to get.

  13. you’d think they’d know enough to show up at events in jeans and a flannel shirt…not these guys!…totally out of touch….

    • Have to laugh at his silly little clown hat though. That’s pathetic even with a size 10 melon in a size 7 hat.

  15. Too little too late. He committed the Treason already, he’s a Traitor and should face the typical punishment of a traitor.

    • “He committed the Treason already, he’s a Traitor and should face the typical punishment of a traitor.”

      “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.
      – – Article 3, Section 3,United States Constitution,

      Who is the officially designated “enemy”?

      (Side Note: the wording above is “United States”….and “their Enemies; meaning the US is a compact of “States”. After 1868m, common usage moved from “the United States are”, to “the United States is”; clearly defined milestone establishing that the national government was no longer accountable to the States (which became “states”, after).

      • Reread that pesky first clause of the Second Amendment. It doesn’t say what any of us thought it said. What it says is that infringing the right of the people to keep and bear arms is treason. What else do you call an act that endangers “the security of a free state”? And if it’s treason, then it’s punishable by death.

        • Read the first sentence of Art 3; Sec 3. The word “only” is extremely limiting when setting conditions. The next condition is waging war (implying a nationally recognized enemy of the US is necessary. Next, testimony of two individual witnesses is required….implying a trial is required.

          The first clause of 2A regards tyranny by government, via government forces. Tyranny and treason are not synonyms.

          One of the reasons the founders did not mention treason in the Second Amendment is that the Constitution itself sets the procedure for repealing the 2A. Indeed there is a prescribed means of repealing the entire Constitution, and establishing a new one, completely contrary to the entirety of the original. Thus, amending the Constitution to eliminate the Second Amendment is perfectly “legal”, perfectly constitutional, and cannot be treason.

          Considering your claim of the death penalty for treason, that only applies upon conviction, not accusation. Accordingly, an individual, or organization must bring charges, and prove the case.

          If it comes to it (which it will not), trials for treason will follow a successful uprising. Under the Constitution and law, those rebelling against the national government are committing treason.

          As always, the victors will determine the definition of treason.

  16. Disarm law enforcement. Issue them night sticks and the training to use them.There is no moral or rational reason for law enforcement to carry firearm.

    They should be required to prove they are morally fit in order to carry a gun.

  17. What is it with cops from NJ, MA, and PA and their penchant for hats that look like WW2 German SS war surplus?

    • “What is it with cops from NJ, MA, and PA and their penchant for hats that look like WW2 German SS war surplus?”

      Way back, that style cap was labeled “Mexican Saddle”. Can’t say that, now. The actual style was even better looking. The “50 Mission Crush” of American officer flight crews looked better, too.

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