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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n
March 19, 2024<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Washington, D.C. \u2014 Late Friday,\u00a0Gun Owners of America<\/a>\u00a0(GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) filed a\u00a0petition for allowance of appeal<\/a>\u00a0with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in their challenge to the City of Philadelphia’s ban on homemade firearms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a very confusing, fractured decision, a four judge \u201cmajority\u201d of the Commonwealth Court voted to uphold Philadelphia\u2019s ordinance that prohibited the manufacturing of homemade firearms stating that it did not violate Pennsylvania\u2019s firearms preemption law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Judge Ellen Ceisler wrote for the majority that Philadelphia\u2019s ordinance did not regulate \u201cfirearms\u201d but instead \u201cmerely prohibits the conversion of unfinished frames or receivers into firearms, as well as the use of certain manufacturing processes to create firearms from scratch, and bars the purchase, sale, or transfer of certain kinds of parts and machinery for purposes of those activities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cJudge Ceisler and the majority\u2019s decision in the Commonwealth Court are clearly in error,\u201d<\/em>said Dr. Val Finnell, Pennsylvania Director for Gun Owners of America.\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cOne cannot assert that the Pennsylvania General Assembly has preempted the entire field of firearms regulation and claim in the same breath that the City of Philadelphia\u2019s ordinance does not regulate firearms, per se.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other municipalities continue to violate the Constitutional rights of Pennsylvanians by enacting illegal, local gun control ordinances. The Pennsylvania firearms preemption law needs to be strengthened to allow plaintiffs to recover legal fees and damages if they prevail in a legal challenge against such illegal ordinances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe urge the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to hear this case and uphold Pennsylvania\u2019s firearms preemption statute to include the making of firearms,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0said Finnell.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n GOA spokesmen are available for interviews.\u00a0 Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists. For more information, visit\u00a0GOA\u2019s Press Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n