PITTSBURGH —
Wednesday, the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court heard arguments challenging the existing rule that blocks cities from passing their own gun laws.
“We know gun control’s something that we should be doing, so we should be able to enact our own gun laws,” Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said.
Currently, gun legislation that impacts Pennsylvania cities remains in the hands of the state.
Wednesday, activists and Philadelphia lawmakers challenged the laws that block cities from passing their own gun laws.
“Crawford versus the Commonwealth could be an incredible turning point for our city. This case represents a decision to the court on whether to overturn the preemption provisions of the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said.
“We’ve been doing our homework. We’ve been studying what other cities are doing. It’s time,” Gainey said. “We know what’s best for our city. There’s nobody that knows what’s better for our city than us.”
Lisa Ely backs Gainey’s stance.
“We need to do something about it. We can’t keep talking. We need to do something about it, it’s critical,” Ely said.
She lives in the city’s West Oakland neighborhood, Wednesday night's stop for the “City in the Streets” block party. The event brings key city leaders and department heads to Pittsburghers.
“We have all of our departments here, taking live service requests, providing resources, providing information,” senior manager of neighborhood services for the mayor’s office, Rebekkah Ranallo, said.
Leaders in Public Safety, Public Works, and every other department that makes the city run gathered on Terrace Street Wednesday night, alongside local vendors and community leaders.
“When you come out here and you tell a department something, there’s actually going to be something that gets done,” Gainey said.
Access to all city departments, as well as Gainey, will be available once again at the next “City in the Streets” event, Sept. 26, in the city’s Arlington neighborhood.
https://www.wtae.com/article/pa-supreme-court-city-gun-laws-arguments/45131774