Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Firearms Owners Against Crime Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action (FOAC- ILLEA) and the Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League (ACSL) filed an Amici Curiae Brief with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in opposition to the City of Philadelphia’s Petition for Allowance of Appeal from the February 14th, 2022 Order of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in City of Philadelphia v. Armstrong, Case No. 1204 CD 2020.
FOAC-ILLEA and ACSL secured the services of Attorney Dillon Harris Esq. of Prince Law Offices, P.C. to argue in opposition to the City of Philadelphia’s Petition for Allowance of Appeal.
On February 14th of this year, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued a decision holding that “Section 10-838a [the City’s Lost and Stolen Ordinance] is preempted and therefore invalid and unenforceable.”
Through Attorney Dillon Harris, in our Amici Brief, we argued that the Pennsylvania Constitution, statutory preemption, and legion of case law, including decisions from the PA Supreme Court, require a finding that “the City of Philadelphia’s lost-and-stolen ordinance is clearly preempted and there are no special or important reasons to allow an appeal in this matter.”
Article 1 Section 21 of the PA Constitution states:
The right of the citizens to bear arms in defence of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.
Pennsylvania Title 18, Section 6120(a) states:
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.
In 2020, Firearms Industry Consulting Group Chief Counsel Joshua Prince, with the support of Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC) and Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) was successful in obtaining an order issued on January 9th, 2020 that “The City of Philadelphia’s enforcement of Philadelphia Code §10-838a is hereby ENJOINED until a final determination is rendered in this matter.”
Philadelphia’s Lost and Stolen Ordinance penalized people who fail to report the loss or theft of a firearm. Outrageously, Philadelphia also penalizes those who do report the loss or theft of a firearm by revoking Licenses to Carry Firearms from any individuals who report a firearm lost or stolen.
“Elected officials that victimize law-abiding Pennsylvanians by breaking statutory law and disregard the very PA Constitution that they swear to uphold, must be held accountable.” Said, Klint Macro, President of the Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League. “Perhaps they should focus their efforts on prosecuting those that commit crimes of theft and violence, rather than find creative ways to demonize and harass those that choose to exercise their Constitutional Right.”
Kim Stolfer, President of Firearms Owners Against Crime Institute of Legal, Legislative, and Educational Action stated, “for DECADES the City of Philadelphia have been ignoring preemption law ‘and’ forcing gun owners to repeatedly go to court. Once again, we find ourselves with a Pyrrhic choice! The City of Philadelphia needs to be held accountable and pay for its’ lawless behavior”!
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Firearms Owners Against Crime - Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action (“FOAC-ILLEA”) is a non-partisan, non- profit corporation organized as a Social Welfare Organization pursuant to section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code for the purposes of developing and advocating for legislation, regulations, and government programs to improve safety, protect citizens, stimulate sportsmen’s activities and safe legal firearm ownership; conducting and publicizing research into the positions of elected officials concerning these issues; providing legal defense of firearms and sportsmen's related issues; and educating the public on safe and legal firearm ownership, and constitutional issues.
Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League (ACSL) is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation, whose mission is to promote and foster, conservation of wildlife and natural resources, advance hunting and fishing, and to defend and protect, the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, especially the Second Amendment and Article 1, Section 21, respectively.