Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
by: James Stoker
Why we can’t afford to lose…
A recent case has sent our cause spiraling out of control on a very simple topic. Private manufacture of firearms. The case filed by another organization against the City of Philadelphia’s “ghost gun” ordinance, was a failure that is working against us with several other feudal governments across the Commonwealth.
Mistakes were clearly made by the attorney. Though I am no attorney myself, I can point to failures to adequately use Ortiz v. Commonwealth (though in fairness the court seems to err in its application despite the attorney not using it), a failure to properly brief and analyze Article I, Section 21, and a failure by the attorney to properly provide analysis showing how case law from other states and federal review should be applied in a matter within the Commonwealth. There is a good bit of caselaw at the SCOTUS level covering the private manufacture of firearms and ammunition, and why it is protected activity. These mistakes are all clearly identified by the court in its decision to rule against our 2A rights.
So why does all this matter? It has set a precedent in Pennsylvania that we MUST overcome. Municipalities and local governments are seeing this as a green light to pass illegal ordinances and violate preemption at will. Right now, we are only seeing it in relation to private manufacture of firearms and the typical leftist propaganda of the ever evil and dangerous “ghost guns”. But obviously our concern is it grows to become a challenge to Ortiz at some point and these petty small-town politicians in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh seize an opportunity to further subjugate the citizenry.
It is noteworthy that the Commonwealth Court ruled in February that the commercial sale of firearms is not protected by the 2nd Amendment. A direct affront to prior SCOTUS case law determining the exact opposite and showing the state that politics can still sway the decisions of the court. And the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the 2nd Amendment does NOT protect the discharge of firearms on one’s own shooting range. Two abysmal rulings by higher courts infringing upon the rights of Pennsylvania citizens. Also in opposition to prior SCOTUS rulings.
We have a fight on our hands in this Commonwealth folks. It’s in the legislature, the courts, and most importantly, in the voting booths across this great state. If we don’t each rise and lead a charge of conservatives into the polling locations to cast ballots and retake our Commonwealth, we’d all better brush up on apologizing. Because it’s our children and grandchildren we’ll be apologizing to that we didn’t do enough to ensure their freedoms to protect themselves and their families.