Pennsylvania gun laws are more restrictive than most states', but new city efforts to make the rules even stricter have brought on an impassioned battle between lawmakers.
A new law in the state lightens the burden on people fighting against municipal firearm codes,
according to WTAE-TV. The law is a win for gun rights advocates because it gives individuals or organization on their behalf the right to sue cities for damages over local code violations.
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The law is perhaps the only one like it in the nation. The fight over who has the right to make gun laws has the state’s two biggest cities, Pittsburg and Philadelphia, suing over the new measure.
WTAE reported that the law came about in part because of a National Rifle Association complaint that states that while Pennsylvania gun laws specifically prohibit cities from enacting tighter gun ordinances than state laws, several cities have been creating local codes that do just that.
Both the NRA and the gun-control advocacy group CeaseFirePA say they knew of no similar law in any other state.
In general, Pennsylvania already has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. In 2013, the Center to Prevent Gun Violence said that Pennsylvania ranked 11th out of 50 states in gun control laws. The institute, which supports tighter legislation, said Pennsylvania gun laws are stronger than most, requiring state licensing for firearm dealers, a background check for even private sale handgun purchases and conducts their own background checks for firearm sales.
Pennsylvania gun laws do not require purchasers of firearms to have a license. Fourteen states do have those requirements. Pennsylvania does not have any additional registration requirements for guns beyond Federal regulations, but very few states do.
Pennsylvania gun laws do not limit the number of firearms that can be purchased at one time, and ammunition sales are not regulated in the state.
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