Pro-Gun PAC Threatens to Take Legal Action Against Lower Merion Township
Jose Nino
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A pro-gun political action committee (PAC) based in Pennsylvania has threatened Lower Merion Township with lawsuits and criminal action for implementing an ordinance that limits where firearms can be sold.
The ordinance places restrictions on gun sales to four predominantly commercial sectors in the township, and the businesses that sell there will have to abide by new safety protocols such as possessing security cameras. On top of that, they have to be at least 1,000 feet away from schools. Furthermore, new firearms vendors cannot do business inside people’s homes.
On April 19, Lower Merion officials unanimously approved the ordinance.
Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC) views the ordinance as “unlawful,” and has urged the township to repeal it. If the township doesn’t scrap this ordinance, FOAC revealed that it will file private criminal complaints against each official involved in implementing the ordinance on top of a lawsuit against the township, per a letter sent to officials on May 18, 2023 from the Firearms Industry Consulting Group on behalf of FOAC.
The letter published on May 18 contended that the enactment of the ordinance “constitutes a criminal offense” by infringing on Pennsylvania’s preemption statute.
The preemption law prohibits municipalities from enacting harsher gun control regulations than the state government. Cities such as Philadelphia have tried and repeatedly failed to pass firearms regulations which the city court struck down and Gun Owners of America challenged.
While Pennsylvania is no California nor New York, it’s still a state that’s relatively anti-gun. According to Guns & Ammo magazine’s best states for gun owners rankings, Pennsylvania is in 31st place.
As a result, the state will continue to see anti-gunners implement gun control measures at all levels of government.
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