Fairfax, Va. – The National Rifle Association (NRA) and other plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, seeking to enjoin the City of Pittsburgh from enforcing a December 2008 ordinance that requires gun owners to report a lost or stolen firearm to police within 24 hours.
“Time and again we see local governments infringing upon the rights of law-abiding gun owners while ignoring the true source of crime – criminals,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. “The members of the Pittsburgh City Council and the Mayor enacted this ordinance with full awareness that their actions violate the laws of their own Commonwealth and the Pennsylvania Constitution.”
First-time offenders will receive a $500 fine, and subsequent violations carry a possible jail sentence. Pittsburgh City Council proposed and passed the Lost and Stolen Gun Ordinance despite the fact that municipalities are clearly prohibited from enacting such measures under state law. Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl refused to intervene on behalf of gun owners and allowed the ordinance to take effect.
“Further victimizing a victim of theft is not the answer to Pittsburgh’s crime problems. This type of unlawful conduct by the City Counsel should be stopped,” concluded Cox. “NRA will continue working to defend the Second Amendment freedoms of all law-abiding Pennsylvania gun owners.”
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Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.
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