The mayor of the City of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, has signed into law, on this date, April 11, 2008, five bills concerning firearms:

http://webapps.phila.gov/council/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=8098
http://webapps.phila.gov/council/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=8099
http://webapps.phila.gov/council/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=8113
http://webapps.phila.gov/council/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=8114
http://webapps.phila.gov/council/detailreport/matter.aspx?key=8116

As per The Daily News, the "laws limit purchases of handguns to one a month unless the Police Department provides written authorization, make it a crime to not report a lost or stolen gun within 48 hours, allow police to confiscate guns from people considered a danger to themselves or others and ban semiautomatic weapons with clips that hold more than 10 rounds."

The worst of these laws is an assault weapons ban, with a thirty-day grace period, and no grandfathering. Of lesser, but still grave concern, is the law that gives the Philadelphia Police Department and the court system's judges wide latitude in deciding who is and isn't fit to be in possession of a firearm.

These five laws are illegal under Pennsylvania state law 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 6120(a):

§ 6120. Limitation on municipal regulation of firearms and ammunition.

(a) General rule.--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.

( available here: http://www.palrb.us/pamphletlaws/19001999/1994/0/act/0084.pdf )

We presume that Mayor Nutter is aware of the illegality of this situation, and yet he has persisted in attempting to create a double-standard by passing and intending to enforce these illegal laws.

We, the undersigned, as those otherwise legally licensed or authorized carriers of weapons now made illegal in the City of Philadelphia, recognize that our presence or passage through the City would be unwelcome, if not legally questionable.

Furthermore, we recognize that, it being our right to gather in free assembly in such places as would welcome us, and to spend our money with those who would not damn us for our insistence on the right to bear arms and see Philadelphia follow the rule of Commonwealth law, we should most likely avoid trade with and travel to or through the City of Philadelphia and its merchants and service-providers therein.

We so resolve not to spend a single thin dime in the City of Philadelphia, until such time as its Mayor and City Council return to their senses, recognize the supremacy of the State Legislature in this matter, nullify these laws, and order the Philadelphia Police Department to desist in attempts to enforce them.

Furthermore, we hereby remind Mayor Nutter and the Philadelphia City Council of the Pennsylvania State Constitution, which states, in Article 1, Section 21, "The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned."

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Petition Details Target: City of Philadelphia Category: Civil & Human Rights Total Signatures: 126 Signatures Goal: as many as possible    View Signatures    Send It To Friends    Contact Creater Of This    Print Preview    Make Signature

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