City of Pittsburgh signs onto legal brief in lawsuit against cities with gun ordinances

PITTSBURGH — The City of Pittsburgh signed onto a legal brief with a lawsuit that is before the state Supreme Court. The suit would allow gun industry groups to sue a city with “gun safety ordinances” even if that ordinance is never enforced. The City of Philadelphia also signed onto the document.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and members of the City Council also signed onto a separate amicus brief for the suit along with other advocacy groups and elected officials.

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According to a release from the city, a gun industry group sued the city of Harrisburg in 2015, arguing state law trumped the city’s gun safety ordinances. A Common Pleas Court ruled the group had not legal standing, but that was overturned by the Commonwealth Court in 2019.

The brief says in part:

“Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are the Commonwealth’s biggest municipalities. Together, they provide city services, administer justice, and ensure public safety for over 1.8 million Pennsylvanians. Respondents’ lawsuit imperils all three of these basic municipal functions. The Commonwealth Court’s decision below fashions an unworkably lax bar for standing that, if affirmed, promises a flood of baseless lawsuits against a host of lawful municipal measures.” 

The brief also argues that upholding the suit “threatens local democracy” and that it “will have a profound effect on local government officials, local governance, and local innovation.” Court papers said it would allow more people to file more lawsuits and “challenge a host of laws crucial to the effective operation of municipal government.”

Peduto and council members Rev. Ricky Burgess, Bruce Kraus, Corey O’Connor and Erika Strassburger signed onto a separate amicus brief with CeaseFirePa and the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, other anti-gun violations organizations, and other Pennsylvania elected local officials. 

Amicus briefs are documents filed in court by entities who have a strong interest in the subject of the case.

CLICK HERE to read the amicus brief  

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