PHILLY CLOUT: Common Pleas Court Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan this morning ordered the city to stop any enforcement of five local gun control laws passed by City Council last week and signed into law by Mayor Nutter. That includes any drafting of regulations or officer training by the Police Department on how to enforce the laws. The National Rifle Association, acting on behalf of gun groups, owners and shop operators, had asked for the order while it sought a hearing on whether the local laws violate state law and run afoul of the state Constitution. Greenspan found that many of the people represented by the NRA had suffered no “harm” from the laws so far because nobody has been arrested. But she agreed the gun shop owners didn’t know what they could or could not sell. “People need to know how to behave,” Greenspan said.
The new gun laws limit handgun purchases to one a month, make it a crime to not report a lost or stolen gun within 48 hours, allow police to confiscate guns with a judge’s approval from people considered a danger to themselves or others, ban ownership by people targeted by a judge for protection from abuse orders and ban semiautomatic weapons with clips that hold 10 or more rounds. MORE
