DA says Pittsburgh airport gun ban not enforceable

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Source " Examiner.com

DA says Pittsburgh airport gun ban not enforceable

Alaska resident David Ross' flight into Pittsburgh Airport for a short visit to the Keystone State last July 1st was uneventful - until, that is, he was arrested for retrieving his sidearm from checked baggage and holstering up on the way out of the airport.

Mr. Ross told the Examiner.com that he tried to explain to Magistrate Judge Anthony Saveikis that Allegheny County's ordinance banning gun carry at the airport was "preempted by Section 6120 of the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act," but Saveikis found him guilty anyway. Ross then hired Pennsylvania attorney J. Michael McCormick to appeal his conviction to the court of common pleas.

After Mr. McCormick filed this briefing with the court, the District Attorney's office for Allegheny County conceded that the County's ordinance was not legally enforceable. As a result, Judge Robert C. Gallo entered a judgment of "not guilty" in the case according to court records.

John Pierce, co-founder of OpenCarry.org maintains a map of state by state airport gun carry laws and says that Pennsylvania is "just like most states" which allow gun carry in the non-sterile areas of airports just like they do in shopping malls, parks, and most other public venues. But what irks gun rights organizers the most about this case is that public officials should already know that state law preempts local gun bans because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court settled that issue a decade ago in Ortiz v. Commonwealth.

"This should never have been an issue to begin with," said Rich Banks, founder of PAOpenCarry.org, a Pennsylvania gun rights group, referring to open carry at the airport which requires no license in Pennsylvania and most states. Banks contends that Pennsylvania public officials too often "treat guns like they are an 'exception' to the rule of law" and that the Allegheny County Council should now move quickly to repeal what Banks said is "an illegal gun ban ordinance."
 
....and had he gone into the crapper to load up his gun, nobody would have been the wiser. [laugh] (hint: flushing the toilet while jacking a round in the chamber at least disguises the noise a little... )

I don't agree with their crappy, clearly unlawful "ordinance" but I think loading a firearm in a baggage claim area in an airport is asking for attention of the wrong kind.

That said, he should not have been subjected to that much BS. Some droid goes "waaah" droids supervisor goes "you can't do anything about it, just leave the guy alone. " then person lawfully
carrying gun snickers a bit and leaves the airport... that's the way it SHOULD be!

-Mike
 
But they could still make the guy hire a lawyer and spend a bunch of dough over a matter that was settled a decade ago. Harrassment.

Malfeasance on the part of the officials. Which to me means that they should be liable for his legal costs. If they knew the law and deliberately violated it, that should be actionable.
 
Let's just say that flying into and out of general aviation airports, like Allegheny County just south of Steel Town, bypasses a lot of that bullshit.

Also, you can control the slide on its way into battery and still guarantee that it properly chambered a round. That plus the flushing toilet trick makes an otherwise noisy process much quieter.
 
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