How U.S. Supreme Court Ruling May Impact PA Gun Policy

PENNSYLVANIA — After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a New York state law requiring a show of "proper cause" to obtain a gun carry permit violates the U.S. Constitution, questions are swirling on how, and to what extent, the ruling would affect states other than New York.

In a 6-3 decision, the justices struck down the New York law, determining that that state's process of requiring applicants to show a specific need in order to carry a firearm outside the home violates the Second and 14th Amendments.

Talk is now revolving around the seven U.S. states that still require some type of proper cause or justifiable need in their carry license application processes, and how this ruling might affect those statutes.

Most states across the country, including Pennsylvania, have what is called "shall issue" laws regarding the issuing of gun carry licenses. But the remaining states are known as "may issue" jurisdictions, meaning government authorities — such as police, sheriffs and judges — have wide discretion in determining who is able to obtain a license to carry a firearm outside the home for self-protection.

Joshua Prince, a Pennsylvania attorney specializing in firearms laws, put up a blog post minutes after the New York ruling was issued, calling it a "monumental decision."

The blog post, which gives a history of the court case and its finer points, can be read here.

So far, it is unclear how this Supreme Court ruling would affect states that already have "shall issue" laws regarding to the issuance of carry licenses.

Prince, however, told Patch that he believes the ruling could very well result in several of Pennsylvania gun laws being struck down.

Prince said Pennsylvania's "shall issue" law for gun carry licenses would likely remain in effect, since most people are typically able to obtain a license in this state. But he envisions other aspects of the law — such as a provision allowing the government a month and a half to review license applications — may possibly be struck down in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

"Moreover, I believe there is currently a question as to whether PA's licensing statute is constitutional to the extent it permits the issuing authority up to 45 days to issue the license," Prince wrote in emailed comments to Patch. "I suspect that this will be challenged in the near future."

Prince said he also expects the ban on openly carrying firearms in the city of Philadelphia without a license will be struck down as unconstitutional in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Currently, open carry of a firearm is legal in all 67 Pennsylvania counties; however, a license is needed to both open and conceal carry in Philadelphia. In all other 66 counties, a license is only needed to conceal carry, not open carry.

Prince also said the Supreme Court ruling could possibly have an effect on litigation he is currently involved with in Pennsylvania. One case involves what he calls the state's "extremely draconian" restrictions on transporting arms in the absence of a carry license. The other case challenges a Pennsylvania law that precludes individuals from obtaining carry licenses if they have convictions that could have been (but weren't) punishable by more than a year in prison.

Meanwhile, as the New York case was making its way through the federal court system, some states began enacting what are often referred to as "constitutional carry" laws, which enable law-abiding citizens to carry their firearms without a license.

Currently, more than half of the country is a constitutional carry jurisdiction, as 25 states have thus far passed such laws, according to the U.S. Concealed Carry Association.

Pennsylvania previously attempted to join the constitutional carry group, with both the House and Senate passing a law that would eliminate a need for a carry license in the commonwealth.

The bill never became law, however, as it was subsequently vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf.

Patch previously ran a series examining the topic of constitutional carry in Pennsylvania.

Just this week, it was reported that Pennsylvania House members are attempting to get constitutional carry passed through the constitutional amendment process in Pennsylvania as opposed to through the legislative process.

It's slightly different in that a constitutional amendment would have to pass both chambers of the General Assembly in two consecutive legislative sessions and then be OK'd by the voters at the ballot box.

Gun law challenges are also playing out in the Pennsylvania court system.

Just last month, a state appeals court struck down gun laws that had been passed by the city of Pittsburgh.

The judges in that case, as they have in past cases, have ruled that local communities in Pennsylvania are barred from passing their own gun regulations because of state pre-emption, which leaves gun legislation to the sole authority of the General Assembly.

Prince was also involved in the Pittsburgh case.