imported post
Q. When do you need a carry permit to carry guns in PA?[/b]
A. [/b]Under the PA Uniform Firearms Act (“UFA”), which can viewed on Packing.org's PA page, a License to Carry Firearms (“LTCF”) is only required under 4 conditions:
1. To carry handguns concealed.
2. To carry handguns inside vehicles (luckily, ANY state's gun carry permit overcomes this restriction).
3. To carry handguns in Philadelphia.
4. To carry any gun, including long guns, during declared periods of "emergency."
Q. Is open carry legal in PA?
A.[/b] Yes. When walking about PA on foot, no LTCF is required to open carry unless you are in Philadelphia or an "emergency" has been declared. Here are 2 PA Supreme Court cases validating the legality of open carry in PA:
a. Commonwealth v. Hawkins, 692 A.2d 1068, n.4 (“In all parts of Pennsylvania, persons who are licensed may carry concealed firearms. 18 Pa.C.S. § 6108. Except in Philadelphia, firearms may be carried openly without a license. See Ortiz v. Commonwealth[/i][/b], 545 Pa. 279, 283, 681 A.2d 152, 155 (1996) (only in Philadelphia must a person obtain a license for carrying a firearm whether it is unconcealed or concealed; in other parts of the Commonwealth, unconcealed firearms do not require a license)”).
b. Ortiz v. Commonwealth, 545 Pa. 279; 681 A.2d 152 (1996)(agreeing with appellant’s citation of the fact that "...in Philadelphia County, the legislature requires that a person must be licensed to carry weapons openly and not concealed from sight, whereas in all other counties of Pennsylvania, weapons may be carried openly without a license[, but holding that appellant’s argument that this fact then exempts Philadelphia from state preemption statute] is plainly without merit” [emphasis added]”).
Q. Can the police lawfully detain, search, and demand ID from citizens carrying guns?
A. I am aware of no lawful duty for citizens in PA to carry and show ID (or even state their names) on demand to police generally. Obviously, if carrying under anyone of the 4 circumstances above where a LTCF is required by law, then a gun owner must provide the LTCF to a police officer if requested (no extra photo ID required per se by PA law).
But according to the PA Supreme Court, a report of a “man with a gun” does not per se allow a Terry[/i] stop of that individual. Commonwealth v. Hawkins[/i], 692 A.2d 1068, 1071 (Pa. 1997)(reversing sentence of a man convicted of illegally possessing a gun because the evidence was obtained in violation of privacy rights under the PA constitution; “The Commonwealth takes the radical position that police have a duty to stop and frisk when they receive information from any source that a suspect has a gun. Since it is not illegal to carry a licensed gun in Pennsylvania, it is difficult to see where this shocking idea originates[emphasis added], notwithstanding the Commonwealth's fanciful and histrionic references to maniacs who may spray schoolyards with gunfire and assassins of public figures who may otherwise go undetected. Even if the Constitution of Pennsylvania would permit such invasive police activity as the Commonwealth proposes-which it does not-such activity seems more likely to endanger than to protect the public. Unnecessary police intervention, by definition, produces the possibility of conflict where none need exist [emphasis added] . . . Contrary to the Commonwealth's view, the public will receive its full measure of protection by police who act within the restraints imposed on them by Art. I, § 8 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania and this court's relevant caselaw. Upon receiving unverified information that a certain person is engaged in illegal activity, the police may always observe the suspect and conduct their own investigation. If police surveillance produces a reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct, the suspect may, of course, be briefly stopped and questioned (the Terry investigative stop), and, if the officer has reasonable fear for his safety, police may pat down the suspect's outer garments for weapons.").
Q. Can I drive around PA with an unloaded handgun in my trunk, then “go open carry” without a LTCF when I get out of my car?[/b]
A. [/b]I think so, but some folks believe that the UFA could[/i] be read to make it illegal to "transport" an unloaded handgun locked in the trunk of your car on an intra-state journey unless a specific UFA exemption applies (i.e., going to or from the gun dealer or range from home, possessing a LTCF, etc.) - I disagree with this interpretation, but unfortunately, recent updates to the UFA clarified only that transport of unloaded handguns in trunks on inter[/b]-state journeys was not unlawful. Word to wise, have at least some state's CHP if you have a handgun in a vehicle, even locked in the trunk.
Another word to the wise - not all PA State Police (PSP) troopers know the UFA - recently, my PA attorney told me that he had a citizen contact him because he was traveling thru PA, open carry apparently in a vehicle pursuant to a carry permit that was not officially recognized by PA generally - the Trooper was apparently unaware of the "shall accept" provision in the UFA for car carry and “took him to the station” – although it was later sorted out and he was released, the man’s liberty was seriously infringed. Word to wise – carry a copy of the UFA’s car carry “shall accept” provision if you don’t have a PA LTCF or officially accepted carry permit.
Q. Are localities preempted in PA?[/b]
A.[/b] Yes. The UFA preempts localities fully. As the PA Supreme Court said in Ortiz v. Commonwealth[/i], 681 A.2d 152, (Pa. 1996):
“. . . the Philadelphia appellants, joined by the City of Pittsburgh, argue that although the General Assembly may restrict home rule power to some extent, it may not limit “the ability to perform the basic administrative functions of a municipal government and the ability to fulfill a fundamental purpose for which the City government exists.” In particular, appellants assert that “the right of a city to maintain the peace on its streets through the regulation of weapons is intrinsic to the existence of the government of that city and, accordingly, an irreducible ingredient of constitutionally protected Home Rule.” . . .This claim is frivolous [/b][emphasis added]. The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned. Because the ownership of firearms is constitutionally protected, its regulation is a matter of statewide concern. The constitution does not provide that the right to bear arms shall not be questioned in any part of the commonwealth except Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where it may be abridged at will, but that it shall not be questioned in any part of the commonwealth. Thus, regulation of firearms is a matter of concern in all of Pennsylvania, not merely in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the General Assembly, not city councils, is the proper forum for the imposition of such regulation.”
Regardless of local ordinances & regulations, if you are legal under federal and PA law, you can carry in local parks, government buildings, etc. But strangely, state parks have a gun carry ban - many believe that the state park ban exceeds the authority of the agency which runs it, at least as it applies to LTCF holders - word to wise, concealed carry in state parks might be best under a don't ask don't tell policy, until we can get state agencies in PA officially preempted by a statute or court case.
There are some localities, such as the Pittsburgh Airport, which purportedly ban gun carry in violation of preemption - folks living in those areas need to band together, maybe even forming a "PCDL" and take them to task for these violations of your right to self defense.