Harrisburg Alert
- HB 1523 and amendment alert
The amendment listed
below (by Rep. Sturla-A08647) is causing a great deal of
concern in Harrisburg. Emails and
phone calls to your legislators...please. This amendment
must not pass.
by
Rep. Sturla
I have placed the actual amendment text below and as you
can see it is meant to have a chilling effect on citizens
challenging government in the courts. This is an unconscionable
expansion of government power to quell dissent in the voice
of the people who object to their rights being violated
and their communities being used as a springboard for an
unconstitutional, anti-gun agenda.
In point of fact, as seen in the referenced
section below, the United States Supreme Court has held
that individuals whose rights have been violated should
not be the only ones bearing the "inevitable costs
of government" when it involves citizens Constitutional
rights. This amendment by Rep. Sturla is potentially in
violation of this Supreme Court decision and will work to
the disparagement of Pennsylvania citizens’ rights.
The knowledge that a municipality
will be liable for all of its injurious conduct, whether
committed in good faith or not, should create an incentive
for officials who may harbor doubts about the lawfulness
of their intended actions to err on the side of protecting
citizens' constitutional rights.... [Since] it is the public
at large which enjoys the benefits of the government's activities,
and it is the public at large which is ultimately responsible
for its administration...it is fairer to allocate any resulting
financial loss to the inevitable costs of government borne
by all the taxpayers, than to allow its impact to be felt
solely by those whose rights...have been violated. U.S.
Supreme Court - OWEN v. CITY OF INDEPENDENCE, 445 U.S. 622
(1980) 445 U.S. 622
This amendment language (A08647) and
concept is also a naked payoff to the anti-gun organizations
who have been promoting violations of the Pennsylvania Constitution
and our current preemption statute (title 18, section 6120).
For the last three years these anti-gun
organizations have been encouraging the violation of Pennsylvania
law and openly stated that they would be responsible for
legal costs if these local ordinances were challenged. This,
in our view, is directly connected to this amendment as
not only would the local political subdivision be financially
responsible to reimburse court costs for being sued but
these anti-gun organizations could then also be sued by
the political subdivision for reimbursement since they pledged
to cover all legal costs of these communities.
Make no mistake about it this is a
clear attempt to silence gunowners who challenge these laws
in court! As an example the American Civil Liberties Union
does not have to reimburse school districts when they sue
them and neither do they have to reimburse local municipalities
for other issues when they take them to court.
A08647 – Sturla – Position – Coalition
– OPPOSED
(a.3) Political subdivision.--A political
subdivision that
prevails in a lawsuit filed under subsection (a.2) is entitled
to be reimbursed by the party who filed the lawsuit for
reasonable attorney fees and costs.
This amendment would have a chilling
effect on access to the courts, an essential component of
the Constitution, by the people of the Commonwealth. This
is completely unacceptable!
If you believe in your constitutional
rights then please contact every legislator you can by phone
and by e-mail and tell them to vote against this amendment
or any other amendment like this! Of all of the amendments
filed against this legislation this one may be the most
despicable and underhanded of all of them.
Please don't let them sway your opinion
or your voice! Again please join us in opposition to this
amendment!
