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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 10 april 2019
Suit filed over gun controls

inspired by synagogue shooting

By RAMESH SANTANAM of armor-piercing ammu- members who voted for
and MICHAEL RUBINKAM nition and high-capacity the gun-control legisla-
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gun magazines and allows the tion in contempt of court,
rights groups sued Tuesday temporary seizure of guns contending they violated
to block Pittsburgh from en- from people who are de- a 1995 legal settlement in
forcing firearms legislation termined to be a danger which city officials dropped
passed after a mass shoot- to themselves or others. the earlier effort to ban as- Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, surrounded by supporters and fam-
ing at a synagogue, accus- The first two laws are due sault weapons and agreed ily members of Tree of Life synagogue shooting victims, signs
ing city officials of blatantly to take effect in 60 days, to "abide by and adhere to three gun-control bills into law, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, at the
defying the state's prohibi- the imminent-danger law Pennsylvania law."q City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh.
tion on municipal gun regu- in 180 days. Associated Press
lation. Whether the city will be
Democratic Mayor Bill able to enforce them is an
Peduto signed the bills open question. State law
into law in a ceremony at has long prohibited munici-
the City-County Building, palities from regulating the
declaring the community ownership or possession of
had come together "to say guns or ammunition, and
enough is enough." City of- courts have thrown out
ficials said they had to act other local firearms mea-
because the Republican- sures, including a 1990s-era
controlled Pennsylvania assault weapons ban in
Legislature — which is plan- Pittsburgh.
ning to hold a memorial But city leaders said they
service for the victims this were eager to take on the
week — will not. fight, given the Legislature's
"We are going to take traditional reluctance to
some action, we are going pass gun legislation.
to do something positive "This fantasy that somehow
and, yes, it is going to be the state is going to step up
everlasting," said Peduto, and help us is simply not go-
surrounded by gun-control ing to happen," said Coun-
advocates and members cil President Bruce Kraus.
of three congregations that The bill signing took place as
were targeted in the shoot- state lawmakers prepared
ing rampage at Tree of Life to come together for a me-
Synagogue. "Change only morial service for the Tree
happens when you chal- of Life victims. The unusual
lenge the status quo." joint session at the Capitol
Minutes later, a coalition of in Harrisburg on Wednes-
gun rights groups sued to day will bring together
get the newly minted laws the House and Senate
overturned, calling them for prayers and speeches
"patently unenforceable, about the attack. Peduto's
unconstitutional, illegal." spokesman said the timing
Shortly after that, a second was coincidental. The Pitts-
lawsuit, this one backed burgh bills — proposed not
by the National Rifle As- long after the deadliest at-
sociation, declared that tack on Jews in U.S. history
"Pittsburgh has violated the — were weakened ahead
rights of its citizens." of City Council passage
"Worse yet, Pittsburgh has in an effort to make them
committed this violation more likely to survive a
without any realistic pros- court challenge. While one
pect of diminishing the ... of the bills originally includ-
incidence of horrific mass ed an outright ban on as-
shootings," said the suit, sault weapons, the revised
filed by four city residents. measure bars the "use" of
"All it will do is leave law- assault weapons in public
abiding citizens more vul- places.
nerable to attack from The city will be represented
better-armed and more in court by lawyers with Ev-
ruthless assailants." erytown for Gun Safety, a
The new legislation restricts group backed by billion-
military-style assault weap- aire Michael Bloomberg.
ons like the AR-15 rifle au- In another legal filing Tues-
thorities say was used in day, the Allegheny County
the Oct. 27 massacre that Sportsmen's League asked
killed 11 and wounded sev- a judge to hold the city,
en. It also bans most uses Peduto and six council