by KYW's Steve Tawa
The City of Philadelphia and the National Rifle Association went toe-to-toe on Monday in a Philadelphia courtroom over new gun restrictions in the city.
The judge handling the case now must decide whether to make permanent the temporary order she already signed in favor of the NRA, putting the five new gun control laws on hold.
After an hour of oral arguments on the NRA's legal standing, just before getting into substantive issues, there was a compromise -- on process, not positions. The city was ready to call about 30 witnesses, including surviving family members who lost loved ones to gun violence and a retired ATF agent, Joe Vince, who had 30 years' experience dealing with deadly weapons:
"In order to reduce crime, you have to bring down the availability and accessibility of firearms to criminals."
Both sides told judge Jane Cutler Greenspan that they would stipulate their legal positions in writing, rather than go through a full-blown, three-day hearing. They will submit the papers in the morning, then appear before the judge on Tuesday afternoon for oral closing positions.
The city wants to be able to enforce its new gun control laws, but the NRA's lawyer, Scott Shields (right), says that violates state law and the Pennsylvania constitution:
"The city is doing that which they know is impermissible and illegal under existing state law."
Judge Greenspan already made it clear that a 1996 state Supreme Court ruling held that only the state legislature can regulate guns. The city, realizing it may not prevail, wants to build a record for an eventual rehearing before the high court.
Related KYW news story
E-Mail Story
Print Story
