Judge Scores Another One For The Defenders Of The Constitution

Judge Tosses Two City Anti-Gun Laws

By Andrew Maykuth

Inquirer Staff Writer

A Philadelphia judge yesterday sided with the National Rifle Association and struck down city ordinances banning assault weapons and limiting handgun purchases to one a month.

In a blow to the city's attempt to write its own gun laws, Common Pleas Court Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan ruled that Philadelphia should be permanently prevented from enforcing the laws that City Council passed unanimously in April.

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C. Scott Shields, the NRA's lawyer, called Greenspan's ruling a "huge victory" for gun-rights advocates.

"The assault-weapons ban was just ridiculous," he said. "There's just no way this would be enforceable."

The adversaries agreed on one thing: that the decision would be appealed, likely all the way to the state Supreme Court.

The lawyers said they were awaiting Greenspan's opinion spelling out her decision.

During hearings, Greenspan indicated that she agreed with the NRA's position that superseding state laws prevent the city from regulating guns in any way.

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