Proposal to ban guns at polls withdrawn (Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) [View All]

[shadowrider]

Lancaster County voters will not be barred from packing heat at the 235 local polling places during the general election next week.

Mary Stehman, chief clerk of the county's Board of Elections, on Wednesday withdrew a resolution she had proposed to the county commissioners Tuesday, which would have banned the possession of firearms at county polling sites.

Stehman said she withdrew the resolution after reviewing state gun laws, which prevent municipal governments from regulating when and where guns can be carried.

"I am absolutely certain if this resolution would have been passed there would have been some sort of challenge," Commissioner Craig Lehman said.

Stehman got the idea for the resolution from a letter sent by the Department of State last month to all 67 Pennsylvania counties which stated individual counties interested in banning guns at polling places could do so on their own.

" … if a county wishes to prohibit firearms in the polling place, the county Board of Elections should pass a resolution clarifying this matter," the letter states.

It then lists several sections of the Pennsylvania Elections Code that could be cited to justify such resolutions.

But Lehman said state and federal law are pretty clear that counties can't legislate gun possession.

"I would hope the Department of State would have provided the legal justification for its direction, but it clearly doesn't address the Uniform Firearms Act at all," he said.

The act is a set of Pennsylvania statutes that spells out a citizen's right to keep and bear arms in the state.

State Rep. Bryan Cutler, an avid hunter and gun owner, said he's annoyed the Department of State sent out such letters to Pennsylvania counties.

He said he spoke with department officials Wednesday, who agreed counties cannot pass resolutions banning the possession of firearms.

And Cutler is planning to request the department send another letter to all 67 counties explaining that fact.

"A letter of recision clearly is in order here," he said.


http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/305413