Court rejects law that aided gun challenges

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania appellate court has struck down a law designed to make it easier for organizations like the National Rifle Association to challenge local firearms ordinances in court.

Commonwealth Court ruled recently that the procedure lawmakers used to enact the law violated the state constitution.

Under the law, gun owners no longer had to show they were harmed by an ordinance to challenge it, and it let “membership organizations” like the NRA sue on behalf of any Pennsylvania member.

The provision was merged in last year’s legislative session with a bill whose intent was to establish criminal penalties for theft of secondary metals, such as wires or cables.

The judges say it violated constitutional requirements that bills can’t be altered to change their original purpose and must be confined to one subject.