Lawmakers revive bill to aid challenges to local gun laws

HARRISBURG (AP) — Legislation is on the move again in Pennsylvania to make it easier for gun owners and gun-rights organizations to challenge cities’ firearms ordinances by requiring courts to grant them standing to sue.

The Republican-sponsored bill passed a Senate committee Tuesday on a party-line basis.

The proposal expands the definition of who has standing to file legal challenges to local gun ordinances to include any gun owner or membership organization.

In general, Pennsylvania bars its municipalities from enforcing firearms ordinances that are stronger than state law.

But some municipal firearms ordinances have withstood legal challenges when courts decided that a plaintiff didn’t have standing to sue because they couldn’t show that the ordinance had impaired their rights.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has previously threatened to veto similar bills.