A major gun-rights group has filed a reply brief in a lawsuit currently before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court challenging warrantless searches and seizures for licensed firearms dealers in the commonwealth.
According to the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the lawsuit challenges Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) regulations and County Sheriff policies that require an applicant for a license to sell firearms in the state to agree to warrantless searches by the State Police or their designee to ensure compliance with state law.
Furthermore, these inspections would allow regulators to seize license holders or employees for up to two hours, compel them to answer any questions posed, provide documentation, and also threaten to revoke their state license to sell firearms for refusing to comply with the demands.
On March 17, SAF filed a reply brief in the case Schmidt v. Paris, arguing that the warrantless searches and seizures are unconstitutional.
“As the General Assembly never enacted any law under the Uniform Firearms Act of 1995 that provided for inspections of PA License to Sell Firearms licensees or for the waiver of their constitutional rights and it never provided any form of framework in relation to its delegation of authority or what constitutes a ‘reputable applicant,’ ‘cause’ to revoke a PA License to Sell Firearms license, or what constitutes a ‘clear and present danger,’ Pa.Code §§ 33.116 and 33.117, 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 6111.5, 6112, and 6113, and Kilkenny’s Policy related thereto are violative of Art. II, § 1, and thus unconstitutional,” the brief states.
Bill Sack, SAF director of legal operations, said in a news release announcing the brief that selling guns in accordance with state and federal law does not require that a seller waive their other constitutional rights.
“Warrantless searches of these businesses are unlawful, and particularly egregious when you consider that many FFL dealers run their business out of their private residence,” Sack added.
In passing the Uniform Firearms Act, the Pennsylvania General Assembly did not include a provision allowing for warrantless searches of firearms dealers. SAF’s lawsuit alleges that the PSP’s subsequent promulgation of a regulation allowing for such searches, and Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny’s stated policy of conducting searches of FFLs absent probable cause, violate the Pennsylvania state constitution.
“These regulations are nothing more than an attempt to thwart the Second Amendment rights of Pennsylvanians,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Whether it’s in Pennsylvania—or any other state—Americans are allowed to exercise their full constitutional rights without fear of government agencies enforcing frivolous laws. As we have done for more than 50 years, SAF will continue fighting to ensure the Second Amendment is not relegated to a second-class right.”
SAF is joined in the case by Shot Tec and private citizen Grant Schmidt.