Friend, 

A Pennsylvania Senate committee will vote as soon as tomorrow on whether to let out-of-state organizations sue Pennsylvania towns for trying to prevent gun violence—AND have citizens like us pick up the tab. Tell your PA senator: oppose Senate Bill 448, “punitive preemption.”

The legislature has done its best to tie the hands of PA municipalities that want to protect their citizens: municipalities are often “preempted” from enacting their own firearms legislation under Pennsylvania law. SB 448 would go a step further, requiring local officials who pass life-saving gun ordinances to face well-funded organizations—including out-of-state groups like the NRA—in court. If the NRA wins, local taxpayers pay the legal fees.[1]

Local leaders just want to do what they can to protect people from surging gun violence, especially when the PA legislature refuses to do so. SB 448 is an attempt to threaten them into inaction. A similar bill has already passed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (HB 979). Stopping punitive preemption before it gets past the Senate is crucial—and will send a clear message that Pennsylvanians and their local elected representatives won’t be dictated to by the NRA.

Denying municipalities the opportunity to enact evidence-based policy is bad enough. Financially punishing the taxpayers who have cried out for such ordinances to reduce injury, trauma, and death is reckless and wrong. It’s a worrying recent trend as multiple states face similar efforts driven by the financial whims of extremist special interest groups.[2] 

We don’t have much time to stop this bill in the Senate. We need your help. Tell your PA senator: oppose SB 448.

Thank you for your response to this urgent issue.

Adam Garber
Executive Director, CeaseFirePA 

[1] "Regular Session 2021-2022: Senate Bill 448." Pennsylvania General Assembly, accessed October 18, 2021.
[2] "State Preemption of Local Legislation Is Getting Worse." Bloomberg CityLab, August 9, 2019.