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PRINTER'S NO. 2217
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
426
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY METCALFE, RYAN, GROVE, BERNSTINE, COOK, DUSH,
BOROWICZ, MOUL, SONNEY, NELSON, IRVIN AND KNOWLES,
JUNE 24, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 24, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Impeaching William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, for misbehavior
in office.
BE IT RESOLVED, That William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh, be
impeached for misbehavior in office and that the following
Article of Impeachment be exhibited to the Senate:
ARTICLE I
On January 31, 1994, a complaint was filed contending that
the City of Pittsburgh's Ordinance 30 of 1994 was preempted by
section 21 of Article I of the Constitution of Pennsylvania and
18 Pa.C.S. § 6120, as the ordinance regulated the possession and
transfer of what the city classified as "assault weapons,"
ammunition and firearm accessories.
On or about February 27, 1995, the Settlement Agreement
(hereinafter "Settlement Agreement") in this matter, in the form
of a stipulation, was entered into by the parties. It was
submitted to the court and on February 27, 1995, The Court of
Common Pleas of Allegheny County issued an order approving the
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Settlement Agreement. In the Settlement Agreement, the City of
Pittsburgh stipulated to the State preemption of local
ordinances and local action regarding firearms generally and
agreed to abide by and adhere to Pennsylvania law.
The provisions of 18 Pa.C.S. § 6120(a) state: "No county,
municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful
ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms,
ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported
for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth."
In addition, 53 Pa.C.S. § 2962(g) prohibits municipalities from
"enact[ing] any ordinance or take[ing] any other action dealing
with the regulation of the transfer, ownership, transportation
or possession of firearms."
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Ortiz v. Commonwealth, in
which the City of Pittsburgh was a party, found that both
section 21 of Article I of the Constitution of Pennsylvania and
18 Pa.C.S. § 6120 preempted any regulation of firearms or
ammunition, and declared:
Because the ownership of firearms is constitutionally
protected, its regulation is a matter of statewide
concern. The constitution does not provide that the right
to bear arms shall not be questioned in any part of the
commonwealth except Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where it
may be abridged at will, but that it shall not be
questioned in any part of the commonwealth. Thus,
regulation of firearms is a matter of concern in all of
Pennsylvania, not merely in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh,
and the General Assembly, not city councils, is the
proper forum for the imposition of such regulation.
Ortiz, 681 A.2d 152, 156 (Pa. 1996)
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On December 18, 2018, proposal 2018-1218, proposal 2018-1219
and proposal 2018-2020 (hereinafter "Proposals") were read and
referred by Pittsburgh City Council with the City Clerk which
regulated firearms, ammunition and firearm accessories. On or
about April 2, 2019, Mayor William Peduto signed the Proposals.
The Proposals are clearly preempted by 18 Pa.C.S. § 6120(a)
and 53 Pa.C.S. § 2962(g) and violate the Settlement Agreement.
In signing the Proposals, that blatantly and clearly contradict
the plain language of the Pennsylvania Constitution,
Pennsylvania statutes and the Settlement Agreement, Mayor
William Peduto engaged in misbehavior in office.
Wherefore, Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto is guilty of an
impeachable offense warranting removal from office and
disqualification to hold any office or trust or profit under
this Commonwealth.
The House of Representatives hereby reserves the right and
ability to exhibit at any time hereafter further Articles of
Impeachment against Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto, to reply to
any answers that Mayor William Peduto may make to any Articles
of Impeachment which are exhibited and to offer proof at trial
in the Senate in support of each and every Article of
Impeachment which shall be exhibited by them.
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