Newtown Township, here in my County, has decided to follow state law. They are seeing the writing on the wall in regards to how we feel about preemption, and decided to take some preventative measures. This is a great development, considering the bill isn’t even law yet.
UPDATE: Greg notes in the comments that they are still requiring a permit for parks, meaning they still have some changing to do if they want to remain compliant with state law in regards to preemption since it’s not unlawful to openly carry in a park, according to state law.
I don’t live in Pennsylvania. Could you explain what a township is?
It’s essentially a way to incorporate disparate areas. We have the Borough of Newtown, which is an incorporated borough (essentially a single town). But many people who have a post office address of Newtown, PA, actually live in Newtown Township. There are many towns in PA that are post offices, essentially, but are governmentally part of a township.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Township_(United_States)#Civil_townships
Townships are a Pennsylvania and New Jersey thing, mostly.
Actually, looks like a few other states use them, but differently than we do. There’s a bit in the wikipedia article about how property demarkation is done. That’s made it interesting for realtors to try to determine property lines on old properties. It’s a silly system, but demarcations on property here often predate the United States, so they are delineated often based on markers that are long gone.
They’re still not compliant with 18 Pa.C.S. §6120. By requiring that carriers have permits, they are disregarding the legality of unlicensed open carry, or even the fact that there are numerous statutory exemptions from licensing for concealed carry.
Ah, OK… I didn’t catch that part of the article. In that case, they still have some changing to do.
From the article: “Why would a person want to carry a concealed weapon into a place where kids play?†said Calabro.
Gee, I don’t know…perhaps for the same reason that a police officer would carry a weapon on any sort into a place where kids play? In particular, to defend those kids from kidnappers and others who would do them harm?
Just a thought, anyway. (I wish I could have left that comment at the article, but I don’t want to jump through the hoops required to leave comments there.)