The National Rifle Association has filed a lawsuit against a new Pittsburgh ordinance that penalizes gun owners who fail to report lost or stolen firearms, reports the city’s Tribune-Review. The suit was filed on behalf of four Pittsburgh gun owners who contend the ordinance “severely restricts” their right to keep firearms at home and violates state gun laws. “All they’re trying to do is criminalize the law-biding citizens because they want to get rid of the guns,” said plaintiff Richard Haid, 60, a retired Postal Service worker.
Council members voted 6-1 on Dec. 2 to allow authorities to fine gun owners who fail to report lost or stolen firearms up to $500 for the first offense. Subsequent offenses can result in a fine of up to $1,000 or 90 days in jail. No one has yet been cited under the new law, police said. The goal is to deter “straw purchasers,” people with clean criminal records who buy guns and give them to criminals. An NRA attorney said the City Council broke the state’s firearms law, which prohibits cities from regulating firearms, in passing the ordinance.