More illegal harassment of gun owners

Last week, a Pennsylvania judge decided to actually follow the law and find David Ross not guilty for the alleged crime of possessing a weapon on airport property.

You see, Pennsylvania state law protects the right to open carry outside the secured areas at the airport. So Mr. Ross was acting well within the law when he removed his handgun from his luggage and began to holster it as he walked out of the airport.

But an officer of the Allegheny County Police Department took issue with a civilian attempting to keep and bear arms. The officer had such a problem with it that he illegally arrested David Ross for violating a local county ordinance which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had invalidated a decade ago. State law trumps local county ordinances and since Pennsylvania protects open carry, Allegheny County cannot violate that right.

Since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had ruled on this issue a decade ago, you'd think the judge would correct the error of the arresting officer and apologize for the mistake, right? Wrong. David Ross was convicted, even though he clearly explained the situation to the judge, and was forced to hire an attorney to appeal the case.

Well, Mr. Ross's appeal was heard last Friday, November 9th, and this time he got a judge who actually understood the law. In a victory for the Second amendment, David Ross was acquitted of all charges and hopefully the arresting officer learned a lesson. [Faint hope. I hope Mr Ross got a substantial award of costs]

The above is a press release from The National Association for Gun Rights. Other details here.


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