Source: http://pafirearmsenthusiast.com/2018/01/11/are-the-great-american-outdoors-show-gaos-and-state-game-land-hunting-in-jeopardy-as-a-result-of-governor-wolfs-proclamation-of-emergency/
Timestamp: 2018-03-19 08:54:27
Document Index: 172887191

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 6109', '§ 6106', '§ 6108', '§ 6108', '§ 6108', '§ 7301', '§ 6107']

Are the Great American Outdoors Show (GAOS) and State Game Land Hunting in Jeopardy as a Result of Governor Wolf’s Proclamation of Emergency? – Pennsylvania Firearms Enthusiast
Gun Laws, Gun Rights, PA Firearms Enthusiast Syndication Network	— January 11, 2018 at 12:31 am
As our viewers are aware, earlier today I published a blog article that With a Stroke of a Pen, PA Governor Wolf Limits Firearm Rights by Proclaiming a State of Emergency; but, what are the unintended (or possibly intended) further consequences of the Proclamation?
As people start to prepare for the NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show (GAOS) from February 3-11 in Harrisburg, PA at the Farm Show Complex, it is important to understand the impact on both the vendors and attendees. As I explained in my earlier article, Section 6107, in pertinent part, provides
So what’s the concern? How could Governor Wolf’s Proclamation possibly affect the Great American Outdoors Show?
As I addressed in my earlier article, the Proclamation seemingly meets the criteria to trigger the Section 6107 prohibitions, since it is an emergency proclamation issued by a State governmental executive. Additionally, to the surprise of many people, the Farm Show Complex, where the show will be held, is actually owned by the Commonwealth and is therefore public property; thereby, prohibiting the carrying of a firearm, as defined by Section 6107, anywhere on the property, during the proclamation of emergency, unless the person meets an exception.
As the first exception is not (or at least not likely) applicable to the show, let’s turn to second set of exceptions – an individual who has been issued a license to carry firearms, pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 6109 or who is otherwise exempt under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6106(b). Obviously, the first is self-explanatory, but what about the exemptions found in 6106(b)? Well, Section 6106(b) provides:
(8) Any person while carrying a firearm which is not loaded and is in a secure wrapper from the place of purchase to his home or place of business, or to a place of repair, sale or appraisal or back to his home or place of business, or in moving from one place of abode or business to another or from his home to a vacation or recreational home or dwelling or back, or to recover stolen property under section 6111.1(b)(4) (relating to Pennsylvania State Police), or to a place of instruction intended to teach the safe handling, use or maintenance of firearms or back or to a location to which the person has been directed to relinquish firearms under 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108 (relating to relief) or back upon return of the relinquished firearm or to a licensed dealer’s place of business for relinquishment pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108.2 (relating to relinquishment for consignment sale, lawful transfer or safekeeping) or back upon return of the relinquished firearm or to a location for safekeeping pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108.3 (relating to relinquishment to third party for safekeeping) or back upon return of the relinquished firearm.
Clearly, any vendor or attendee who is a “person engaged in the business of manufacturing, repairing, or dealing in firearms, or the agent or representative of any such person” would be exempt (but see the below caution), as would anyone carrying pursuant to a reciprocity agreement or carrying pursuant to subsection (b)(15). Other vendors and attendees would seemingly be prohibited, although some employees may be able to claim that they are agents, messengers or other employees of a “business firm, whose duties require them to protect moneys, valuables and other property in the discharge of such duties.”
Unfortunately, as few people are aware, as a result of the Superior Court’s en banc decision late last year in Commonwealth v. Anderson, these “exceptions” in Section 6106(b) were found by the Superior Court to be “defenses” that need to be proven at trial. Thus, any individual claiming “exception” under Section 6106(b) can be prosecuted and forced to argue the exception as a defense to the prosecution.
More disconcerting, unlike the emergency proclamation statute, 35 Pa.C.S. § 7301, utilized by Governor Wolf to issue the proclamation, 18 Pa.C.S. § 6107 does not provide the Governor with any authority to limit or otherwise preclude the enactment of the prohibitions. Rather, the issuance of an emergency proclamation automatically, and seemingly in violation of Article 1, Section 21 and the Second Amendment, prohibits the carrying of “a firearm upon the public streets or upon any public property during [the] emergency.”
In relation to hunting on state game lands, pursuant to Section 6106(b)(9), those individuals would likewise be entitled to the “defense,” provided that he/she is “licensed to hunt, take furbearers or fish in this Commonwealth, if such persons are actually hunting, taking furbearers or fishing as permitted by such license, or are going to the places where they desire to hunt, take furbearers or fish or returning from such places.”
While the General Assembly has previously considered repealing Section 6107, Governor Wolf’s Proclamation of today underscores the necessity for the General Assembly to repeal Section 6107, as it is blatantly unconstitutional.
Tags state game land hunting
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