Court Opinion

ID: 9750340
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 14:51:07.413627+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:07.785304
License: Public Domain

DOYLE, Judge,
concurring.
I agree entirely with the reasoning employed and the result reached by the majority opinion. I write separately only to indicate that while the legislature perhaps did not intend that the benefits of veterans’ preference be so broadly applied, we are bound by the plain meaning of Section 7101 of what is commonly known as the Veterans’ Preference Act, (Act) 51 Pa.C.S. § 7101. As Section 1921(b) of *144The Statutory Construction Act of 1972,1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(b), dictates, “When the words of a statute are clear and free from all ambiguity, the letter of it is not to be disregarded under the pretext of pursuing its spirit.”
I am indeed cognizant that this decision can have far-reaching ramifications. There is no time limitation with respect to one’s service as a soldier. Aside from the military service itself, the only limitation in the definition is that the soldier be honorably discharged. The entire nation is well aware that recent events in the Persian Gulf necessitated many individuals who had been in the reserves being placed on active status. Some served overseas in the Persian Gulf region; others, although they were on active duty, remained stateside. Many, whether serving in the Gulf or stateside, were on active duty for only a brief period of time. Under our decision today all of these individuals, regardless of whether they served overseas or at home, regardless of whether they were on active duty for one day or six months, are entitled to the veterans’ preference benefit. I am not certain that such a broad application of this benefit was legislatively intended. The Act, however, says what it says and if a change is desired it is for the legislature and not the courts to attend to the matter.