Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has a new municipal ordinance “requiring prompt notification to authorities of lost or stolen firearms, and imposing penalties.” The new ordinance would require gun owners to report the loss or theft of any registered firearms within 72 hours of their discovery. The ordinance was passed unanimously by the Lancaster City Council.
City officials say the new ordinance is not an infringement on gun ownership rights or a citizen’s right to privacy.
“Law abiding people, if their gun is stolen, they’re going to report it,” said Lancaster mayor Rick Gray. “So, when (people) say, ‘only criminals wouldn’t follow this,’ they’re exactly right.”
Mayor Gray, a lawyer, said the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled the Second Amendment of the Constitution doesn’t apply to states and municipalities. “It only applies to the federal government,” he said.