By: Teresa Mull

A Pennsylvania state appeals court ruled that the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) is unconstitutional and should not apply in the case of a family attempting to sue Springfield Arms after their son’s friend accidentally shot and killed the son with a Springfield firearm.

According to Fox News, “The appeals court on Monday ruled the PLCAA is unconstitutional because the law overturns ‘common law dating back centuries’ and does not adequately fit under the Constitution’s commerce clause, saying ‘that merely because, at some point in time, that gun passed through interstate commerce, does not give Congress perpetual authority to regulate any harm it may cause.’”

The court went on to declare that though portions of the PLCAA “do not offend the constitution,” but, “The rest of the PLCAA is not severable; the act is unconstitutional in its entirety.”

Fox News reports the court’s decision “…is almost certain to be appealed and will not apply nationwide as the decision was handed down by a Pennsylvania state court.”

More Gun News in PA

This ruling comes as the fight over guns in Pennsylvania – a traditionally gun-heavy state – heats up. Earlier this week, hundreds of citizens and some lawmakers took part in the “Rally to Protect Your Right to Keep and Bear Arms,” an annual event that’s been taking place since 2006.

LIVE: Pa. republican lawmakers host right to bear arms rally in Harrisburg

Posted by PennLive.com on Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Meanwhile, gun sales in Pennsylvania, like elsewhere in the nation, are surging.

“There’s been an 80% surge in gun sales and 139% surge in ammo sales,” state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz said during the 2A rally.

Though gun owners are proud and many in the Keystone State, big cities – namely, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia – tend to dominate state politics, and the anti-gun group, Everytown for Gun Safety, had launched a $1.4 million campaign aimed at replacing pro-gun lawmakers with anti-gun candidates.

Teresa Mull ([email protected]) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.