A new law in Pennsylvania that makes it easier for gun groups like the National Rifle Association to sue cities for burdensome Second Amendment regulations has municipalities on the defense, and almost two dozen have already backed off some of their most stringent firearms rules.

The state has a long-running law that prohibits municipalities from enforcing any gun laws that regulate firearms ownership and transfers, The Associated Press reported. But gun owners also have a long-running complaint: that their municipalities have ignored this law with alarming regularity.

So a state lawmaker brought forth a measure that stipulates gun owners don’t have to prove that they’ve been personally harmed by their particular municipalities’ gun laws — that they can challenge it solely on its existence and conflict with state law, the AP said.

On top of that, the new law lets any “membership organization” like the NRA stand in and sue on behalf of any state member — and seek damages, the AP reported.

The law just took effect. At least 22 municipalities have already backtracked on their regulations, worried about lawsuits driven and backed by the NRA and other Second Amendment groups, AP said.

Reading City Council, for instance, announced its intent to repeal its local rules that ban firing weapons within city limits and that require owners to report lost weapons.

“We get ourselves in trouble in terms of trying to circumvent a state law,” said Councilman Jeff Waltman, AP reported. “We’re not going to solve this with a local gun law anyway.”

Dave Dalton, the founder of American Gun Owners Alliance in the Pocono Mountains, said cities ought to be worried — they have no right to disregard state law.

“What gives a town or a city the authority to say, ‘We’re in Pennsylvania, but we don’t care about Pennsylvania law?’ It’s laughable,” he said, AP reported.

The NRA hasn’t contacted any municipality yet, AP reported. But a spokesman did say that the group is looking closely at the local ordinances and checking to see which comply with the state law.

Still, not all the cities are going quietly, and lawsuits have started to fly.

Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Lancaster have filed in Commonwealth Court to overturn this newest law, while Shira Goodman, executive director of CeaseFirePA, is requesting that cities stand strong in the face of the new law, AP said.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.