AG Kane Won’t Defend Pa. Gun Law That Allows NRA Suits

Attorney General Kathleen Kane gestures to Gov. Tom Corbett while speaking at a June news conference about healthcare.

Kathleen Kane has decided not to defend a recently passed gun law that allows lawsuits against municipalities that enact gun laws harsher than state laws.

“The attorney general determined it would be more efficient and in the best interest of the commonwealth for the Office of General Counsel to handle this matter,” Kane spokeswoman Renee Martin said. She is leaving it up to Gov. Tom Corbett’s staff. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, is sworn in as governor on January 20th.

Corbett spokesman Jay Pagni told the Inquirer Kane’s refusal to defend the law was “another example of the attorney general refusing to fulfill her constitutional duty to defend the commonwealth and the people who elected her.”

The law, which passed this fall, allows the NRA and other pro-gun rights groups to sue Pennsylvania towns with harsh gun laws. A group of officials from the Philadelphia area are suing the state over the law.

[Inquirer]