The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced a victory in its federal Second Amendment lawsuit, Suarez v. Paris, in which multiple Pennsylvania laws requiring permits to open carry were declared unconstitutional on July 25, 2024.
In the decision, from the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the court declared that the requirements for a License to Carry Firearms to open carry in a vehicle, as well as during a state of emergency, were unconstitutional.
However, the court upheld the requirement for a license to conceal carry, as well as the law prohibiting the plaintiffs (whose civil rights have been restored) from obtaining licenses.
“We are pleased that the Court enjoined some of Pennsylvania’s unconstitutional carry restrictions,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “Our legal team is carefully reviewing the Court’s decision and will determine the best strategy to address the remaining issues in due course.”
FPC’s challenge made claims against five provisions from Pennsylvania’s Uniform Firearms Act of 1995.
Additionally, the Court denied FPC’s challenge to the state law requiring a license to open and conceal carry in Philadelphia; however, the Court gave plaintiffs 20 days to file an amended complaint that would be transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
