Posted on 04/02/2009 6:06:50 PM PDT by Tallguy
A new ordinance against firing guns in Lancaster City has passed its first test in court, and Mayor Rick Gray is calling it a victory for residents.
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But it's Curtis Swinton who was the first person to be cited for violating the rule shooting his gun in the air allegedly to frighten off men who were beating his cousin and the first person to challenge the new law in Lancaster County Court.
On Monday, Judge Joseph Madenspacher handed down a ruling on the matter, upholding both the ordinance and prosecution under the state's criminal law.
The law provides enough exceptions for a person to use if he needs to defend himself in court for firing a gun, Madenspacher wrote.
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Swinton, 25, of the 100 block of South Pearl Street, fired a revolver at about 1:45 a.m. Dec. 30, 2007, in the parking lot of the House of Pizza restaurant, 23 W. Chestnut St., according to court documents. The restaurant is next to the city police station.
Swinton, who has a permit to legally carry a concealed weapon, told police his cousin was being attacked and beaten by a group of assailants and that he fired a warning shot to disperse them. No one was injured.
Police charged Swinton with recklessly endangering another person and the illegal discharge of a firearm in the city.
Swinton initially pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct in August 2008, but he withdrew the plea in November. His case is still pending.
Under the ordinance, discharging a firearm in the city carries a 90-day jail sentence and $500 fine for each shot.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.lancasteronline.com ...
You do not fire warning shots. You fire center-of-mass. STK.
I disagree with his prosecution but he was stupid to fire a warning shot. Those almost always get you in trouble.
Do it like that guy in Texas. You’re dead.
Cheaper than a funeral.
There may be some tactical situations where alerting a criminal to the fact that you have a live weapon may be as effective as actually shooting him, while posing less danger to others (e.g. if a direct shot at the criminal would risk hitting innocents, but a safe direction is available for a 'warning shot'). That having been said, firing a solid projectile skyward would seldom be the safest way to fire a warning shot.
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