Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (D) says she will not defend a new law punishing scrap metal theft from railroads, as reported by CBS.
The problem is the law involves the National Rifle Association.
More below the orange tangle of copper wire.
The problem is this:
The intent of the bill as (as reported at Scrapmonster.com) is to prevent theft of railroad rails, spikes, and other materials which make for extremely hazardous conditions for trains.
There is apparently an uptick of people stealing such things and reselling them to recyclers. Pennsylvania already prohibits recyclers from accepting other things (such as beer kegs from individuals), so this should have been a non-controversial bill.
However, attached to the bill that was passed is an amendment that permits the National Rifle Association to sue any municipality that writes stricter ordinances about guns than those written into state law (for example, Philadelphia's requirement to report stolen or lost guns to the police).
(My understanding of lawsuits would be that the NRA could sue a municipality if it wanted to anyway, but the law as written codified the NRA's right to do so.)
Democrats in the state legislature note that the law as passed violates the state constitution, which states each bill must only cover one subject. It is a stretch to consider a gun regulation related to a scrap metal bill.
In majority-Republican Pennsylvania, the NRA bill could not pass on its own (it was defeated), so it was attached to the scrap metal bill.
State law does not prohibit recycling guns. Perhaps the NRA ought look into that.
11:42 AM PT: Thanks to the unnamed benefactor who bought me a gift subscription through Navajo's fund raising drive for Daily Kos.
1:34 PM PT: Hunter added a lot more detail to a later diary that can be found here.