Quote:The Pennsylvania Supreme Court shut down a challenge to Gov. Tom Wolf’s order last week for all non-life sustaining businesses to close during the coronavirus pandemic.

Two lawsuits filed Thursday sought injunctions against enforcement of the order, claiming Wolf overstepped his authority by ordering law firms and gun shops to close. The suits said the order ran afoul of the Pennsylvania Constitution by interfering with the Supreme Court’s regulation of lawyers and depriving residents of their right to have a lawyer and the U.S. Constitution because it infringed on the right to bear arms.

The suit challenging the closure of gun shops also claimed that the pandemic is not a disaster under the state law granting emergency authority to the governor because the law does not specifically mention disease outbreaks.

The court’s two page order was posted late Sunday after developments in the cases over the weekend. Harrisburg lawyer William Costopoulos withdrew his request for an injunction after reaching an agreement with the governor’s office, according to court papers.
 
Also on Sunday, Philadelphia sought permission to join the cases, saying that as Pennsylvania’s most populous county, it has an interest in the business closure order and supported Wolf’s decision.

In dismissing the remaining suit, the Supreme Court noted that although the order required businesses providing legal services to cease their physical operations, Wolf later added an exception allowing attorneys to participate in cases deemed essential by a state or federal court. It also allows attorneys to go to offices when necessary for such cases.
The court did not explain its reasons for dismissing the claims on behalf of the gun shop and gun owners groups.

Berks County attorney Joshua Prince, who challenged the order on behalf of his family’s law firms, a Lancaster County gun shop and gun owners groups, called the court’s decision a devastating blow to Pennsylvanians’ constitutional rights. Prince said that because the court did not rule on the legal arguments in his challenge, anyone cited for violating the order will still be able to challenge it in court.

Justice David Wecht filed a separate opinion saying he disagreed with the decision because the order closing gun shops results in a total prohibition on buying guns in Pennsylvania. He noted that under state law, any sale of a gun requires a background check and that transactions must take place at the dealer’s designated place of business.

“Quite simply, if firearm dealers are not able to conduct any business in-person at their licensed premises, then no transfers of firearms can be completed. This amounts to an absolute and indefinite prohibition upon the acquisition of firearms by the citizens of this commonwealth,” Wecht wrote.