Adopted by Borough Council · March 14, 2022
Following through on a referendum that Tyrone voters approved in November 2021, Borough Council adopted Resolution No. 2022-02 on March 14, 2022, entering an intergovernmental agreement with Blair County that forbids the Borough from spending public funds or using public resources to enforce new gun-control legislation passed after November 2, 2021.
Adopted 4–0
In favor: Snyder, Dollar, Mills, Mayor Latchford. Abstained: Patterson, Poust, Hunter. Absent: William Wiser.
The agreement is a standardized document being adopted by municipalities across the county, part of a broader “Second Amendment sanctuary” effort organized by petition. Solicitor Stants gave Council an extended briefing before the vote, explaining both what the agreement does and where state law sets its limits.
The resolution commits the Borough not to direct its own funds or personnel toward enforcing firearms restrictions enacted after the referendum date. Stants advised that the standardized language was drafted to comply with the boundaries of Pennsylvania law. The enhanced enforcement and penalty provisions that the petition’s organizers had sought go further than the county agreement, and Stants told Council those provisions would be pre-empted by the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act and therefore unenforceable.
That pre-emption point matters because, under Pennsylvania law, the regulation of firearms is largely reserved to the General Assembly. A borough cannot create its own firearms penalties or override state statute; what it can do is decide how to direct its own resources, which is the scope of the agreement Council approved.
The measure carried on a roll-call vote, but it was not unanimous in participation: three members abstained rather than casting an aye or nay. With the Mayor voting as President of Council, the resolution passed.
On record: Resolution No. 2022-02 and the Solicitor’s remarks are part of the public meeting record at the Borough Office, 1100 Logan Avenue. Learn more: read about the county that is party to the agreement at Blair County.
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