As our viewers are aware, on January 10th, when Governor Wolf issued his Opioid Proclamation, which triggered the prohibitions of 18 Pa.C.S. § 6107, I addressed the issue in my article – With a Stroke of a Pen, PA Governor Wolf Limits Firearm Rights by Proclaiming State of Emergency. Thereafter, Governor Wolf’s Office issued a canned statement stating that the Proclamation did not effect firearm rights, but failed to address the issues that I raised, which resulted in my re-addressing of the issues, including in relation to the “exceptions” being defenses that must be proven in a court of law as a defense to prosecution, the hunting on state game lands and the impact on the Great American Outdoors Show. Today, Philly.com published an article, which in addition to failing to address the issues I’ve continually raised relative to the Proclamation,  now implied that the Governor’s Office contends that a violation of Section 6107 is “a citation.” Unfortunately, once again, if the Wolf Administration did state that it was only a citation,  it is once again misleading the public on this issue, because pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 6119, it is a misdemeanor of the first degree – our highest grade misdemeanor – which can be punished, per 18 Pa.C.S. § 106(b)(6), by up to 5 years in jail.  As a result, if an individual is convicted of a violation of Section 6107, it triggers the federal prohibition of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); whereby, that individual will be prohibited for the remainder of his/her life from possessing and purchasing firearms and ammunition. Specifically, Section 922(g)(1)

(g) It shall be unlawful for any person–

(1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; …

to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.

(20) The term “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” does not include– …

(B) any State offense classified by the laws of the State as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less.