City officials don’t expect gun rally to cause major disruptions
Ahead of Monday’s open carry protest outside the CityCounty Building, public officials say they are ready for anything but do not expect major disruptions in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Justin Dillon, 31, of Erie organized the protest in response to Pittsburgh City Council legislation introduced last month to ban assault-style weapons and types of ammunition, following the Oct. 27 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill.
Mr. Dillon, who in 2014 won a court battle against the City of Erie over an ordinance banning guns in city parks, said the proposed legislation violates state law, which bans counties and municipalities from enacting gun regulations beyond those the state enacts.
Mr. Dillon initially applied for a permit for “fewer than 200” to protest but said he now expects many more — possibly in excess of 600 people — to attend the demonstration.
The protest, featuring many attendees openly carrying guns, will be on the portico of the CityCounty Building on Grant Street, starting at noon.
“The city’s guiding principle
will continue to be protecting people’s First Amendment rights while ensuring safety for all, including protesters, motorists who might be affected by road closures and all other city residents and visitors,” said Chris Togneri, spokesman for Pittsburgh Public Safety.
Mr. Togneri added Sunday, “The police are prepared to close Grant Street in front of the [City-County Building] if needed but will not do so from the start.”
Similarly, the Port Authority of Allegheny County is prepared to make bus route changes “on the fly,” said Adam Brandolph, spokesman for the transit agency.
At least one Downtown entity has taken action preemptively, however: Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts 6-12, a public secondary school in Downtown, will be on modified lockdown status Monday because of the rally, according to an email sent to parents of its students late Friday.
Students will not be allowed to leave the building without prior permission from their parent or guardian, according to the email. Any visitors to the school will need an appointment, and extra school police and city police will be posted outside and inside the school.
“The protest is expected to last for a few hours and may delay school and Port Authority buses traveling through Downtown,” the email warned.
Most CAPA middle school students ride school buses, while high school students use public transit.
The otherwise low-key response may be in part due to no counterprotests materializing. Tim McNulty, spokesman for the mayor’s office, said Thursday that there would be a police presence in part to ensure that the protest is separate from any counterprotests going on but did not identify any specific planned counterprotests.
Shira Goodman, executive director of the gun control group CeaseFirePA, said the group supports the proposed legislation but is not planning anything because “the people who come to our events are not so comfortable with lots of armed people.”
“An open carry rally is just a blatant intimidation tactic,” Ms. Goodman said.
CeaseFirePA also did not want to divert public safety resources away from the rally, she said.
The city will have “uniformed officers, plainclothes officers, and officers on motorcycles and bicycles and in vehicles to ensure public safety throughout the event,” Mr. Togneri, the public safety spokesman said.
“It’ll be the safest place in Pittsburgh that day,” said Mr. Dillon, who repeatedly has encouraged attendees to be peaceful and to keep all weapons in holsters or over shoulders.
Scheduled speakers, according to the Facebook event, include Mr. Dillon, state Rep. Aaron Bernstein, R-Big Beaver, and Kaitlin Bennett, a gun-rights activist who was photographed carrying an AR-10 rifle with her Kent State graduation cap, in a picture that went viral in May.
“I have people coming from Chicago, from Philadelphia, the middle of the state of Pennsylvania, not far from Erie. We have people coming from Ohio,” Mr. Dillon said. “So it’s other cities and other states that are joining in our fight because they’re just getting sick and tired of the infringement government officials are trying to do in the name of safety.”
The open show of arms is not meant as intimidation, Mr. Dillon said, adding, “It’s more of a show.”
“We carry a gun to protect ourselves and others if need be. You shouldn’t be afraid of us,” he said.
Mayor Bill Peduto, who has advocated for the gun regulations, said Thursday that while he disagrees with the protesters, he recognizes their right to protest.
City law already prohibits people from firing a gun within the city limits, with a handful of exceptions. The proposed changes would also prohibit carrying, storing, transferring, selling, buying or manufacturing assaultstyle weapons in the city.
The legislation generally defines assault-style weapons as guns that can switch between automatic fire, semiautomatic fire or burst fire, as well as guns that can accept large-capacity magazines, which are defined as magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. It also includes a list of specific guns that would be banned.
Gun owners who already legally possess such weapons would be grandfathered in and exempted from the new laws. Armor-penetrating ammunition and accessories designed to accelerate a gun’s rate of fire, like bump stocks, also would be prohibited under the proposal.
City council members Erika Strassburger and Corey O’Connor also hope to create “Extreme Risk Protection Orders,” which would allow the courts to authorize law enforcement to temporarily seize a person’s guns under limited circumstances.
Under the proposed legislation, either a law enforcement officer or a family or household member of a person “alleged to present a danger of suicide or of causing extreme bodily injury to another person” could petition the court for an order.
That petition would trigger a process similar to that followed for protection from abuse orders, in which a judge reviews the circumstances and the defendant is given an opportunity to argue his or her case in court.