City Council passes tough gun measures, legal challenge expected

City Council passed five gun control measures today that are expected to still face a legal challenges.

Mayor Nutter has said he will sign the bills into law. The five bills limit handgun purchases to one a month; require lost or stolen firearms to be reported to police within 24 hours; forbid individuals under protection from abuse orders from possessing guns if ordered by the court; allow removal of firearms from "persons posing a risk of imminent personal injury" to themselves or others, as determined by a judge; and outlaw the possession and sale certain assault weapons.

Council members Darrell L. Clarke and Donna Reed Miller pared their package down from nine bills, including two that would create registries of gun sales, to five that they say will stand a Constitutional challenge. The two have sued the state legislature seeking the authority to enforce the kind of laws they enacted today. The case is before Commonwealth Court.