HOLLIDAYSBURG - Blair County Judge Daniel Milliron has upheld the constitutionality of state laws that require an individual to have a valid license to carry a concealed weapon and that prohibit carrying a gun in a court facility.
Milliron made his ruling in the case of a Centre County man who appeared at a 2008 hearing at Magisterial District Judge Jonathan Grine's office allegedly carrying a loaded weapon.
Hobson Lyle McKown, 25, was eventually charged with breaking the gun laws after a State College police officer confiscated the weapon.
Because Jonathan Grine, who will be a witness against McKown, is the son of Centre County President Judge David Grine, the case was transferred to Milliron, who will hear the case in Centre County.
Through his attorney Jason Dunkle, McKown filed a challenge to the laws under which he was charged, contending they violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Milliron, in a ruling made public Wednesday, denied McKown's constitutional challenges and denied his pretrial motions, rulings that have now cleared the way for trial. Dunkle couldn't be reached for comment.
McKown rested his arguments on two recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding a citizen's right to bear arms.
One case involved Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns. The nation's highest court stated that the U.S. Constitution and the Second Amendment give people the right to possess a handgun in the home.
The Supreme Court also ruled in a Chicago case that people have the right to bear arms, but Milliron said the court in that case upheld state laws outlining exceptions, such as possession of a firearm by the mentally ill or felons, and the ban on handguns in "sensitive places."
Milliron ruled that a Pennsylvania law banning firearms in court facilities was constitutional, noting such a location fell under the definition of "sensitive places."
State law prohibiting someone from carrying a gun without a valid license is constitutional, Milliron said.
McKown's license to carry in Pennsylvania had been revoked because of his arrest on other charges but he insisted he had a valid New Hampshire license.
There is a question whether McKown's New Hampshire license was valid because he acquired it after his Pennsylvania license was revoked by the Centre County sheriff, Milliron wrote in his ruling.
Milliron found also the language under Pennsylvania gun laws was not "vague" as McKown insisted.
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
