Open season on smokers in Quakertown, Pa.

While it is illegal to smoke in parks in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, U.S., it will soon be legal to carry unconcealed firearms there, according to a story in the Doylestown (PA) The Intelligencer.

The town bans firearms at the moment, but that ban has been found to run foul of state law that states county and local governments do not have the authority to restrict anyone from possessing or transporting firearms.

Apparently the unconcealed carrying of firearms is legal in public without a permit by law-abiding citizens everywhere in Pennsylvania, except in Philadelphia, and in schools, courthouses, federal buildings and state parks.

So Quakertown cannot legally keep someone with a gun who has broken no law out of its parks, and the regulations will have to be changed.

‘”The bitter irony of this comes through in the proposed revision to the borough ordinance,” The Intelligencer report said.

“Under the new rules, park goers will still be prohibited from smoking, drinking alcohol and carrying other weapons, such as knives and bombs.

“But a six-shooter on the hip, or a 9 mm in the pocket or purse, will be OK.

“It seems the activity with the most potential for disrupting the peace and serenity in the parks, and creating an atmosphere of apprehension and fear, is the one that will soon be allowed.”