Commonwealth Court upholds ruling blocking Pittsburgh assault weapons ban

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a ruling blocking Pittsburgh's assault weapons ban.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the state Commonwealth Court upheld an Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas ruling on Friday.

The court found the city violated state law when it passed a package of gun control ordinances after the Tree of Life mass shooting, the Post-Gazette reports. Some of the laws banned assault weapons.

State law prohibits municipalities from regulating guns. 

In a statement to the Post-Gazette, Mayor Ed Gainey said the city will appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. 

"Our city took action after the horrendous, anti-Semitic massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue, and the ordinances we passed can save lives," Gainey said. "Despite a devastating spike in gun violence throughout the Commonwealth and the nation, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has not acted to make our communities safer."