Mt. Lebanon residents do not have the right to know where lethal weapons are being discharged in Mt. Lebanon. The PA Supreme Court will not hear my case. My request has been denied.
Petition for Allowance of Appeal is denied per Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
I want to thank those who contributed to my legal bills when the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon first took me to Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County to appeal the PA Office of Open Records' Final Determination.
The fact that the courts, from Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas all the way to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, do not believe that Mt. Lebanon residents have the right to know where lethal weapons are being fired in their neighborhoods is quite sad. Today, we take chances going to concerts, flying, and now, walking our dogs on the streets of Mt. Lebanon seven months out of the year.
I am very sorry, Elaine.
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So did the PA Office of Open Records join or participate in any with your case before the courts since they found that you have a right to the records?
ReplyDeleteOr did they prove that the office is about as useful as a vestigial thumb and a colossal waste of tax dollars?
Bet the ethics decision goes the same way.
Eileen - thanks so much for trying to do the right thing.
ReplyDeleteIn the end you're ( we're ) fighting against a value system that puts the comfort of people above every element of the environment - people will not stop hating these creatures because the eat their flowers, and after all, they spent hard money on those flowers - which after all - gives them the right to control the environment around them. So goes the logic of the average person in Mt Lebanon.
The plight of the deer will go the same way as that of the ice cap, the rain forest, and all the other environmental concerns that us lunatic tree-huggers won't let go of. After all - we do wake up early every morning thinking of new ways to get into the pockets of the rich Mt. Lebanon retiree. The world is a very divided place and it seems we have chosen to live in a community where nature and it's bounty only exist for the pleasure of the people who write checks.
Nature has a way of returning the favor Eileen. My advice is - when any little piece of nature is lucky enough to find its way to my door it's rewarded - and probably very happy it found me. The world will throw me in prison if I try to extend that love and care beyond my address - because after all we are CAPITALISTS .... capital and all it's glory are the reason we get up every day. You're trying to take a bloody piece of meat out of the mouth of a starving lion.
One day these people will face their maker - the maker who also created deer and every other creation - and try to make their case as to why some rich hag's petunia patch came before His beautiful and defenseless creation. Why did they have to kill that creation ? It's because they themselves are inherently evil.
I wish I could have helped more, but I knew from my few interactions with these clowns that they care only about their money. Their money buys them beauty and serenity. Deer eat beauty and serenity.
10:01 AM, thank you for your kind words and support. I honestly believed that for our own safety, the safety of our children, and the safety of our pets, that we had the right to know where the killing is taking place. Obviously, the courts did not agree.
ReplyDeleteSo when the seven months of killing begin in September, Mt. Lebanon will once again, keep it a secret. I did everything in my power to change that.
God, protect us all.
Elaine
Ellen, thank you for all that journey that you took for us - all the way to Supreme Court. This unfortunate result just tells to all of us in what kind of country we live. I thought at first that the problem is MT Lebanon commission , however the picture is much larger. The dysfunctional legal system gives them the freedom to take our freedom. Just sad!
ReplyDeleteI am really sorry to hear this outcome, Elaine. Terrible disappointment and, really, quite unbelievable.... you put up a good fight for the community as always.
ReplyDeleteElaine, I am so sorry and disappointed. Please know that many people are grateful to you. Thank you for having the courage to speak up. I will continue to tell my children to avoid walking through parks and to avoid short cuts when the shooting begins. I hope that nobody gets hurt. Thank you again for trying to keep us safe.
ReplyDeleteThe court system and judges are rigged to protect the government status-quo, i.e. the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the NRA and hunting lobbies have the current state legislators owned and in their pockets. There is no reasonable court that could rule that shooting high powered rifles or any lethal weapons in a densely populated and developed community (in your neighbors back yard) with no safety zones is safe, and that residents have no friggin rights to protect their families from this serious safety threat. As a result, they won't hear the case. If they heard the case and ruled in your favor the entire insane system would start falling over and apart with the domino effect.
ReplyDeleteThe first injury to a person as a result of these secret shooters will be sad knowing it could have possibly been prevented by making locations public.
ReplyDeleteThey may be winning in the formal courts, but they are losing in the court of public opinion - which, eventually, becomes the rulings of the formal courts.
ReplyDeleteJason, oh how I wish what you wrote were true.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, if you look at the participation and numbers public opinion isn't making much of an impact.
Cappucci and Silverman are still in there.
Elaine, I know this fight has cost you most dearly in more ways than we can know. I am so sorry that the Supremes either don't understand or don't care about the all-consuming safety concerns that we have living in the seven-month-a-year war zone, inflicted upon us all for the benefit of the chosen few who feel entitled to protect their landscaping treasures at everyone's expense. So very sad; words fail...
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