ENDING THE DENORMALIZATION OF FIREARMS CARRY: In Allentown case, state Supreme Court says police can’t search suspects just because they’re armed. “In a decision throwing out an Allentown man’s conviction, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday overturned a longstanding legal doctrine allowing police to stop and search a suspect solely for carrying a concealed weapon. The court ruled a police officer’s knowledge that a person is carrying a gun no longer constitutes reasonable suspicion to detain and investigate whether they’re licensed to do so. The rule that allowed Pennsylvania police to do so ‘subverts the fundamental protections of the Fourth Amendment,’ the court said. It noted Pennsylvania issues hundreds of thousands of licenses to carry firearms every year.”