DV Journal

(From a press release)

Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny will be officially sworn in as the incoming president of the Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Association (PSA) at the organization’s 101st Annual Conference in York, PA, on Friday, July 12, 2024. Sheriff Kilkenny will be taking the helm of one of the commonwealth’s foremost law enforcement advocacy organizations, dedicated to supporting Pennsylvania’s 67 county sheriffs’ offices.

Honored guests will include Sen. Bob Casey, Dave McCormick, former Auditor General and York State Representative Eugene DePasquale, and York District Attorney Dave Sunday. He will be sworn in by his friend and former law partner, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Dan McCaffery.

“I am deeply honored to serve as your President for the next year,” said Kilkenny. “Thank you to everyone who has supported me, especially my family. My mother, Lorraine Kilkenny, a retired public school teacher, and my late father, Patrick Kilkenny, an Army veteran and police officer, who instilled in me the values of public service. I also want to thank my wife, Betsy, and my daughters, Maddi and Gabbi, for their unwavering support.”

Kilkenny also extended his appreciation to his fellow sheriffs, particularly outgoing Sheriff John Zechman and new First Vice President Jim Ott, the PSA staff and consultants, and the many friends and colleagues who have supported him throughout his career. He highlighted the significant contributions of Chief Deputy Adam Berry and the entire Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) team; sworn deputies, staff and representation, for their commitment to service and upholding the MCSO’s core values of honesty, integrity and transparency.

Kilkenny is dedicated to enhancing the indispensable role the PSA plays in highlighting the common interests, concerns and accomplishments of the state’s diverse sheriffs’ offices. His goals for the upcoming year include advocating for legislative changes to grant investigatory powers to highly trained deputies, increasing PSA membership to fund continuing education and lobbying efforts, and promoting legislation and innovation that promotes greater efficiency and transparency.

Kilkenny is the third Montgomery County Sheriff to serve as PSA president and the first in more than 70 years, following William H. Fox in 1926 and Samuel L. Glass in 1952.

As he begins his term as president of the PSA, Kilkenny calls on the support of all 67 county sheriffs to work together for the betterment of the profession and the safety of the communities they serve.

The Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Association is dedicated to supporting the 67 county sheriffs of Pennsylvania in their mission to protect and serve the citizens of the Commonwealth. Through advocacy, education, and collaboration, the PSA strives to enhance the effectiveness and professionalism of sheriff’s offices throughout Pennsylvania.

Sean P. Kilkenny was elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019 and 2023 as the Sheriff of Montgomery County, the third largest county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with over 850,000 residents. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has about one hundred sworn Deputies and two dozen administrative staff members. The MCSO’s core responsibilities are courthouse security, prisoner transport, and personal service of criminal warrants and legal documents. In addition to these core responsibilities, the MCSO has robust bomb disposal and canine units.

Since taking office in 2016, Sheriff Kilkenny has directed the MCSO to focus on transparency, innovation, diversity and professionalism. To promote transparency, the MCSO became the first sheriff’s office in the Commonwealth to implement body cameras for Deputies. The MCSO was also the first Sheriff’s Office in Pa. to take sheriff’s sales online and was one of the first to implement online gun permitting and e-filing of civil cases.

Before being elected Kilkenny served his country as an officer on both active duty and in the Army Reserves for more than two decades. Now a retired lieutenant colonel, he began his military career as a paratrooper and federal prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General Corps. He served overseas in Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, and South Korea.

In addition to his elected position, Kilkenny serves as the managing partner of Kilkenny Law, LLC, which has 15 attorneys, and staff who provides legal counsel on real estate, zoning, and litigation matters to municipalities, corporations, and individuals throughout the Philadelphia suburbs. Kilkenny and his Firm serve as Solicitor to numerous Townships, Boroughs, Zoning Boards, and School Districts.

Kilkenny has served on the board of trustees of Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) since 2013, where, in 2017, he established an endowed scholarship to support educational endeavors of deputies and Staff pursuing associate degree programs. In 2023, he partnered with Penn State Abington to expand the scope of breadth of the scholarship to include all Montgomery County employees seeking four-year degrees.

Kilkenny is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff Training Program. His civilian education includes a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, a master’s degree of public administration from the University of South Carolina, a law degree from Temple University, and a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University.

The sheriff resides in Jenkintown with his wife and two daughters. When out of the office, he can be found jogging, reading history, and cheering on the Phillies and Villanova Basketball.

A plan by Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny to conduct surprise inspections of county gun dealers is on hold—for now.

Grant Schmidt with Shot Tec LLLC and the Second Amendment Foundation filed suit in Commonwealth Court to stop the policy, which Kilkenny, a Democrat seeking re-election, announced a few weeks ago.

The parties, including the sheriff and State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris, agreed to a stay on June 23.

“We’re delighted that Sheriff Kilkenny has agreed to pull back from enforcing his policy of conducting warrantless searches of licensees,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Respect for constitutional rights is paramount. The sheriff’s policy raised constitutional concerns that we had outlined in our petition. While this case may take a while to litigate, during the process, licensees won’t need to worry about the sheriff’s department violating their constitutional rights through the enforcement of the sheriff’s policy.”

“It is important that this challenge make its way through the court in a timely fashion,” added SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “but in the process, no actions should be taken which remotely suggest this policy is okay and will ultimately prevail. A warrantless search violates the Fourth Amendment, and that is never okay.”

Schmidt said that when he learned of the sheriff’s planned inspections, he looked into the law and decided to file suit to stop the program, which he believes is unconstitutional. His Bala Cynwyd-based business and other firearms dealers are already subject to various audits, including from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau (ATF), he said.

“How many times do we have to be audited per year?” he asked.

“My hope is the sheriff’s office is genuinely serious about taking on gun crime and having a good faith relationship with FFLs (Federal Firearms License holders),” Schmidt said.

“One thing that I think is appalling is the state police is six months to a year behind on processing the paperwork that we have to submit to them every 14 days. So when we do a background check, they say, ‘Please be patient with us during this challenging time as we deal with increased volume.’ The volume has been here for three or four years now…We don’t expect it to come down.”

As for the sheriff’s office, “We hope they reach out to us and every place they planned on auditing, and they share intelligence. Tell us what tattoos we’re supposed to look out for that might show gang affiliation. Help us identify straw purchasers. No amount of going through my paperwork is going to help anybody because we already get audited by other organizations (it’s very redundant and a waste of resources to commit employees to that effort,” Schmidt said.

“So we hope that they actually create a working relationship with us, as opposed to being a hammer looking for a nail, trying to find a typo.”

While Kilkenny said the inspections were not political, Schmidt observed that the gun control group CeaseFirePA members were with Kilkenny at a press conference to announce it.

CeaseFirePA is “a wildly partisan, political group,” said Schmidt. “And they’re very ill-informed on the things they advocate for, and they advocate for stricter gun laws.”

When the Second Amendment stymies them, they try “to create a bad faith relationship between law enforcement and FFLs,” he said. “They’re trying to regulate us out of existence.”

Asked to comment, Kilkenny sent this response. “The initiative to conduct inspections of firearms dealers was enacted in accordance with our mandate to provide public safety. It is our firm belief that ensuring all firearms transactions involving licensed gun dealers in Montgomery County are conducted legally plays a crucial role in safeguarding our community by preventing illicit gun transactions. By taking proactive measures to address this issue, our ultimate aim is to reduce gun violence and foster a safer environment for our residents.

“While we stand steadfast in our conviction that we are acting within our legal authority, we will be staying the inspections pending the resolution of this court challenge. We believe it is essential to allow the legal process to play out, ensuring a fair and impartial evaluation of our policy.” Kilkenny said. “This temporary suspension will provide an opportunity for the court to thoroughly review the merits of the case and address any concerns raised through due process.”

Despite the litigation, Schmidt said he hoped they could work together.

“We want a good relationship with the sheriff’s office,” said Schmidt. “But we want them to have a good working relationship with us. It helps no one if they’re a hammer looking for a nail, looking for a typo. We really do everything we can to provide training and education and make FFL services as accessible as possible. So that way, people stay on the right side of the law.”

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