BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has joined in a federal lawsuit challenging Riverside County, California and Sheriff Stanley Sniff over the county’s handgun carry license policies, which plaintiffs assert are unconstitutional.
Joining SAF in this legal action are the Calguns Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation and Madison Society Foundation, and a private citizen, Arie Van Nieuwenhuyzen, a legal resident alien who lives in Riverside County. They are represented by Attorney George M. Lee of Seiler Epstein Ziegler & Applegate, a San Francisco law firm.
“This is not the first time we’ve been involved in a legal action on behalf of a legal resident alien,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Mr. Van Nieuwenhuyzen came to this country decades ago and has lived in Riverside for more than 30 years. While he retains his citizenship in The Netherlands, he has raised a family here and operated a business. He is a productive member of the community.
“We’ve successfully defended the rights of other non-citizens in the past,” he added, “and every win is a victory for the Second Amendment.”
The lawsuit alleges that the Sheriff’s Department policy of not allowing non-citizens to apply for a carry permit is unconstitutional, and that it also violates California state law.
“What Riverside County is doing not only violates the Second Amendment, but also the Fourteenth Amendment,” Gottlieb observed. “This is a situation that simply begs for attention, and we’re delighted to be working with our California colleagues to straighten out this mess.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
