The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s prohibition against allowing young adults aged 18 to 20 from acquiring a license to carry a firearm (LTCF) for personal protection. The case is known as Brown v. Paris.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. SAF is joined by three young adults, all who are SAF members. They are Taylor Brown, Shawn Palmer and Max Ness. They are represented by attorneys Joshua Prince at the Civil Rights Defense Firm in Bechtelsville, Pa., and Adam Kraut at the Second Amendment Foundation. Named as the sole defendant in the case is Col. Christopher Paris, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, in his official capacity.

“Our individual plaintiffs have no criminal backgrounds and would like to procure a LTCF,” said Kraut, who also serves as SAF’s executive director. “However, the state law precludes them from carrying firearms, whether openly or concealed, in public for self-defense. Yet, a look back at history reveals young adults between 18 and 20 were fully protected by the Second Amendment at the time of its ratification. Indeed, at the time of the founding, young adults in this age group were actually required to keep and bear arms.” Read more

The Biden re-election campaign has launched a 30-second television advertisement touting Joe Biden’s gun control crusade, which the Second Amendment Foundation says is the president’s desperate reaction to SAF’s own national television effort showing him admitting he wants to ban modern semi-auto rifles and 9mm handguns.

“Our 60-second ad cuts right to the heart of Joe Biden’s lifelong crusade to ban the most popular rifles and pistols in the country today,” SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb observed. “Our message features his infamous remarks during a CNN Townhall program in which he admitted he wants to stop the sale of those firearms. Our message finally and forcefully reveals the truth about the Democrats’ gun ban agenda, and it hurts. While others have claimed they do not want to take away anyone’s guns, Joe Biden is right there on live television acknowledging their true intentions.

“Obviously,” Gottlieb continued, “our message, which has been appearing on dozens of cable networks encouraging people to join our legal efforts to stop Biden’s unconstitutional gun bans, is having a devastating impact on the Biden campaign, otherwise they would not have spent the time and money to create a response ad. No matter how the Biden camp tries to portray Joe as a compassionate leader, the whole country knows he is a gun-grabbing zealot, thanks to our advertising.

“In the wake of recent events,” he added, “President Biden will eventually have to acknowledge the greatest failure of his half-century of gun control extremism, the conviction of his own son in a Delaware courtroom, for violating the federal laws Joe fondly claims he shepherded through Congress. His gun ban agenda has failed to keep the country safe, and more importantly, Joe Biden has failed to uphold his oath of office to protect and defend our Constitutional rights.

“Biden’s campaign ad is a desperate attempt to distract the public from the truth we’ve been sharing for weeks,” Gottlieb said. “It won’t work.” Read more

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Hawaii resident Christopher L. Wilson’s petition for a writ of certiorari in his challenge of the Hawaii state Supreme Court’s decree that individual citizens in the Aloha State do not have the right to carry firearms for self-defense outside their homes.

SAF is represented in its effort by attorneys Edward A. Paltzik, Serge Krimnus and Meredith Lloyd at Bochner PLLC in New York, N.Y.

“When the Hawaii Supreme Court brazenly declared in February that the Second Amendment essentially does not exist within the state,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “we were stunned. This declaration is so astonishing in its nature that the U.S. Supreme Court simply cannot allow one-tenth of the Bill of Rights to be arbitrarily erased. Hawaii is still part of the United States. It is not a police state.”

“The Hawaii court has reduced an established right protected by the federal Constitution,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “This is nothing short of open rebellion against the Supremacy Clause. Lawless judicial activism of such an extreme nature, if left undisturbed, would set a dangerous precedent that State supreme courts are free to tunnel below the constitutional floor of the Second Amendment. Read more

BELLEVUE, Wash. —— The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a federal lawsuit in Texas challenging the ban on firearms carry in U.S. Post Offices and on postal property as violations of the Second Amendment, and is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.

Joining SAF is the Firearms Policy Coalition and two private citizens, Gavin Pate and George Mandry, both Texas residents. Named as the sole defendant is Attorney General Merrick Garland, in his official capacity. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. Read more

Friday, in a case fully supported by Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the ATF’s 2018 ban on bump stocks. GOA had filed an amicus brief with the high court in this case, and previously filed their own separate challenge to the ban after meetings with the Trump Administration and lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill failed.

This onerous attempt by the ATF to re-classify bump stocks as machineguns was a clear misreading of the underlying federal law, as emphasized by the Justices in today’s opinion.

Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President, issued the following statement:

“Today the Justices made crystal clear that the ATF went well beyond their statutory authority in promulgating this rule. While it’s a shame it took six years to right this wrong, GOA is nevertheless proud to have fought back since Day 1. And we will continue to do so anywhere there is illegal and unconstitutional gun control.” Read more

GW: Here is yet another anti-constitutional maneuver foiled. Private citizens once again foot the bill to thwart government’s monopoly-money tactics.

Late Tuesday, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) helped secure a preliminary injunction against Biden’s Universal Registration Check rule, which could require any person who sells just one gun in a year to obtain a Federal Firearms License and conduct background checks.

Under the judge’s order, the ATF may not enforce the new rule against members of GOA, the Tennessee Firearms Association, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, and residents of the States of Texas, Utah, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

The original rule took effect on May 20th, but GOA helped previously secure a partial Temporary Restraining Order blocking its enforcement against our members and certain other plaintiffs.

Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President, issued the following statement:

“This is a massive victory for our members, and it comes at a crucial time. Before the rule even took effect, the ATF was involved in an early morning raid in Arkansas on a citizen’s home who was accused of not abiding by these rules, and ultimately, he ended up being killed. This Administration’s ceaseless aggression towards gun owners has already turned deadly, and the enforcement of this rule would have inevitably led to more unnecessary bloodshed. GOA and our valued partners will continue to fight back against this lawless and tyrannical administration.” Read more

Yesterday, following less than three hours of jury deliberations, Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was found guilty by a federal court jury in Wilmington, Delaware of lying on a federal form. The form in question, the 4473 Firearms Transaction Record, is the same form that Second Amendment advocates say the president and the ATF have “weaponized” used to against gun dealers and purchasers. President Biden’s office issued a statement saying he “accepted the outcome of the case and would respect the judicial process” – adding- “as his son considers an appeal.”

Ironically, consideration of an appeal would be founded on the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. The defense’s use of that argument, however, was insufficient to overcome testimony from Biden’s ex-wife, former girlfriend and widow of his brother, Beau, confirming that during the time when he lied on the Form 4473 in order to purchase a revolver, he was addicted to- and using- illegal drugs.

The federal charges against Hunter Biden focused on a form all gun owners are familiar with: the 4473 Firearms Transaction Record. It was question 11e that made Biden’s revolver purchase illegal.

Sentencing should take place within 120 days of a verdict, meaning Biden’s punishment should be announced before the November elections where his father will be seeking a second term.

Industry Response:

Mark Oliva, Managing Director, Public Affairs, NSSF

“……NSSF has been a consistent supporter of keeping guns out of the hands of those who should not possess them, whether that be a prohibited individual, an unsupervised child or someone suffering a mental health crisis. Hunter Biden’s admission that he was illegally using controlled substances and addicted to illicit drugs at the time of his firearm purchase clearly demonstrates that he was a prohibited individual at the time he purchased the firearm and lied on the ATF Form 4473 when he attested he was not using illicit drugs.

Alan Gottlieb, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

“..At some point President Biden must reflect on his half-century of gun control extremism and acknowledge that none of the laws he championed prevented his son from illegally buying a gun and being convicted of the crime in a Delaware courtroom. Meanwhile, millions of American citizens, who have committed no crimes, are nevertheless penalized daily by the laws and regulations the president and his anti-run-rights allies have supported in the misguided belief they have the moral high ground. Today proved otherwise.”

Randy Kozuch, Executive Director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA)

“The National Rifle Association has always stood for the lawful use and possession of firearms. Mr. Biden’s documented lifestyle choices at the time of purchasing a firearm made him a prohibited person under current law.”

BELLEVUE, Wash. —— The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has announced it will hear oral arguments in the Second Amendment Foundation’s (SAF) challenge of the “Final Rule” issued by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regarding arm braces for pistols, during the week of Aug. 5.

The case is known as SAF v. ATF and was filed in February 2023. SAF is joined by Rainier Arms, LLC and two private citizens, Samuel Walley and William Green. They are represented by attorney Chad Flores at Flores Law in Houston. Last August, SAF won, in part, a preliminary injunction in the case when a court panel decided 2-1 the rule was “likely illegal” because the government had violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) by adopting the rule without meaningful opportunity for public comment.

“We are delighted about the court’s decision,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We will be fully prepared to argue our case before the appeals court, and hopefully see a quick resolution of this case.”

SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut noted the SAF case is part of a consolidation of four separate cases for briefing purposes, but still stands apart on separate issues.

“The ATF’s ‘Final Rule’ is a complete reversal of previous policy, and it was adopted in violation of APA guidelines.” Kraut said. “We certainly expect to prevail.” Read more