The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has scored an important victory in its challenge of a federal prohibition on handgun sales to young adults with a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court decision and remand the case back for further action.

SAF is joined in the case by Firearms Policy Coalition, Louisiana Shooting Association and two private citizens, Emily Naquin and Caleb Reese, for whom the case is named. The case is known as Reese v. ATF.

Writing for the court, Circuit Judge Edith Hollan Jones, a Ronald Reagan appointee, stated, “Ultimately, the text of the Second Amendment includes eighteen-to-twenty-year-old individuals among ‘the people’ whose right to keep and bear arms is protected. The federal government has presented scant evidence that eighteen-to-twenty-year-olds’ firearm rights during the founding-era were restricted in a similar manner to the contemporary federal handgun purchase ban, and its 19th century evidence ‘cannot provide much insight into the meaning of the Second Amendment when it contradicts earlier evidence.’ In sum, 18 U.S.C. §§ 992(b)(1), (c)(1) and their attendant regulations are unconstitutional in light of our Nation’s historic tradition of firearm regulation. We REVERSE the district court’s judgment and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

Joining Judge Jones are Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, a George W. Bush appointee, and Circuit Judge Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale, a George H.W. Bush appointee. Their decision relies on guidelines set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2022 Bruen ruling.

“We’re delighted the Fifth Circuit took this action,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We have always maintained that young adults, who can vote, join the military, get married, enter into contracts and even run for office can also enjoy the full rights of citizenship which includes rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. If we can trust young adults to defend our country, we can certainly trust them to own any and all legal firearms.”

“Today the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed what prior courts and common sense tell us: ‘that the right to keep and bear arms surely implies the ability to purchase them,’” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Adults 18-20 years old are indisputably part of the People, whose rights under the Constitution are no less than their father’s or their grandfather’s.” Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas —Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) have filed an important new lawsuit challenging federal laws prohibiting licensed firearm dealers from selling handguns to out-of-state buyers. The case, Elite Precision Customs v. ATF, can be accessed at firearmspolicy.org/eliteprecision. This lawsuit is part of FPC and FPCAF’s high-impact strategic litigation program, FPC Law, which aims to eliminate unconstitutional laws and create a world of maximal liberty. FPC is joined in the litigation by two individual FPC members as well as Elite Precision Customs, a federally licensed firearm retailer in Texas. FPCAF is counsel of record in this matter.

“This lawsuit challenges the federal ban on interstate transfers of handguns from federally licensed dealers to individuals who are otherwise eligible to purchase and possess a handgun for lawful purposes but cannot purchase directly from a dealer because they do not live in the same state as the dealer,” the complaint says. Because of that, the “ban violates the Second Amendment.” The plaintiffs are seeking a declaratory judgment, a permanent injunction, and other relief.

“FPC and our courageous co-plaintiffs are proud to take on the federal government and fight forward to bring this evil ban scheme to its end,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “This important case is part of our broader strategic litigation efforts to eliminate laws that deny the right of peaceable people to exercise their right to acquire, possess, and carry arms while outside their state of residence. Through this case and others, we look forward to eliminating these immoral regulatory schemes once and for all.”

“The government’s ban preventing firearm dealers from selling handguns to people that reside in other states is unconstitutional. The ban has no historical support and cannot be justified under Supreme Court precedent. We look forward to demonstrating that in court,” said FPCAF President Cody J. Wisniewski, counsel for the plaintiffs. Read more

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) issued the following statement Tuesday responding to an announcement by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris detailing their latest assaults on peaceable Americans:

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Emerging Firearm Threats Task Force report has once again demonstrated their complete and manifest contempt for the People of the United States and their constitutionally protected rights, including the freedom of speech and right to keep and bear arms. This report is both evidence of the immoral agenda driven by these politicians and a warning to the American public.

Indeed, their report makes crystal clear that authoritarian politicians like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and federal agencies managed by their ideological ilk, fully intend to wildly increase their already pervasive surveillance of and control over our speech, our finances, and our lives. For them, there is no policy too abusive, no rule too restrictive, no censorship too broad, no company they would not coerce to implement their policy preferences, and no end that would not justify the means. If their policies were bricks, there is no road to hell these despotic and dangerous people would not pave with them. Read more

GW:  California remains against U.S. Constitution.  Surprise, surprise!

BELLEVUE, Wash. —— The U.S. Supreme Court has distributed a third Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) case, B&L Productions v. Newsom, for conference on Friday, Jan. 24.

The case challenges California’s statutes which ban gun shows on state-owned property. Because the gun shows at issue are not only opportunities to view and purchase firearms, but also for like-minded individuals to assemble and share ideas, the case presents questions about both the First and Second Amendments.

“The challenged laws demonstrate California’s unwillingness to respect the constitutional rights of its citizens,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “While it is no surprise California continues to demonstrate disdain for the Second Amendment, it also implicates the First Amendment and the ability for individuals to peaceably assemble and enjoy constitutionally protected freedoms. We are hopeful the Supreme Court will intervene and send a clear message to those who wish to trample our civil liberties.” Read more

BOSTON —Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced the filing of its motion for summary judgment in Granata v. Campbell, a lawsuit that challenges Massachusetts’s ban on constitutionally protected handguns. The court filings can be viewed at firearmspolicy.org/granata.

“Massachusetts has closed its borders to large portions of the modern handgun market, banning as ‘unsafe’ many of the firearms that are most trusted by the American people across the country, substituting its judgment for theirs. That it cannot do. As Heller explained clearly, it is the choices of ‘the American people’ that matter in deciding what is, and what is not, ‘in common use’ and therefore protected,” argues the motion.

“The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is not exempt from the United States Constitution and it cannot ban the sale of common handguns, full stop,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “We look forward to eliminating this ban and continuing our progress and work restoring the right to keep and bear arms in Massachusetts and throughout the country.” Read more

BELLEVUE, Wash. —— The U.S. Supreme Court has distributed two Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) cases for conference on Friday, Jan. 10.

The two cases – Snope v. Brown and Gray v. Jennings – challenge “assault weapons” bans in Maryland and “assault weapons” and magazine capacity bans in Delaware.

In Snope, SAF is challenging Maryland’s ban on “assault weapons” and is joined in the case by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), and private citizen, David Snope.

SAF sought cert after the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled en banc that the modern semiautomatic rifles banned by Maryland fall outside the protection of the Second Amendment because they are too similar to military arms. SAF and its partners contend this reasoning “is becoming a commonplace misapplication” of Supreme Court precedents established by the 2008 Heller ruling, 2010 McDonald decision and 2022 Bruen decision.

“Snope provides the Supreme Court with an excellent vehicle to correct the widespread misapplication of the Court’s precedent regarding these firearms and the Second Amendment, itself,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The case is on appeal from final judgment with an en banc decision of a circuit court. Read more