BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has scored an important First Amendment victory before a federal appeals court panel in San Francisco which unanimously reversed a lower court’s denial of a preliminary injunction in a challenge of California’s law prohibiting advertising of firearms products in a way that may appeal to minors.

At issue is California Business and Professions Code § 22949.80, which prohibits advertising of any “firearm-related product in a manner that is designed, intended, or reasonably appears to be attractive to minors.”

Writing for the three-judge panel, District Judge Kenneth K. Lee noted, “California has many tools to address unlawful firearm use and violence among the state’s youth. But it cannot ban truthful ads about lawful firearm use among adults and minors unless it can show that such an intrusion into the First Amendment will significantly further the state’s interest in curtailing unlawful and violent use of firearms by minors.

“But given that California allows minors to use firearms under adult supervision for hunting, shooting, and other lawful activities,” he continued, “California’s law does not significantly advance its purported goals and is more extensive than necessary. In sum, we hold that (the statute) is likely unconstitutional under the First Amendment…” Read more

The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit in California seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the freshly inked Senate Bill 2 (SB 2), which makes nearly every public place in the state a “sensitive place” and forbids the carrying of firearms even by citizens who have gone through the lengthy and expensive process of obtaining a concealed handgun license.

SAF is joined by Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Gun Owners of California, the California Rifle & Pistol Association and eleven private citizens. Named as Defendant is California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division. Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys C.D. Michel, Sean A. Brady and Konstadinos T. Moros at Michel & Associates in Long Beach, and Donald Kilmer, Law Offices of Don Kilmer, Caldwell, Idaho.

“SB 2 is designed to frustrate and ultimately discourage individuals from exercising their right to bear arms by creating a patchwork of locations where Second Amendment rights may, or may not, be exercised,” noted SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “That is not how constitutional rights work. SAF is happy to add California to the list of states that we have sued for adopting so-called ‘Bruen Response Bills’ that make it impractical, if not impossible for people to exercise their rights by essentially making carry permits useless.” Read more

GW: Patently unconstitutional and a predictable outcome. Easy to pull this BS, because the cost of the fight doesn’t come out of the anti-American politicians’ pockets; it comes from those that pay taxes.

A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order in a Second Amendment Foundation challenge of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Sept. 8 edict suspending the constitutionally-protected right to bear arms, in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County.

District Judge David H. Urias issued the TRO, which extends to Oct. 3, when a hearing on the preliminary injunction request will be held. The TRO was effective immediately.

SAF is joined in this action by the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association, Firearms Policy Coalition and a private citizen, Zachary Fort, who resides in Bernalillo County. They are represented by Jordon George of Aragon Moss George Jenkins, LLP. The lawsuit and motion for the TRO were filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

In addition to Gov. Lujan Grisham, defendants in the lawsuit are Patrick M. Allen, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Health; Jason R. Bowie, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, and W. Troy Weisler, chief of the New Mexico State Police.

“We are delighted that the court wasted no time in clamping down on Gov. Lujan Grisham’s clearly unconstitutional suspension of Second Amendment rights,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “No governor has the authority to arbitrarily deny constitutional rights, especially on the flimsy argument this is a public health emergency.” Read more

GW: At least they did something – even if they realized it was illegal. Taxpayers will now pay to defend politicians who violated their oath of office to uphold the Constitution.

The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit against New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and four other officials on the grounds that the governor’s “emergency order’ prohibiting open and concealed carry in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Joining SAF are the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association, Firearms Policy Coalition and a private citizen, Zachary Fort, who resides in Bernalillo County. They are represented by Jordon George of Aragon Moss George Jenkins, LLP who has also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The lawsuit and motion were filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

In addition to Gov. Lujan Grisham, defendants are Patrick M. Allen, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Health; Jason R. Bowie, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, and W. Troy Weisler, chief of the New Mexico State Police. They are all sued individually and in their official capacities.

“Despite her clams to the contrary,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “Gov. Grisham does not have the authority to ‘suspend’ the Second Amendment for an alleged public health emergency or any other reason. Neither do any of the other defendants, nor can they legally enforce such a suspension.”

“Evidently,” added SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut, “Gov. Lujan Grisham believes she can disregard the constitution to further her own political views. We’re taking action to stop this unconstitutional exercise of power in its tracks, because it is a flagrant violation of the right of individual citizens to carry firearms in public for personal defense.

“Our motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction will prevent the state from further causing injury to the plaintiffs and other citizens under this unlawful order,” Kraut added.

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation is celebrating a small but significant victory after the community of Los Gatos, in Santa Clara County, decided to suspend enforcement of an ordinance adopted earlier this year establishing several new “sensitive areas” where legal concealed carry is prohibited.

Enforcement of the ordinance was put “on hold” after the law firm of Michel & Associates warned the city it would be sued on constitutional grounds if the new law was enforced. The law firm is representing SAF and the California Rifle & Pistol Association in this effort.

“According to published reports,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “the town is waiting to see whether litigation against pending state legislation is resolved. That’s fine with us because it means this restrictive ordinance will not be enforced.”

Designating areas as “sensitive places” where lawful concealed carry is prohibited is a strategy by gun prohibitionists to get around new guidelines set down in the 2022 Bruen ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding concealed carry in public. Read more

Now on A1F.com: Johnny Joey Jones, a retired U.S. Marine, FOX Nation host and recent author, has some poignant and penetrating things to say about gun control in the military, about our freedom and more in this video interview at A1F.com.

Find this and other stories related to your right to keep and bear arms at A1F.com.

Two days after filing a federal lawsuit challenging a so-called “Red Flag” law in Maryland, the Second Amendment Foundation is announcing the launch of a new project to take subsequent legal actions against similar laws in several states.

This new initiative is called “Capture the Flag,” and it will focus on abuses and mis-application of “Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO)” statutes which have been adopted by 21 states and the District of Columbia.

“SAF’s ‘Capture the Flag’ initiative looks to challenge these laws that deprive individuals of their right to keep and bear arms, where appropriate, based on evidentiary standards that are constitutionally impermissible,” explained SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut, who is a practicing civil rights attorney.

Kraut said the project will initially focus on “Red Flag” laws in six states: California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington.

“SAF has been concerned about these statutes since they first started showing up,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We have already taken legal action against officials in Maryland for an egregious abuse of the law against a citizen in Dorchester County. But all of these laws should raise alarms because they prioritize citizen disarmament ahead of due process, and that can easily lead to deprivation of rights under color of law.” Read more

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation and its partners in a challenge of the “Final Rule” issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives redefining frames and receivers as firearms, have filed an appellee’s brief in the case, known as VanDerStok v. Garland.

Joining SAF are Defense Distributed, and JSD Supply. They are represented by Houston, Texas attorney Chad Flores.

The brief explains how ATF redefined the term “firearm” without any Congressional action. Last year, the agency announced a Rule expanding the definition of firearm to include unfinished firearm components and kits used in the process of manufacturing a firearm. SAF and its partners are asserting ATF violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). A federal district court judge agreed and concluded that ATF had acted in excess of its statutory authority, and granted summary judgment.

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb recently promised the organization will pursue this case “vigorously” as it winds through the court system.

“This case challenges the authority of the ATF to change rules and definitions of firearms without Congressional authority,” Gottlieb said. “We simply cannot allow any federal agency to make up its own rules as it goes along, without Congressional approval.” Read more