Second Amendment Foundation Files Legal Challenge to Wash. Magazine Ban

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today filed a federal lawsuit against Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and several other officials, challenging the state ban on so-called “large capacity magazines” for rifles and pistols. The case is known as Sullivan v. Ferguson.

Joining SAF in this legal action are the Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc., a California-based group; Rainier Arms, LLC and a private citizen, Gabriella Sullivan. They are represented by attorneys David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and William V. Bergstrom with Cooper & Kirk PLLC in Washington, D.C., Cody J. Wisniewski at the Mountain States Legal Foundation, and locally by Joel Ard at Ard Law Group.

Besides Ferguson, defendants are Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste, King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall, Kitsap County Sheriff John Gese, Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, Kitsap County Prosecutor Chad M. Enright and Grays Harbor County Prosecutor Katie Svoboda.

“We’re asking the court to declare Washington’s ban on original capacity magazines to be unconstitutional under the Second and Fourteenth amendments,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We want an injunction against the state because this ban criminalizes something that is common in a majority of states, and also leaves law-abiding Washington citizens more vulnerable to attack by ruthless criminals.” Read more

Volquartsen Auctioning Battleworn Mini Mamba-TF to Support FPC

Volquartsen Firearms is auctioning off their newest pistol design on Gunbroker.com to help fund the fight for Firearms Policy Coalition. The Battleworn Mini Mamba-TF is the first of its kind.

Scott Volquartsen, CEO stated, “We believe NIB Battleworn® ‘s finish is fitting as we fight forward in defense of our God-given Constitutionally protected liberties. As the battle wages on, Firearms Policy Coalition will not waiver in their fight for people, liberty or freedom.”

This pistol features a 3” threaded LLV upper designed with a stainless steel barrel, laser hardened stainless steel breech, housed in an aluminum shroud. It also includes the Volquartsen Competition Bolt, which is standard. This unique firearm also utilizes the Ruger® MKIV™ standard aluminum frame that has been retrofitted with the Volquartsen Accurizing Kit providing a crisp, clean 2.25 lb trigger pull. The Gray Black Slash & Burn G10 grips fit perfectly, complimenting the Battleworn finish for an even more aggressive look and feel. A custom NANUK case is included.

FPC is an alliance of hundreds of thousands of Patriots organizing to take back our Constitution and defend the inalienable, fundamental, and individual right to keep and bear arms. Add this pistol to your collection today while supporting an incredible organization in the ongoing battle for our Second Amendment liberties. Click here for your chance to snag this one of a kind pistol. Read more

CCRKBA Rips Rush By House to Push New Anti-Gun Restrictions

For Immediate Release, May 31: Contact: Alan Gottlieb (425) 454-4911

BELLEVUE, WA – In their zeal to create the impression they are taking action in the wake of two horrible mass shootings, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a special session later this week to talk about the so-called “Protecting Our Kids Act,” but the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms says this is just reheated leftovers from the long-used gun control menu that has proven to have been a failure.

The 41-page bill encompasses a wish list of gun control measures, including raising the minimum age for purchasing any semi-auto rifle or shotgun to 21 years. It prohibits straw purchases, which are already illegal. It mandates serial numbers on all firearms, ostensibly to track so-called “ghost guns,” but it sounds suspiciously like a backdoor effort at gun registration, and a prohibition on being able to make your own firearms. The bill will require so-called “safe storage” of firearms, which seems unenforceable at best. It bans so-called “large capacity” magazines, which are actually standard equipment for modern semi-auto rifles and most semi-auto pistols. There is also a section on bump stocks.

“We have very serious misgivings about this legislation,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “especially about the bum’s rush certain members of Congress are using. Congress needs a cooling-off period. We’ve seen in the past how hasty action has resulted in bad legislation, and we shouldn’t be in a hurry to pass something so we can see what’s in it.

“There is much in this bill that smacks of a registration scheme,” he continued. “There are only two reasons to register guns, to tax them, and ultimately to take them, by confiscation, or by passing more legislation at a future date which will outlaw what people can legally own today. Read more

SAF: Biden and Anti Gun Democrats Fueling Gun Sales

BELLEVUE, WA – In the aftermath of this week’s murderous rampage by a deranged killer inside an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, gun sales have reportedly “rocketed” and the Second Amendment Foundation said today that President Joe Biden and his Democrat colleagues in Congress have only themselves to blame.

“Whether he likes it or not, Joe Biden is largely responsible for this,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “When he went on national television to provide comfort to a grieving nation, and instead launched a tirade against law-abiding firearm owners and gun manufacturers, he only further divided the country and used the bully pulpit of the presidency to foment irrational fear and loathing of businesses and especially people who have absolutely no connection to the crime.

“In their bid to spread hysteria and hate,” he continued, “Biden and his fellow Democrat gun prohibitionists on Capitol Hill, led by Sen. Charles Schumer, have actually talked more people into buying more guns. Stock prices at Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Company have reportedly spiked.

“If Biden and his gun prohibitionist pals are concerned there are too many guns in civilian hands,” he added, “they should lower their rhetoric and cut back on their attacks on our constitutional rights. The public realizes the importance of the Second Amendment, which guarantees we will have the tools to defend ourselves against the kinds of dangerous lunatics that liberal policies have allowed to roam free.” Read more

FPC Appellate Win Blocks Pittsburgh, PA Gun Control Scheme

PITTSBURGH, PA – Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) today announced an appellate victory in FOAC v. Pittsburgh, Penn., a lawsuit filed in 2019 in response to a gun control scheme enacted by the City and its then-Mayor, Bill Peduto. The opinion, filed earlier today, is available at FPCLaw.org.

In April of 2019, Pittsburgh enacted regulations that, among other things, prohibited the “use” of so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity magazines.” In response, FPC and FPCAF joined with Firearm Owners Against Crime (FOAC) and three individuals to file a legal challenge, represented by attorney Joshua Prince of Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C. In October of 2019, the trial court ruled in favor of the FOAC plaintiffs and declared the challenged laws “void and unenforceable due to field preemption by the Legislature.”

Throughout the litigation, the City unsuccessfully argued that the ordinances comply with Pennsylvania’s preemption law, which prohibit local governments from “in any manner regulat[ing] the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth.” But the appellate Commonwealth Court ultimately disagreed.

“Effectively, the [Assault Weapon] and [Large Capacity Magazine] Ordinances single-out these particular, and presumptively lawful, firearms and firearm accessories for differential treatment and outlaw the manner in which they are ‘used,’ including the act of ‘discharge,’” wrote Judge McCullough for the Court. “Further, the Ordinances in effect regulate the ‘ownership’ and/or ‘possession’ of firearms.” Thus, the Court held, “we affirm the order of the trial court and its conclusion that section 6120(a) of the UFA preempts the Ordinances, section 1102.2 of the AW Ordinance, section 1104.3 of the LCM Ordinance, and section 1107.04 of the ER Ordinance.” Read more

FPC Issues Statement on Calls for Gun Control Following Mass Murders

SACRAMENTO, CA – No words can adequately express the pain and loss caused by the mass killing of innocent people—including children—at the hands of manifest evil. We grieve for the lives lost and convey our deepest sympathies to those affected by these heinous acts.

Time and time again, we see that evil people intent on causing death, injury, and chaos simply ignore the thousands of federal, state, and local criminal laws that prohibit acts like murder, terrorism, and assault, wreaking havoc until they voluntarily cease, commit suicide, or are stopped by others—usually armed individuals.

Anti-rights politicians, special interest agitators, and the corporate press have—yet again—disgustingly commandeered these tragedies in a rush to enact their agenda of disarmament and authoritarianism. They offer false hope in support of a radical ideology to separate people from their human rights, often at the very moment that the People are most vulnerable and most acutely need to exercise those very rights.

Those who oppose human liberty would have us choose between being disarmed or facing incarceration, locked in a cage for peaceably keeping and bearing arms, as is our right. But fundamental rights are not subject to the tyranny of the majority, and thus, we reject this proposition.

The government has no duty to protect you—you are, and always have been, your own first responder. There will always be weapons in the hands of evil. The only question is whether you are armed and ready to defend life and liberty against that evil. The fundamental human right to keep and bear arms does not come from the government or the Constitution. Our rights exist because we are human, and FPC will continue to defend and restore them. Read more

SAF Lauds FBI Report Showing Armed Citizens Stopped Active Shooters

BELLEVUE, WA – A newly-released FBI report on “active shooter incidents” in 2021 revealed four of those killers were stopped by armed private citizens, and the Second Amendment Foundation says this is strong evidence the right to keep and bear arms is as important today as it was when the Constitution was ratified more than 200 years ago.

There were 61 active shooter incidents last year, the FBI report said. All but one of the killers were males, and ranged in age from 12 to 67 years. SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb lauded the FBI report for acknowledging the role played by legally-armed citizens in stopping some of these events.

“It is important to acknowledge these citizen first responders, and the countless lives their heroic actions saved,” Gottlieb said. “Truly, these were good guys with guns.” Read more

CCRKBA Asks: 42,000 Traffic Deaths in 2021-Should We Ban Cars?

Contact: Alan Gottlieb (425) 454-4911

BELLEVUE, WA – Alarming new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows 42,915 people were killed in traffic accidents last year, so the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today suggested a crackdown on automobiles.

“Maybe we should ban cars,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, sarcastically. “After the CDC reported more than 19,000 gun-related homicides in 2020, there was a renewed push to ban certain types of firearms as the solution. No sensible person could honestly believe that placing new restrictions on cars, or guns, would result in a dramatic reduction in tragedy.”

According to the NHTSA, last year’s traffic fatalities were up 10.5 percent over 2020 when 38,824 people were killed and even more over the 2019 count of 36,096. Gottlieb noted far more people died in car crashes than were murdered with firearms in 2020, and it is likely the pattern will continue for 2021. FBI crime data for 2021 will be released in September.

“If you apply the same rationale to cars that gun prohibitionists apply to guns,” Gottlieb suggested, “politicians would be demanding Draconian restrictions on cars and people who drive them. There would be efforts to ban ownership of any vehicle that could cruise along at more than 70 miles-per-hour. We would prohibit young adults from owning cars with automatic transmissions, and there would be efforts to ban big engines with more than six cylinders. Read more

CCRKBA: ‘Buffalo Shooting Shows Need for CCW Reform in New York’

BELLEVUE, WA – While anti-gun politicians exploit the mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York supermarket to demand stricter gun laws, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said such tragedies might be averted or stopped if New York state law allowed more people to exercise their right to carry.

“New York politicians want tougher gun laws in a state that already has some of the toughest laws in the country,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb observed. “Yet those laws did not prevent what happened Saturday, and never will. New York’s current gun control laws make it difficult to impossible for law-abiding citizens of all races to obtain carry permits. Apparently the shooter staked out this particular market, because he knew there would be no resistance to what is a despicable hate crime.

“To suggest stricter anti-gun-rights laws are the answer to such an evil act is absurd,” he continued. “Instead of making it possible and affordable for average citizens to obtain carry permits for personal protection, New York authorities have stubbornly maintained a permit system that reeks of political favoritism, demagoguery and elitism. It is no wonder this system is now facing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that we hope will overturn the current law.

“Every citizen, regardless of ethnicity or economic condition, deserves better than they’ve gotten from lawmakers in Albany for generations,” Gottlieb stated. “The victims in Buffalo had no chance at all. It is deplorable that the only idea from Gov. Kathy Hochul is to ask for even more restrictions on New York gun owners, and to suggest more gun control on a national scale. That’s not a plan, it’s the perpetuation of an already failed strategy disguised as a plan, and anyone with an ounce of common sense knows it. Read more

Student Sues School Officials in FPC-Back Lawsuit Over Pro-2A Speech

LANSING, MI – Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) today announced a new FPC-supported federal lawsuit against the superintendent of Durand (Michigan) Area Schools, the principal of Robert Kerr Elementary School, and a Robert Kerr school staff member for violating a third-grader’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights when they prevented her from wearing a hat bearing the text “Come and Take It” as well as an image of an AR-15 rifle to the school’s “hat day.” The complaint for C.S. v. McCrumb can be found at FPCLaw.org.

“The Supreme Court ruled 50 years ago that schoolchildren do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate,” said the student’s attorney, John R. Monroe. “That is still the law, and schools that teach our children civics and government should recognize that.”

The student, through her father, seeks a declaration that wearing the hat in question is constitutionally protected speech, a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting the school officials from restricting her speech and preventing her from wearing the hat, and nominal damages.

“Public schools may not violate the rights of pro-Second Amendment students because they don’t like guns or people who support the fundamental, individual human right to armed self-defense,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “We look forward to reminding these anti-rights authoritarian school defendants that the Constitution applies in public schools.”

Defending and restoring the right to speak in favor of other rights, including the right to keep and bear arms, has been a key part of FPC’s legal and research programs throughout the organization’s history. For example, FPC has previously engaged to protect other students’ speech against similarly unconstitutional speech restrictions, such as in the case of Guardanapo v. Washoe County [Nevada] School District. Based on input from attorneys and legal scholars, including UCLA law professor and First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh, FPC also publishes a helpful guide for parents and students, “K-12 Schools, Free Speech, And The Fundamental, Individual Right To Keep And Bear Arms: A Guide to How Students Can Use Their First Amendment Rights to Defend and Promote Second Amendment Rights,” that explains public school students’ free speech rights, provides answers to common and important questions, and even provides sample letters parents can send to schools to protect the rights of their children.

If a student (or parent of a student) believes they were discriminated against or disciplined for peacefully expressing their pro-Second Amendment views or not participating in some anti-rights event or speech, and would like to share your experience with us, or to report a possible civil rights violation, please feel free to email our FPC Legal Action Hotline at hotline@fpchq.org or call our toll-free Legal Action Hotline at (855) 252-4510.

The filing of this important lawsuit is made possible by FPC’s members and donors. Individuals who would like to join the FPC Grassroots Army can sign up at JoinFPC.org. Individuals and organizations wanting to support charitable efforts in support of the restoration of Second Amendment and other natural rights can also make a tax-deductible donation to the FPC Action Foundation. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, visit FPCLegal.org and follow FPC on InstagramTwitterFacebookYouTube.

Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.

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