BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation and its partners in a lawsuit challenging a Connecticut gun control law have filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order because a new rule published by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on firearms designation places thousands of Constitution State citizens in serious legal jeopardy.

SAF is joined by the Connecticut Citizens Defense League and three private citizens, Jennifer Hamilton, Michael Stiefel and Eddie Grant, Jr. They are represented by Connecticut attorneys Doug Dubitsky of North Windham, Craig C. Fishbein of Wallingford and Cameron L. Atkinson of Harwinton.

“When ATF published its new rule, redesignating a class of firearms known as ‘any other firearm’ or simply ‘others’ as either ‘rifles’ or ‘short barreled rifles’ depending on the barrel length, all of those guns suddenly fell within the state’s definition of an assault weapon,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “This immediately put thousands of owners of previously-classified ‘other’ firearms in harm’s way legally because now their possession is a felony.” Read more

For more information contact: Mark Oliva 202-220-1340

NSSF Applauds Court Order to Block New Jersey’s Frivolous Lawsuit Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, welcomed the U.S. District Court of New Jersey’s preliminary injunction order to block a public nuisance law that was recently enacted by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. That law allowed frivolous and unconstitutional lawsuits against members of the firearm industry for the subsequent criminal misuse of a lawfully-sold firearm by remote third parties over whom members of the industry have no control. Judge Zahid Quraishi noted that the landmark 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) specifically protects against these baseless lawsuits that have no foundation in a basic understanding of tort law.

“NSSF is pleased by today’s ruling because we know New Jersey’s law is unconstitutional as it is preempted by federal law,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “The bottom line is that Congress specifically addressed these sorts of harassing and baseless lawsuits when PLCAA was passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority and signed into law by President George W. Bush. The court correctly pointed out in its opinion that New Jersey’s law directly conflicts with the intention of Congress.” Read more

Washington, D.C. – Today, Gun Owners of America (GOA) is excited to support the introduction of the SHORT (Stop Harrassing Owners of Rifles Today) Act by Congressman Andrew Clyde (GA) and Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (KS). This bill, which would remove the unconstitutional taxation, registration, and regulation in the National Firearms Act of Short-Barreled Rifles, Short-Barreled Shotguns, and those classified under “Any Other Weapons,” was introduced today to coincide with the formal publication of the ATF’s draconian pistol brace firearm ban, which will force Americans to destroy or register their approximately 40 million lawfully owned firearms.

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

“Tens of millions of Americans are facing felony charges if they fail to comply with this executive fiat from the Biden Administration. This is the biggest gun grab in the history of our country, and we are fully committed to fighting this executive order at every turn.”

Aidan Johnston, GOA’s Director of Federal Affairs, added:

“The Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act will repeal elements of the archaic National Firearms Act, which the Biden ATF is using to justify their pistol ban and ‘amnesty registration’ plan — a policy change that affects millions of law-abiding gun owners and does nothing to curb rising crime. GOA is proud to support the SHORT Act, which will protect millions of gun owners, halt these anti-gun infringements, and restore liberty. GOA is grateful to Rep. Clyde and Senator Marshall for leading this No Compromise legislation to restore long-lost Second Amendment rights.”

Introduction of the bill was first covered by the Daily Caller, read more here.

GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block state authorities from enforcing HB 5471, the recently-enacted “Protect Illinois Communities Act,” which bans the sale of several hundred of the most commonly-owned semiautomatic rifles in America, including all rifles on the very popular Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) platform. That same law also bans the possession of standard-capacity magazines and certain models of semiautomatic handguns. This unconstitutional law unquestionably violates the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Illinois citizens and the state should be enjoined immediately from enforcing it.

“NSSF filed this motion for a preliminary injunction because every day this unconstitutional law is on the books, law-abiding citizens are being denied their right to keep and bear arms of their choosing for self-defense and other lawful purposes,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This ban on MSRs and other commonly-owned rifles, standard-capacity magazines and certain handguns was passed in open defiance of the Supreme Court’s Bruen and Heller decisions. The Second Amendment protects the right of a citizen to freely approach a gun counter to legally purchase commonly-owned firearms, unless, as the Supreme Court held in Bruen, the state can prove its law is part of a historic, national tradition and heritage of banning such arms – something the state obviously cannot do.” Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, along with several co-plaintiffs, filed a legal challenge seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent Illinois from enforcing the recently enacted law that bans most semiautomatic firearms including Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs), certain models of semiautomatic handguns and standard capacity magazines.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law HB 5471, the “Protect Illinois Communities Act.” HB 5741 is among the nation’s most expansive gun control laws. It bans the sale of hundreds of models of rifles including commonly-owned MSRs, certain semiautomatic handguns and rifle magazines with a capacity greater than 10 cartridges and pistol magazines with a capacity greater than 15 cartridges. There are over 24.4 million MSRs in circulation today, more popular than the top selling Ford F-150, and tens of millions of standard-capacity magazines also in circulation.

“The Illinois gun ban law is an overreaching attempt to deny law-abiding Americans their fundamental and Constitutionally-protected Second Amendment rights,” said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “The U.S. Supreme has already recognized that semiautomatic rifles ‘traditionally have been widely accepted as lawful,’ and with over 24 million of these rifles in circulation today, they are clearly commonly-owned for lawful purposes, meeting the threshold set by the Supreme Court in its Heller decision. Semiautomatic handguns are overwhelmingly the choice of firearm for personal self-defense. This law is clearly unconstitutional and does nothing to punish the criminal. It only deprives law-abiding Americans from being able to exercise their full spectrum of Second Amendment rights.” Read more

Second Amendment Foundation

12500 NE Tenth Place · Bellevue, WA 98005

(425) 454-7012 · FAX (425) 451-3959 · www.saf.org

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a motion for preliminary injunction in its federal court challenge of the recently-signed ban on modern semiautomatic rifles and their ammunition magazines. The case is known as Harrel v. Raoul.

Joining SAF are the Illinois State Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, C4 Gun Store LLC, Marengo Guns, Inc. and a private citizen, Dane Harrel, for whom the case is named. They are represented by attorney David Sigale of Wheaton, Ill. The motion was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

In their motion, plaintiffs note to the court, “The Supreme Court has now repeatedly said that the Second Amendment ‘protects the possession and use of weapons that are in common use at the time.’ The firearms and magazines Illinois recently banned certainly qualify for protection under this standard. The firearms include many of the most commonly owned firearms in the country and the magazines are integral for the operation of common firearms.”

“Thanks to last summer’s Supreme Court decision in the Bruen case,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “the defendants—in this case the State of Illinois—must justify the ban signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker as being consistent with historical tradition rooted at the time the Constitution was ratified. They can’t possibly do so because the Bruen ruling clearly established there is no tradition of banning commonly possessed arms, and modern semi-auto rifles are owned by millions of citizens across the country.” Read more

Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

12500 N.E. Tenth Place • Bellevue, WA 98005 • www.ccrkba.org

BELLEVUE, WA – California Congresswoman Judy Chu, who represents the state’s 28th Congressional District, reportedly called for universal background checks in the wake of Saturday night’s tragic mass shooting in Monterey Park, telling CBS News it should have passed “a long time ago.”

“But in California,” noted Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, “that has been the law for quite some time. The gun allegedly used in this horrible attack is already illegal in the state. Yet, Rep. Chu is making statements suggesting her state needs more gun control when it is clear the laws she wants are already on the books, and they did not prevent the tragedy in Monterey Park.”

The congresswoman also was quoted in news reports demanding to know, “Why do we have so many guns in this country and even more on the horizon? It’s not right…Other countries don’t operate this way, and we should not either.”

“For a member of Congress to make such a remark is astonishing,” Gottlieb observed. “The right to keep and bear arms is enshrined in our Constitution, which she swore an oath to uphold when she took office. Surely she must realize our Second Amendment is a cornerstone of the Constitution and its Bill of Rights. Read more

Washington, D.C. – Today, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) joined a federal lawsuit filed today challenging Illinois’s latest ban on so-called “assault weapons.” The Second Amendment Law Center and the Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois are also lead plaintiffs in this suit, along with others as well.

As of today, the law prohibits the sale or transfer of specific sporting rifles or those based on features, as well as prohibits the sale of rifle magazines over 10 rounds or handgun magazines capable of carrying more than 15 rounds. Current owners of weapons meeting standards under this law will be required to register their lawfully owned products with the Illinois State Police by January 1st, 2024, or face possible felony charges.

This law, which was hastily passed on the very last day of the legislative session earlier this month, has received significant blowback from prosecutors and sheriffs across the state, with over 90% of sheriffs statewide issuing statements pledging not to enforce the law. Read more