Category: Gun Control

SAF Files Brief Supporting Motion for Prelim. Injunction in Calif. ‘Fee Shifting’ Case

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation and its partners today filed a nine-page reply brief supporting their earlier motion for a preliminary injunction in their federal court challenge of California’s new one-way fee shifting penalty in the government’s favor that applies only to litigation challenging state gun laws.

The case is known as Miller v. Bonta. Joining SAF are plaintiffs James Miller; Ryan Peterson; John Phillips; Gunfighter Tactical, LLC; PWGG, L.P.; San Diego County Gun Owners Political Action Committee; California Gun Rights Foundation; and Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc.; John W. Dillon; Dillon Law Group, P.C.; and George M. Lee. Defendants are California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Luis Lopez, Director of the California Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms, in their official capacities. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

“Our attorneys cut right to the point in this brief,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The state not only has failed to defend their new law, but they all but conceded it is unconstitutional when they acknowledged the new section was ‘a response to, and was modeled upon’ a Texas statute on abortion, which the defendants argued was unconstitutional. Read more

Gun Control

GOA Defeats NY’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act in Federal Court

Washington, D.C. – Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) have secured a preliminary injunction in federal district court against most of New York’s poorly named “Concealed Carry Improvement Act.” This follows GOA and GOF securing a temporary restraining order against the law in October, which was frustratingly blocked by a federal appeals court.

The ruling from Judge Glenn Suddaby, who indicated this law has imposed “unprecedented constitutional violations,“ enjoins the following provisions:

Requiring good moral character

Requiring the names and contact info of spouses and other adults in the applicant’s home

Requiring applicants to disclose social media accounts for review

The restrictions on carrying in public parks, zoos, places of worship, locations where alcohol is served, theaters, banquet halls, conferences, airports and buses, lawful protests or assemblies, and the prohibition on carrying on private property without express consent from the owner

The injunction will take effect immediately, despite the State of New York’s attempt to delay the injunction.

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

“Just like we warned politicians after the Bruen decision, fall in line, or we will force you to. We are excited to see Kathy Hochul finally served a plate of humble pie, and we are fully prepared to continue the fight should she again attempt to disarm the citizens of her state at a time when her party’s policies are only escalating the danger that everyday citizens face.” Read more

Gun Control

SAF Files Motion to Intervene in Challenge of New Gov’t. ‘Firearm’ Definition

The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging the federal government’s new regulatory definition of a firearm, including the frame or receiver.

The case is known as VanDerStok, et.al. v. Garland, et.al. and was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. A company known as Blackhawk Manufacturing Group, Inc., d/b/a/ 80 Percent Arms, has already been allowed to intervene as a plaintiff.

Joining SAF is Defense Distributed, a Texas-based company.

“We are intervening because our members have already suffered massive irreparable harms from this new regulatory move,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “because it contradicts the statute it is supposed to be administering. When Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968, it defined a firearm to include the finished frame or receiver. But the new rule expands that definition and criminalizes unfinished frames and receivers, and ‘parts kits’ that include those components.

“Furthermore,” he added, “the new rule violates the Administrative Procedures Act by failing to comply with mandates in the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling in June, and because it is essentially an exercise of legislative power it doesn’t have, because Congress could not constitutionally grant such authority to a federal agency.” Read more

Gun Control

Federal Judge Again Blocks New York “Places of Worship” Handgun Carry Ban

BUFFALO, NY – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced that United States District Judge John Sinatra, Jr. has issued a preliminary injunction against New York’s ban on guns in “any place of worship or religious observation.” The order in Hardaway v. Nigrelli, which is effective immediately and comes two weeks after a temporary restraining order was issued in this case, can be viewed at FPCLegal.org.

“For these reasons, New York’s place of worship exclusion ‘violates the Fourteenth Amendment in that it prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary self defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms,’” wrote Judge Sinatra in his opinion. “The State’s renewed opposition offers nothing to change the outcome. Thus, Plaintiffs remain likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim.”

“Here, a stay pending appeal is not warranted,” he went on to write. “As discussed above, Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights are being violated absent a preliminary injunction. The State fails to establish irreparable injury in the absence of a stay. The balance of hardships and public interest weigh in favor of Plaintiffs, also as discussed above. Finally, it is Plaintiffs who have demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on the merits. Legislative enactments may not eviscerate the Bill of Rights. Every day they do is one too many.” Read more

Gun Control

SAF Files Amicus Brief in Case Challenging DC Transit Gun Ban

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today filed an amicus brief in support of a District of Columbia resident’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the city’s ban on carrying handguns within its public transportation system. The case is known as Angelo v. District of Columbia.

“The District of Columbia’s ban on the carrying of handguns within its public transportation system (the ‘Metro ban’) is flatly unconstitutional under the plain text of the Second Amendment and binding case law,” writes attorney and SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. The brief was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

District residents Gregory Angelo, Robert Miller, Cameron Erickson, and Tyler Yzaguirre are seeking a preliminary injunction and summary judgment to prevent the city from further enforcement of the ban. The District maintains that metro transportation, which includes buses and the subway system, falls within the definition of “sensitive places” where firearms can be prohibited, simply because they are often crowded, transport federal employees, and they are used by school students to go to and from schools. Kraut’s brief says this argument “misses the mark.” Read more

Gun Control

SAF Warns Calif. City Against Zoning to Prevent Gun, Ammo Retail Sales

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has cautioned the mayor of Redwood City, Calif., against continuing a moratorium on allowing firearms retail sales within its jurisdiction, which could result in litigation against the city on Second Amendment grounds.

The city has adopted an “Urgency Ordinance” which placed a moratorium on firearms dealers from opening businesses within the city. Extensions on the moratorium, if voted for, may last for up to two years.

In a letter to Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale, SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut notes, “By indefinitely preventing any firearms or ammunition retailers from opening within the city, Redwood City has directly impeded its residents from acquiring the means to protect themselves and their families, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment.” Read more

Gun Control

SAF Files Brief Challenging Illinois Foster Home, Day Care Gun Ban

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a reply brief in its appeal of a lower court ruling upholding an Illinois ban on firearms for the purpose of immediate self-defense in the homes of law-abiding adults licensed to provide day or foster care.

SAF is joined in this action by the Illinois State Rifle Association, Illinois Carry and two private citizens, Darin E. and Jennifer J. Miller. They are represented by attorneys David G. Sigale of Wheaton, Ill., and David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and John D. Ohlendorf of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, Washington, D.C.

The appeal is filed in the U.S. Court of appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The case is known as Miller v. Smith.

“Our case dates back to before the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Bruen decision in June of this year,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The Bruen ruling is fatal to the state’s position that rules allowing this gun ban are constitutional. The Bruen ruling did away with the ‘two-step’ approach to determining Second Amendment-based challenges.” Read more

Gun Control

Parties Dismiss NYC Carry Ban Lawsuit After Policy Changes Made, New York Defeated

NEW YORK, NY – Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced today that, because of New York’s defeat in NYSRPA v. Bruen, New York City’s subsequent elimination of the city’s “proper cause” requirement, and the acquisition of unrestricted carry permits by all individual plaintiffs, the parties in its Greco v. NYC litigation filed a stipulation to dismiss the case as moot. The stipulation, which was approved today by Southern District of New York Judge Lewis Liman, can be viewed at FPCLegal.org.

“Make no mistake, the satisfactory outcome of this case is just the beginning of the larger fight to restore the rights of all New Yorkers,” said FPC Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “FPC Law is still involved in multiple active suits against New York, and will continue to drag New York lawmakers kicking and screaming into compliance with the dictates of the constitution.” Read more

Gun Control

FPC: Federal Judge Blocks New York’s “Places of Worship” Handgun Carry Ban

BUFFALO, NY – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced that United States District Judge John Sinatra, Jr. has issued a temporary restraining order against New York’s ban on guns in “any place of worship or religious observation.” The order in Hardaway v. Bruen, which is effective immediately, can be viewed at FPCLegal.org.

“The Constitution requires that individuals be permitted to use handguns for the core lawful purpose of self-defense,” wrote Judge Sinatra in his opinion. “And it protects that right outside the home and in public. Nothing in the Nation’s history or traditions presumptively closes the door on that right across every place of worship or religious observation. As in Bruen, where the Court stated that, ‘[n]othing in the Second Amendment’s text draws a home/public distinction with respect to the right to keep and bear arms,’ nothing there casts outside of its protection places of worship or religious observation. New York’s exclusion violates ‘the general right to publicly carry arms for self-defense.’ It, too, is one of the policy choices taken ‘off the table’ by the Second Amendment.”

“Today another court blocked an unconstitutional gun law, this time the ‘places of worship’ carry ban New York imposed as punishment for the Bruen decision,” said FPC Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “Today, the Court recognized what we have long argued: That no one should be forced to forgo one constitutional right in order to exercise another.” Read more

Gun Control, Self Defense

SAF, ISRA Victory in Illinois FOID Case

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation confirmed today its federal lawsuit against the Illinois State Police that compelled the agency to hire additional personnel in order to clear a backlog of applications for Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) cards because the issue has been resolved, and dismissed. The case was known as Marszalek v. Kelly.

Joining SAF in the legal action, which was filed in July 2020, were the Illinois State Rifle Association and several individual plaintiffs. The lawsuit was also supported by the Goldwater Institute of Phoenix, Ariz. Plaintiffs were represented by attorneys David Sigale of Wheaton, Ill., Gregory Bedell of Chicago, Ill., and Timothy Sandedur with the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix.

“The issue was quite simple and we’re glad it is resolved,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “In 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, restrictions were put in place in Illinois that caused the Illinois State Police to completely fail in its statutory responsibility to process applications for FOID cards in 30 days. However, the state was taking up to six months, and sometimes more, to complete this process, and the result was Illinois citizens were being denied the exercise of their Second Amendment rights.” Read more

Gun Control
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