“Fast and Furious was a scandal of monumental proportions,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb recalled. “The Obama/Biden administration at first feigned ignorance, then withheld thousands of subpoenaed documents from the House Oversight Committee, claiming executive privilege until a federal court ordered them to be turned over to investigators. One ATF agent told the Committee that Fast & Furious was ‘the perfect storm of idiocy.’

“We can certainly sympathize with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador,” he continued. “Under Barack Obama, Joe Biden and former Attorney General Eric Holder, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) allowed more than 2,000 firearms to get into criminal hands in Mexico. Many people have been killed, including Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. Read more

The lawsuit was filed April 9 and the case is known as McCarthy v. Baker. In reaction to the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Baker issued an emergency order that, according to the federal complaint, eliminated “all lawful channels of access to constitutionally protected arms and ammunition by mandating the closure of all businesses that sell firearms and ammunition to the consumer public. These actions amount to a ban on obtaining modern arms for personal defense in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

“We are delighted at the decision by U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock and the swiftness with which it was reached,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Constitutional rights are never put on hold because of an emergency, including the outbreak of a virus. Too many elected officials think otherwise, and we’re having to deal with them one lawsuit a time, same as we’re taking on Governor Baker.”

Speaking from the bench during the virtual hearing, Judge Woodlock said, “There’s no justification here” for mandating the closure of gun shops. He specified that gun shops will be free to open at Noon Saturday, May 9.

“When Governor Baker lumped gun shops in with thousands of other businesses deemed ‘non-essential,’ he obviously didn’t consider the exercise of a fundamental right to be essential,” Gottlieb observed. “We can think of nothing that is more essential than exercising a right protected by the Constitution, especially during a declared state of emergency. Read more

The hint came in a concurrence on the court’s decision from Justice Brett Kavanaugh. While he shares concerns voiced by Associate Justice Samuel Alito that some state and federal courts may not be properly applying the principles of the Heller and McDonald rulings.

“The court should address that issue soon,” Justice Kavanaugh observed, “perhaps in one of the several Second Amendment cases with petitions for certiorari now pending before the Court.”

While SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb was disappointed, but not surprised by the high court’s action on the New York Case, he is encouraged that one of SAF’s four cases now up for consideration by the Supreme Court may be granted a hearing.

“The Second Amendment Foundation currently has four cases pending before the Supreme Court that could serve that purpose,” Gottlieb said, “and we hope that one or all of these cases gets heard and gives notice to lower courts that they can no longer thumb their noses at the prior rulings that protect Second Amendment rights.” Read more

BELLEVUE, WA – A coalition of gun rights groups including the Second Amendment Foundation is asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and an order to “show cause” in a motion for their federal case against California authorities who have ordered a shutdown of retail gun shops in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak.

Joining SAF are plaintiffs Adam Brandy, Jonah Martinez, Daemion Garro, DG2A Enterprises Inc., d.b.a. Gun World, Jason Montes, Weyland-Yutani LLC d.b.a. Match Grade Gunsmiths, Alan Kushner, The Target Range, Tom Watt, A Place To Shoot, California Gun Rights Foundation, National Rifle Association and Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc. They are represented by California attorneys George M. Lee, San Francisco and John W. Dillon of Carlsbad, and Raymond M. DiGuiseppe of Southport, N.C.

The case is known as Brandy, et.al. v. Villanueva, et.al. It was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Plaintiffs are asking the court to enjoin California authorities, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva from closing or compelling the closure of retail firearm and ammunition businesses on the grounds they are “non-essential businesses” under Executive Order N-33-20, the “Safer at Home Order for Control of COVID-19.” They are also requesting the Court to issue an Order to Show Cause why a preliminary injunction should not issue, granting Plaintiffs preliminary and permanent injunctive relief as sought herein.

The action comes after officials in other states, including New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Wake County, N.C. backtracked on orders to close gun stores, and are now allowing those “essential businesses” to remain open. Over the weekend, the Department of Homeland Security and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released new guidelines that declare “Workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and shooting ranges” to be part of the essential workforce. Read more