Category: Gun Control

Firearms Industry Opposes Assault Weapons Ban

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the trade association for the firearms and ammunition, today announced that it opposes the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 introduced in the U.S. Senate this week.

The legislation introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), like earlier versions, relies on wrongfully defining commonly-owned semi-automatic rifles based on certain cosmetic features. The new version of this legislation, however, expands ways to ban the most-popular center-fire rifle in America. Since the original Assault Weapons Ban expired in 2004, more than 16 million of these rifles have been legally purchased for lawful purposes.

“It is disappointing to see politicians continue to pursue a failed policy agenda that has proven ineffective in improving public safety and will deny law-abiding citizens their Constitutional right,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs and General Counsel. “Despite what proponents may say, the record shows that Sen. Feinstein’s original 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban had no demonstrable impact on reducing crime and this one would be equally ineffective.” Read more

Gun Control

USCCA: Reintroduce CCW Reciprocity Bill

GW:  Good luck with this legislation but my guess is that it’s too late now.  If it couldn’t be passed with the Republican majority of the past two years, I sure don’t know how anyone would really expect its passage now.  But, good luck, nonetheless.

Says Congress Must Act to Protect the Rights of Law-Abiding Americans

West Bend, WI – Tim Schmidt, the Founder and President of the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), today offered his strong support for the reintroduction of national reciprocity for concealed carry on the first day of the 116th Congress and thanked U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC) for his continued leadership on this important issue. Hudson reintroduced the bill after it was passed by the House in December 2017 but was ultimately never approved by the Senate despite strong support from U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and many others.

Schmidt acknowledged today that under an anti-Second Amendment House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, national reciprocity faces an uphill battle but said today that this issue is too important for Congress not to act.

 

“Law-abiding Americans should not lose their constitutional right to defend themselves, and risk arrest, simply for crossing state lines,” Schmidt said.“This legislation would not only protect law-abiding Americans from a patchwork of contradictory state laws, but it would also strengthen public safety by giving more Americans the ability to protect themselves and those around them. National concealed carry reciprocity has bipartisan support and Congress must act to protect the Constutitional rights of all law-abiding Americans. On behalf of the thousands of law-abiding members of the USCCA we thank Congressman Hudson and the many other Members of Congress in both parties who support this long overdue effort.” Read more

Firearms, Gun Control

SAF Seeks Supreme Court Review in Challenge of California Handgun Statute

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation and Calguns Foundation have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of their challenge to California’s “Unsafe Handgun Act,” a part of that state’s penal code that violates the Second Amendment by banning handguns of the kind in common use for traditional lawful purposes.

SAF and Calguns are joined by private citizens Ivan Pena, Dona Croston, Roy Vargas and Brett Thomas. They are represented by attorneys Donald Kilmer of California and Alan Gura of Virginia. The case is known as Pena v. Horan.

“Our challenge of the California Unsafe Handgun Act (UHA), if the high court accepts it for review, could be a critical wake-up call to lower federal courts that continue to employ what they call an ‘interest-balancing approach’ to deciding gun control cases because that strategy is forbidden by the 2008 Heller decision,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “It is time to bring a halt to what is essentially a revolt by the lower courts against the landmark Heller opinion, and the Pena case could provide that vehicle.”

California’s Unsafe Handgun Act generally prohibits the manufacture, import or distribution of handguns that do not meet the state’s extremely restrictive design requirements under the state penal code. The result, as the plaintiffs contend in their petition for high court review, is that the state is gradually achieving a handgun ban because they cannot meet the impossible requirements, which include microstamping. That technology is not offered by any handgun manufacturer because it cannot be practically implemented, the petition notes. Read more

Gun Control, Self Defense

Tucson Council to Discuss Radical Change to Firearm Procurement

The Tucson City Council on Dec. 4 is expected to discuss a radical change to the city’s procurement process for the acquisition of firearms. If Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik has his way, the city would be prohibited from doing business with any firearm retailer who sells “military-style” weapons to the public or isn’t deemed a “socially responsible dealer”. In his letter to Mayor Rothschild requesting discussion on the issue, Councilman Kozachik fails to define what constitutes a “military-style” weapon nor does explain what guns a “socially responsible gun dealer” would be permitted to sell.

Arizona law specifically prohibits local governments from enacting “any ordinance, rule or tax relating to the transportation, possession, carrying, sale, transfer, purchase, acquisition, gift, devise, storage, licensing, registration, discharge or use of firearms or ammunition.” Read more

Gun Control

CCRKBA Seeks SCOTUS Review Of Interstate Handgun Sales Case

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States for review of its case challenging the long-standing ban on interstate handgun sales to law-abiding citizens from other states.

The case, known as Mance v. Whitaker, comes out of the Fifth Circuit and involves a Texas firearms retailer and two would-be customers who reside in Washington, D.C. A federal district court earlier ruled that the interstate handgun transfer ban is facially unconstitutional, which was reversed by a Fifth Circuit panel. The Fifth Circuit denied the petition for rehearing en banc by a fractured vote of 8-7. Plaintiffs in the case include CCRKBA, Andrew and Tracy Hanson of Washington, D.C. and Texas firearms retailer Fredric Mance. They are represented by attorney Alan Gura.

“The ban on interstate handgun sales was adopted decades ago,” noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “prior to the advent of the National Instant Check System that is now in place. The Hansons have essentially been denied the ability to legally purchase a handgun from a licensed retailer because of this prohibition. Read more

Gun Control

SAF, Defense Distributed Ask TRO, Injunction Against NJ AG

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation and Defense Distributed have filed a motion in federal court in Texas seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to prevent enforcement of a new law that they believe is a direct infringement of their First Amendment rights.

On Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill 2465, which is specifically aimed at censoring SAF and Defense Distributed, violating their First Amendment rights under color of law. During a press conference, Grewal acknowledged that this new measure was designed to prevent publication of instruction codes that would explain how to produce a firearm with a three-dimensional printer.

The motions were filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. It is part of a broader civil rights action against several governors, attorneys general and other government officials that was brought by SAF and Defense Distributed.

“We’ve had to take this extraordinary step to defend our First Amendment rights because Attorney General Grewal has literally threatened to ‘come after’ us, or anyone else, who is ‘contemplating making a printable gun,’” explained SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Grewal and the governor aren’t merely trying to stop what people do, now they’re also trying to dictate what people think. That amounts to extremism on steroids.” Read more

Gun Control, Self Defense

SAF: Media Bias Against Guns as Election Looms

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today condemned what it considers blatant media bias against firearms, which invariably seems to show up in headlines and news reports just prior to an election.

“We’ve got an important midterm election next week,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “and gun control versus gun rights is an important shadow issue because Democrats have already made it clear that guns will be on the agenda if they take control of the Congress.”

He was not surprised that the Associated Press circulated an article headlined “Guns send over 8,000 US kids to ER each year, analysis says.” Gottlieb said it is “no coincidence” that such stories appear before an election.

“Guns haven’t sent anybody anywhere,” Gottlieb observed. “Careless people or criminals misusing guns are responsible, but guns get the blame. The problem is that many people never read past the headline, and this sort of thing contributes to the public’s impression that bias drives such sensational headlines. Read more

Gun Control

SAF Joins California Groups Suing Riverside County, Sheriff Over CCW Policies

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has joined in a federal lawsuit challenging Riverside County, California and Sheriff Stanley Sniff over the county’s handgun carry license policies, which plaintiffs assert are unconstitutional.

Joining SAF in this legal action are the Calguns Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation and Madison Society Foundation, and a private citizen, Arie Van Nieuwenhuyzen, a legal resident alien who lives in Riverside County. They are represented by Attorney George M. Lee of Seiler Epstein Ziegler & Applegate, a San Francisco law firm.

“This is not the first time we’ve been involved in a legal action on behalf of a legal resident alien,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Mr. Van Nieuwenhuyzen came to this country decades ago and has lived in Riverside for more than 30 years. While he retains his citizenship in The Netherlands, he has raised a family here and operated a business. He is a productive member of the community. Read more

Gun Control, Self Defense

SAF, CCRKBA Join in Amicus Brief Challenging Maryland Gun Law

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms have joined in an amicus (friend of the court) brief in a case challenging Maryland’s process to obtain a licenses to possess a handgun in one’s home, contending that this violates the Second Amendment.

SAF and CCRKBA are joined by the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors, Professors of second Amendment Law, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms ownership, Millennial Policy Center and Independence Institute. Their joint amicus brief opposes a motion for summary judgment by the defendants, and supports the plaintiffs’ cross motion for summary judgment.

The case was brought by Maryland Shall Issue, Inc.

“We’ve joined in this brief because Maryland’s licensing process is expensive and lengthy, and a right delayed is a right denied,” said SAF founder and CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “No citizen should have to jump through so many hoops simply to have a gun in their own home. There were no such requirements or regulations in Maryland at the time the Constitution was ratified, and the current regulatory scheme seems more intended to discourage responsible firearms ownership than guarantee that gun owners safely handle their firearms.

“The training requirement in Maryland imposes a burden on a citizen’s ability to exercise his or her Second Amendment rights,” he continued. “But evidently in Maryland, as in some other states, the government has arbitrarily decided to treat the Second Amendment right as a regulated privilege, and that simply cannot be allowed to stand.”

The 46-page amicus brief looks at the history of gun rights since colonial days. The brief was prepared by Maryland attorney Gregory M. Kline, with support from Joseph G.S. Greenlee at the Millennial Policy Center and David B. Kopel with the Independence Institute, both located in Denver.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.

Gun Control, Self Defense

NSSF Urges Immediate Kavanaugh Vote Following FBI Investigation

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®) reconfirms its support for Judge Brett Kavanaugh and urges the United States Senate to act quickly to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh is among the most highly-qualified nominees ever to be considered for the United States Supreme Court. Upon completion of the FBI investigation and determination by that agency that there is no evidence that would disqualify him from a career of service, the National Shooting Sports Foundation calls for the United States Senate to act quickly and to vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the nation’s highest court.

In July, NSSF backed President Trump’s nomination of Judge Kavanaugh. Since that time, Larry Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel, has explained Judge Kavanaugh’s history on firearm-related issues and the impact his seat would have in potential upcoming firearm-related cases that could reach the Supreme Court. Read more

Gun Control
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