SAF Files Amicus Brief in Challenge of D.C. Mag. Ban
BELLEVUE, Wash. —— The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting petitioners in a case known as Andrew Hanson, et. al. v. District of Columbia, et. al., challenging the District’s ban on so-called “high-capacity magazines” capable of holding more than ten cartridges.
SAF is joined by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The case has national implications and the amicus brief calls the court’s attention to the fact that the federal circuit courts are divided on the question whether magazines are “arms,” what constitutes “common use,” and whether arms most useful for military service are protected by the Second Amendment.
SAF is represented by attorney Adam Kraut, who is SAF’s executive director. NRA is represented by attorneys Joseph G.S. Greenlee and Erin M. Erhardt at the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.
“In our brief,” Kraut noted, “we remind the court that repeating arms predate the Second Amendment by roughly three centuries, and that semiautomatic firearms were invented in 1885. Likewise, detachable box magazines came along back in 1862. Despite technological advances over the past 200 years, neither the sale nor possession of repeating arms of any capacity were ever banned in the United States.”
“The very essence of the Second Amendment is to protect the right to keep and bear arms,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The language of the Second Amendment does not stipulate which bearable arms are protected, only that they are, and that the right of the people to bear those arms shall not be infringed. Because of the lower court split on whether magazines are ‘arms,’ we believe the high court needs to resolve this controversy without further delay.” Read more
