Today our firm filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge to a First Circuit decision which upheld an illegal search and seizure of firearms by police after a Petitioner husband and his wife had a non-violent, non-threatening argument. Tired of arguing with his wife, the husband threw down an unloaded handgun and said something like “just shoot me.” The next day the police showed
Rhode v. Becerra
Today our firm filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge to a California law which requires background checks for persons seeking to buy ammunition. Our brief explained the history of how the 9th Circuit has employed various legal tests and other techniques to allow certain judges hostile to gun rights to evade application of the Second Amendment, as written.
Rodriguez v. City of San Jose
Today our firm filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review an inexplicable Ninth Circuit decision upholding an illegal search and seizure of firearms by the San Jose Police after her husband had a mental health crisis. Seven years after that seizure, the City of San Jose, California is still refusing to return her firearms to her. Even though Lori Rodriguez is not a disqualified person, more than seven years later, she is still fighting a court battle to recover those firearms, a battle which is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
VCDL Lobby Day Rally in Richmond, Virginia
Today our firm was represented at VCDL Lobby Day in Richmond by Bill Olson, Jeremiah Morgan, and Robert Olson, left to right below. We were obviously dressed for the occasion, as the temperature climbed slowly from 25 degrees when we hit the streets. Honored to stand for “the right to keep and bear arms” with tens of thousands of peaceful, law-abiding Virginians and others from around the country. There was no place in America which was more safe than in the middle of this well-equipped assembly exercising our right to petition government.
On the far side of the Capitol Grounds, that few saw, were staged numerous emergency vehicles, including this one on which was painted these words: “Mass Casualty/Evacuation Transport Unit.”
Reply to Virginia’s Response in Opposition filed in Virginia Supreme Court on Virginia Governor Northam’s Gun Ban EO
After we filed our Emergency Petition for Review last night, this morning at about 9:15 am, the Solicitor General of Virginia filed his Response in Opposition. We filed our Reply to that Opposition about 1:00 pm. The Virginia Supreme Court issued an Order denying our Petition for Review about 6:15 pm.
Emergency Petition for Review filed Against Virginia Governor Northam’s Gun Ban EO
About 6:00 pm this evening, we filed in the Virginia Supreme Court an Emergency Petition for Review asking the Court to enjoin Governor Northam’s Executive Order banning firearms on the grounds of the Virginia Capitol, as unauthorized by law, in violation of law (Virginia Code section 44-146.15) , and unconstitutional. (See next entry.)
Complaint & Application for Temporary Injunction Against Virginia Governor Northam’s Gun Ban EO
About noon on Wednesday, January 15, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in Virginia and issued Executive Order 49, which temporarily bans the possession or carrying of firearms in Richmond on Lobby Day (Monday, January 20). Today, Thursday, January 16, about noon, on behalf of Gun Owners of America and Virginia Citizens Defense League, and three individuals, our firm filed a Complaint and Application in the the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond, seeking a temporary injunction against the Governor’s order. In this case, we are working with David G. Browne, Esquire of Spiro and Browne, in Richmond. A hearing was held before Judge Joi Jeter Taylor from 1:30 to 2:30 pm. Judge Taylor issued an Order denying our Application at 4:31 pm. (This led to our filing an Emergency Petition for Review in the Virginia Supreme Court about 6:00 pm (see next entry).
Duncan v. Becerra
Today our firm filed an amicus brief in a challenge to a California law limiting the capacity of magazines to 10 rounds. We explain that the two-step test used by the lower federal courts undermines the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Heller and McDonald. And we explain that weapons useful in military service are exactly the type of weapons covered by the Second Amendment under United States v. Miller and Heller.
Remington Arms v. Soto
Today we filed our second amicus brief in the defense of a firearms manufacturer who was sued in Connecticut after the Sandy Hook shooting. Our prior brief was in the Connecticut Supreme Court. This brief supports the manufacturer’s effort to obtain review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Most of the plaintiffs’ theories were rejected by the Connecticut Supreme Court, but it allowed the case to proceed based on advertising that supposedly would have appealed to young males to conduct shootings. Our brief explains why the Connecticut Court erred in its creation of a huge exception to the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a statute designed specifically to protect firearms manufacturers and dealers from suits such as this one.
Bump Stocks: Gun Owners of America v. Barr — Brief for Appellants
Today we filed our opening brief in the Sixth Circuit case of Gun Owners of America v. Barr — challenging the district court’s refusal to issue a preliminary injunction to stop the ATF total ban on the private ownership of bump stocks.
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York (Merits)
Today we filed our second amicus brief in support of a challenge to New York City’s near prohibition on transporting firearms. This is the first Second Amendment case that the U.S. Supreme Court has heard since Heller (2008) and McDonald (2010). Our brief details the lower courts’ open prejudice against gun rights and its disregard for the Supreme Court’s protection of Second
Jeremy Kettler v. United States
Today, we filed a Petition for Certiorari on behalf of Jeremy Kettler, who was convicted of possessing an unregistered firearm suppressor. Our petition asks the Supreme Court to review the Tenth Circuit’s decision, and to determine whether the National Firearms Act continues to be an appropriate exercise of Congress’s taxing power due to the many changes that have been made to the
World Net Daily: Hawaii: Gun-Carry Ban Legitimate Because It’s Century Old
World Net Daily carried a story discussing the amicus brief we filed in Young v. Hawaii on November 19, 2018.
Young v. Hawaii
Today we filed an amicus brief opposing a request for rehearing by the State of Hawaii of a Ninth Circuit decision which overturned Hawaii’s virtual ban on citizens bearing weapons. We opposed Hawaii’s argument that its laws against carrying firearms were long-standing, explaining that those laws existed when Hawaii was a monarchy where the reigning king or queen was sovereign — not as in the United States where the people are sovereign.
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York
Today we filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge to New York City’s near prohibition on transporting firearms. The New York City law only allows transportation of firearms from their permitted location to and from gun ranges within the city limits.