SAF: ‘IF YOU’RE NOT ISSUING LICENSES, DON’T ARREST PEOPLE FOR CARRYING’

The Second Amendment Foundation said that if state agencies and officials around the country that are responsible for issuing concealed carry licenses or permits are not taking new applications because of the COVID-19 outbreak, they should not arrest people for carrying without a license/permit. SAF

“We’ve received reports that some agencies are using the coronavirus outbreak as an excuse for suspending the concealed carry application process,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The constitution wasn’t put on hold because of the coronavirus.”

SAF has been involved in several legal actions across the country stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Two of those cases, which have been favorably resolved, involved gun permit applications.

“The right to bear arms,” Gottlieb observed, “translates to the right to carry, and like other rights protected by the Constitution, that right is not limited to the confines of one’s home. Ever since the SAF victory in McDonald v. City of Chicago ten years ago, the Second Amendment has been incorporated to the states via the 14th Amendment. A lot of people apparently have forgotten that, but we haven’t. You cannot suspend a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right, especially in times of emergency.

“The past few months have seen a significant increase in the number of new gun owners,” he noted. “Many, if not most, of those new owners bought firearms for personal protection, and not just in the home. Where state law requires a license or permit to carry concealed in public, issuing agencies cannot be allowed to arbitrarily stop that process, using the coronavirus outbreak as the reason.

“If a sheriff’s or police department is not accepting carry license applications,” Gottlieb said, “they should not arrest someone for carrying without a license.”

The SAF has bite behind its bark as it sues Governors and officials violating the Constitution under the guise of a Pandemic.

JUDGE GRANTS PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IN SAF ACTION v. MASS. GOV. BAKER

BELLEVUE, WA – A U.S. District Court in Massachusetts has granted a preliminary injunction against Gov. Charlie Baker’s emergency order shutting down gun shops in the state in a case brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition and Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc. 

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. 

“Gun shops in other states have remained open,” Gottlieb added, “and those stores have come up with creative strategies to serve the public without endangering anyone. We’re confident Massachusetts retailers will be equally ingenious in their compliance with social distancing and sanitation requirements. We will continue pressing these cases wherever they’ve shown up because we’re not just talking about business here, we’re talking about rights.”

CALIFORNIA:

 Seventeen plaintiffs including the Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit naming an almost equal number of local and county governments and officials within those jurisdictions in Northern California, asking the court for injunctive and declaratory relief in a challenge to gun control measures instituted in relation to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

SAF is joined by the California Gun Rights Foundation, California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees, Inc., Firearms Policy Coalition, Madison Society Foundation and the National Rifle Association, along with three private businesses and eight private citizens. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. They are represented by attorney George M. Lee of San Francisco. The complaint may be read here.

Four leading gun rights organizations today filed a lawsuit in federal court against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, alleging both state and local policies and enforcement practices violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights of their citizens.

Joining in the lawsuit are the Second Amendment Foundation, National Rifle Association, California Gun Rights Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. A copy of the complaint may be read here.

NORTH CAROLINA:

 The Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition and Grass Roots North Carolina today filed a federal lawsuit against Wake County, N.C. Sheriff Gerald M. Baker for refusing to accept new applications for pistol purchase permits or concealed handgun permits until April 30, using the COVID-19 outbreak as justification.

NEW JERSEY

The Second Amendment Foundation filed an amended complaint in its federal lawsuit against New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and State Police Supt. Patrick Callahan, adding several plaintiffs asserting violation of civil rights under color of law by shutting down firearms dealerships in the Garden State.

In a move directly linked to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit against New Jersey Gov. Philip D. Murphy and State Police Supt. Patrick J. Callahan, asserting violation of civil rights under color of law by shutting down firearms dealerships in the Garden State, thus preventing citizens from exercising their rights under the Second and Fourteenth amendments.

Murphy and Callahan are being sued in their official capacities. The case, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the State of New Jersey is known as Kashinsky v. Murphy. FOR MORE VISIT SAF HERE