Friday, March 15, 2013

SCOTUS and Licenses to Carry

There is an effort underway that spans multiple states and multiple court cases to force all state governments to respect the citizens rights to self-defense.  In 2010 attorney Alan Gura filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court against several New York based defendants for denying NY citizens their right to obtain conceal carry permits.

While 49 states have concealed carry laws on their books, many are "may issue" states vs. "shall issue" states.  "May issue" states can deny a citizen a permit for any number of arbitrary reasons as the state has no legal obligation to issue a permit.  "Shall issue" states must issue a permit if an application is filed unless the applicant is barred from owning firearm under federal law.

20 states along with the CATO and others have filed Amici Curiae (friends of the court) briefs to urge the Supreme Court of the United States hear Mr. Gura's lawsuit (Kachalsky, et al v. Cacase, et al).  The NRA and the Firearms Policy Coalition also filed briefs, however it is thought that the 20 states coming on board may be enough to have the case heard by the SCOTUS.

The importance of winning this case at the SCOTUS level can not be over stated.  A favorable ruling would force May Issue states such as NY and California to issue permits to all citizens who file applications that are legally able to own a firearm.

Here are links to the briefs that have been filed thus far.

20 States
NRA
CATO Institute
American Civil Rights Union
Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence
Academics for the Second Amendment
SCOPE, NJ2AS, Comm2A, LSAPA


3 comments:

  1. I hope you win, I'm going thought something like that here in Maryland. I'm a FFL Dealer, but I am being told that since I have a conviction misdemeanor for 3 grams of marijuana found in my car on traffic stop was a misdemeanor crime I did probation for 12 months. No other problems with the law, nothing violent or anything. I am a Veteran 1995-1998 and I was turned down for my carry permit in MD but I can buy, sell, and trade firearms. We need to get these gun laws under control and stop punishing American Citizens.

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