Subject: ICYMI: Supreme Court Heard Oral Arguments for 2A Case this week!
Supreme Court Heard Oral Arguments on Important Second Amendment Case(From
left to right) GOA’s Aidan Johnston, Dick Heller, and Philip Reboli outside the
Supreme Court during oral argumentsDear [VV_C
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Supreme Court Heard Oral Arguments on Important Second Amendment Case
| (From left to right) GOA’s Aidan Johnston, Dick Heller, and Philip Reboli
outside the Supreme Court during oral arguments |
Dear Mike,
In case you missed it, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in New York State
Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen on Wednesday—a case that will likely be the
Second Amendment SCOTUS case of this decade.
GOA and GOF submitted an amicus brief in support of New York State gun owners,
arguing against the state’s tyrannical approach to permitting.
As constitutionalists, we both know that gun ownership is a right and not a
privilege. But New York State currently only recognizes these constitutionally
guaranteed rights for the well-connected elite. New York distributes concealed
carry permits on a “may issue” basis, meaning that the government has the power
to deny permit applications that lack so-called “proper cause.” This leaves
law-abiding citizens disarmed and defenseless in a state seeing soaring crime
rates.
The Second Amendment does not mince words, stating the citizen’s right to keep
and bear arms; no modifier or clarification required. As explained in our
amicus brief, New York State’s shameful permitting system scorns our Founders’
intent for an armed society, muddling their vision with the need for a permit
while simultaneously making that permit unobtainable.
Though the attorney challenging New York’s law conceded the validity of
permits, our amicus brief contends otherwise. Permits are a dangerous
concession that rights are granted via governmental authority. GOA and GOF
maintain that the right to bear arms does not fall within the purview of any
state, city, or federal government to permit or withhold.
Through our legal efforts, GOA and GOF have continually asserted our
no-compromise position in the Second Amendment debate. We will continue to
challenge these treacherous tyrants wherever they institute their restrictive
legislation. Permitting systems, as in New York, are the baby steps taken in
the long sprint towards gun registration and confiscation.
GOA and GOF are not fooled by good intentions or sweet words. Gun-grabbers
will always wax poetic on the utopian society their gun laws will create; we
know gun confiscation is always the end goal. We will always stand up for our
Second Amendment rights and for gun owners.
The good news is that the Justices are reading the amicus briefs—this was
evident in Wednesday’s oral arguments. We have even seen Justice Clarence
Thomas refer to GOA’s briefs in the past.
Also, according to the Empirical SCOTUS, GOA is tied for 13th on the list of
most effective legal organizations. And GOA was the only firearms organization
on this list — outperforming both the AFL-CIO and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Much of our legal effectiveness comes through the almost 150 amicus briefs that
both GOA and GOF have filed over the years. For example, in the landmark Heller
case, GOA’s amicus brief is recognized as contributing to the “text and
history” standard that was articulated by Justice Antonin Scalia. GOA’s brief
challenged judicial balancing tests in favor of an originalist approach that
examined, as our brief espoused, the “text, context, and history” of the Second
Amendment.
Dick Heller himself would later say:
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“When the District of Columbia tried to deny me my right to own a handgun, Gun
Owners of America fought for me. Thanks to groups like GOA, we won a
groundbreaking federal court decision for your gun rights affirming the Second
Amendment protects an individual’s right to keep and bear arms.”
In order to continue fighting for our right to keep and bear arms, GOA and GOF
ask our members to help support our legal teams and to please consider making a
tax deductible donation here. All funds go directly into fighting to restore
our Second Amendment.
In Liberty,
Erich Pratt
Senior Vice President
Gun Owners of America
Follow me on Twitter: @erichmpratt
P.S. Please distribute this alert to your pro-gun family and friends. To renew
your GOA membership or to join for the first time, please click here.
P.P.S. You can listen to NYSRPA v. Bruen Oral Arguments & read GOA, GOF, & the
Heller Foundation's Amicus Brief to SCOTUS here.
To view this in a web browser, click here.
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Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place - Suite 202 Springfield, VA 22151
703-321-8585
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