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 John,

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:

“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.

Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place - Suite 202 Springfield, VA 22151
703-321-8585

Click here to unsubscribe from this mailing list.