Author: Hannah Hill

Fort Worth, TX – Today in a United States District Court, Judge Reed O’Connor denied a request from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) for a stay in the case of National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) v. Garland. On October 7^th, Judge O’Connor issued a preliminary injunction against the ATF’s enforcement of a ban on Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs) for members of NAGR. The ATF requested a stay. That argument was rejected.

In his ruling, Judge O’Connor states, “[The ATF’s] plea that the injunction interferes with Defendants’ ability to seize FRTs merits no sympathy.”

“Serves them right,” said Dudley Brown, President of the National Association for Gun Rights. “The ATF thinks that if they whine loud enough, they can simply ignore the court and continue imposing their trigger ban on gun owners. I’m thankful Judge O’Connor saw right through that charade.”

Judge O’Connor went on in his ruling to say, “… the Court previously determined in two separate orders that the ATF’s interpretation of ‘machinegun’ is very likely unlawful. [The ATF] have still not made any showing—let alone a strong showing—that this conclusion is incorrect. Simply rehashing arguments twice rejected does not eventually transform those points into a cognizable showing—let alone a strong showing—that [The ATF] are likely to succeed on the merits.”

“We are going to win this case, and I look forward to the Court’s final ruling when we can put the ATF down the shredder,” continued Brown.

The National Association for Gun Rights is waiting to hear from the Court on a summary judgement motion the ATF’s trigger ban permanently, halting the ATF’s FRT ban until the conclusion of the case. NAGR submitted that request on November 3^rd.

“It’s clear the ATF will continue to harass our members, regardless of what the courts say, which is why we requested summary judgement earlier this month to prevent the ATF from enforcing their ridiculous ban on anyone,” concluded Brown.

The entirety of Judge O’Connor’s ruling can be read here: https://gunrightsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Doc-73-Order-on-Stay.pdf

         The National Association for Gun Rights is the nation’s largest “no compromise” pro-gun organization, with 4.5 million members nationwide.

###

We are suing to end standard-capacity magazine bans once and for all!

In a joint lawsuit between the National Association for Gun Rights and our sister organization Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, we are challenging the Town of Superior, CO’s ordinance banning standard-capacity magazines, so-called “assault weapons,” and public carry.

And we’re suing over it all.

Click here to read it >>

This outrageous ordinance was passed mere weeks before the Supreme Court handed down its pro-gun ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. This ruling obliterated the “two-step” cost-benefit analysis framework lower courts have used to uphold gun control, defying the Second Amendment in the process.

Now, lower courts will be forced to start with the text of the Second Amendment and the surrounding historical context of the right to keep and bear arms understood by the founders at the time the Second and Fourteenth Amendments were enacted.

Needless to say, there is no way most gun control laws can withstand this true Second Amendment scrutiny, and that includes the Town of Superior’s mag ban and “assault weapons” ban.

If our lawsuit succeeds, this will have broad implications for standard-capacity magazine bans and “assault weapons” bans in the entire 10th Circuit and even the entire country (if the case is appealed to the Supreme Court).

Stay tuned for details!

Today we filed a lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta for the outrageous leak of gun owners’ personal data, including full name, date of birth, race, home address, driver’s license number, permit issue date, and criminal history (if any).

Click here to read it >>

This retaliatory doxxing of gun owners not only violates the Second and Fourth Amendments, the California Constitution, and California law:

“California’s collection and maintenance of that data is an infringement upon the right of Californians to exercise their rights to keep and bear arms as protected by the Second Amendment…

“Californians will be less likely to submit such information to the state in order to exercise their right to keep and bear arms, thus they will face the Hobson’s choice of providing such information to California, or not exercising their right to keep and bear arms…

Plaintiffs and Class Members therefore seek a declaration that California’s wrongful disclosure of this sensitive personal data violated their privacy rights under the United States Constitution, placed their identity, property, and physical safety at risk, and seek an injunction prohibiting California from collecting, maintaining or disclosing such sensitive personal information in connection with any regulation of firearms pursuant to California law.”

Donate here to help us fight back against this unconstitutional data collection and outrageous breach of gun owners’ personal info!

The Supreme Court just struck down four anti-gun lower court rulings:

• A 4^th Circuit ruling upholding Maryland’s “assault weapons” ban
• Two rulings (9^th Circuit and 3^rd Circuit) upholding mag bans in California and New Jersey
• A 9^th Circuit ruling upholding Hawaii’s de facto public carry ban (similar to New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. HI is another may issue state that essentially banned carry)

SCOTUS granted cert in all four of these decisions, and told the lower courts “You got it wrong in all of these. We’re striking down your opinions. Go do it again, and do it based on the actual text of the Second Amendment and the history/tradition of the right to keep and bear arms.”

Essentially, those courts have to review those state laws in light of Bruen and issue new rulings using the new “text, history, and tradition” framework.

They may try to wriggle out of it (they almost certainly will) but if they obey the Supreme Court, there’s no way any of these state laws can withstand actual Second Amendment scrutiny.

This spells doom for mag bans, assault weapons bans, and public carry bans.

The Supreme Court just handed down a MASSIVE victory for gun rights!

Speaking on behalf of the majority in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen – the first major gun case the Supreme Court has taken in over a decade – Justice Thomas said:

We…now hold, consistent with Heller and McDonald, that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home…
Because the State of New York issues public-carry licenses only when an applicant demonstrates a special need for self-defense, we conclude that the State’s licensing regime violates the Constitution…

The constitutional right to bear arms in public for self defense is not “a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.” We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need.

That is not how the First Amendment works when it comes to unpopular speech or the free exercise of religion. It is not how the Sixth Amendment works when it comes to a defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him. And it is not how the Second Amendment works when it comes to public carry for self defense

And in this ruling, the Supreme Court destroyed the so-called “balancing tests” the lower courts have used to basically say that your right to keep and bear arms “isn’t worth insisting on:”

In sum, the Courts of Appeals’ second step is inconsistent with Heller’s historical approach and its rejection of means-end scrutiny. We reiterate that the standard for applying the Second Amendment is as follows: When the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct.

The implications for gun rights litigation are massive. Only by involving the convoluted “two-step” framework were courts able to wiggle around the plain meaning of the Second Amendment. The plain text of the Second Amendment says that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed – which is exactly what most state gun regulations do. Judges will now have to admit that the Second Amendment means what it says, and rule accordingly. This spells doom for numerous state and federal gun laws and regulations.

Stay tuned for more analysis soon! To read the full ruling, click here.

The Tennessee General Assembly is in the process of passing an anti-free speech bill, and the National Foundation for Gun Rights is preparing to take legal action should it become law.

Click to read the legal warning we just sent the Tennessee legislative leadership >>

Under SB1005 (which just passed the Senate this morning), 501(c)4 issue-advocacy nonprofits – like the National Association for Gun Rights – cannot so much as mention a candidate or use his picture within two months of an election or primary without having to disclose their donors to the Tennessee government.

Here’s the language that passed the Senate this morning:

(b) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, an organization that is tax exempt under United States Internal Revenue Service Code § 501(c)(4), (5), or (6) (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(4), (5), or (6)) is required to report expenditures, in accordance with § 2-10-105(c)(1) and (h) and file an appointment of treasurer form if:

(1) The organization expends an aggregate total of at least five thousand dollars ($5,000) in organizational funds, moneys, or credits for communications that expressly contain the name or visually depict the likeness of a state or local candidate in a primary or general election; and

(2) Such expenditures or communications occur within sixty (60) calendar days immediately preceding a primary or general election in which the named or visually depicted candidate appears on the ballot.

While the language of the amendment only specifically mentions having to report spending – which is certainly bad enough – the code section referenced (highlighted above) requires reporting of both spending and donations.

In summary? This language is a clever way to require organizations like NAGR to report their donors or cease operating in Tennessee for the two months preceding a primary or general election.

This defies U.S. Supreme Court precedent in both Buckley v. Valeo (1974) and AFPF v. Bonta – the Supreme Court’s most recent free speech ruling in a case we backed just last year.

As we said in the legal warning letter we just sent the Tennessee legislative leadership:

While unconstitutionally burdening the associational rights of Tennesseans, this language is not narrowly tailored to achieve any valid state interest. It blatantly ignores the guiding precedent of Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1974), in so far as it broadly deems non-election-related speech as election-influencing expenditures subject to reporting… The direct result would be the suppression of Tennesseans’ free speech and healthy engagement in the political process – precisely what the Founders designed the First Amendment to protect.

The National Association for Gun Rights absolutely will not expose our donors to harassment, intimidation, or political retaliation by disclosing their identities to either state government officials or to cancel-culture society, and we stand ready to take Tennessee to court to preserve our donors’ privacy and the right of Tennesseans to engage in the political process without threat of retaliation.

If you would like to contribute to our civil litigation fund to help us fight for your First and Second Amendment rights in the courts, click here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 15, 2021

Contact: NFGR Press Room
Tel. 877-405-4570
Email: pressdept@gunrightsfoundation.org

National Foundation for Gun Rights sends Cease and Desist letter to Gov. Newsom

Loveland, CO – The National Foundation for Gun Rights is demanding that California Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta back down from their new legislative proposal which is designed to nullify the Second Amendment in California, and to create an unconstitutional bounty system to entrap gun owners.  

On December 11^th, 2021, Gov. Newsom issued an official statement explaining that he would direct the Attorney General and Legislature to draft and pass legislation allowing private citizens to sue California business owners (and individuals) who make or sell homemade firearms and semi-automatic rifles.

“In typical socialist fashion, Gavin Newsom and his anti-gun pals in the California Legislature are looking to further restrict the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Californians by creating this preposterous bounty system for so-called ‘illegal’ firearms. This is clearly an attempt to dismantle the  Second Amendment once and for all in California,” said Dudley Brown, Executive Director for the National Foundation for Gun Rights.

Under the proposed law, Californians could seek at least $10,000 in damages against anyone who manufactures, sells, or distributes firearms which Newsom and the Legislature deem “illegal” to own.  

In response, the National Foundation for Gun Rights has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Newsom and the Attorney General. The full text of the cease and desist letter may be found here: http://gunrightsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Signed-cease-and-desist-letter.pdf

“While cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles are ravaged by violent crime and lawless assailants physically destroying private businesses and murdering innocent Californians, Newsom is focused on passing a law which will only further harm the people he’s supposed to help protect.” said Brown.  

The National Foundation for Gun Rights is exploring all legal options to oppose imposition of any California legislation which would dismantle a constitutionally protected right, and harm law-abiding businesses engaged in selling and manufacturing firearms.

“This is exactly why the National Foundation for Gun Rights exists – to stand up to anti-gun bullies like Newsom. We look forward to fighting back against such a ridiculous law,” concluded Brown.

The National Foundation for Gun Rights is a 501(c)(3) organization that exists to expand pro-gun precedents and defend gun owners in the courts.

###