15 results for 'cat:"Constitution" AND cat:"Firearms" AND cat:"Civil Rights"'.
J. Mueller finds for the Attorney General of California on two individuals’ constitutional challenge to two state firearms laws that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms without permits. The pair fail to show the law is unconstitutional, nor do they support their argument the state cannot make them carry a weapon in a certain way. "This contention is unpersuasive for the simple reason that American governments have imposed restrictions on how people carry guns since the founding era, as the Supreme Court has twice held."
Court: USDC Eastern District of California, Judge: Mueller, Filed On: December 29, 2023, Case #: 2:19cv617, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, constitution, firearms
J. Hurd rejects a legal challenge to New York State’s firearm licensing requirements brought by two state residents who were denied firearm licenses by a county court judge on the basis of past criminal histories, which they argue is a violation of their constitutional rights. The judge, who acted as a statutory licensing officer in this case, is protected by judicial immunity, their claim for declaratory relief is denied on the basis that they fail to establish the interests of the judge are sufficiently adverse to their own, and their claim seeking an injunction enjoining state officials from enforcing the regulations are barred under federal civil rights law.
Court: USDC Northern District of New York, Judge: Hurd, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 1:15cv658, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, constitution, firearms
J. Boyle denies a Second Amendment rights advocacy group, a firearms dealer and two gun owners' motion for a preliminary injunction in their challenge the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' final rule regarding guns equipped with stabilizing devices. Although the final rule is not a logical outgrowth of the proposed rule, they fail to show they are prejudiced and, therefore, have not shown a likelihood of success on the merits.
Court: USDC Northern District of Texas , Judge: Boyle, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv116, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: civil Rights, constitution, firearms
[Consolidated.] J. Wood finds two of lower courts in these three consolidated Second Amendment cases properly refused to enjoin Illinois's laws regulating assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. These regulated weapons are not required for self-defense, and are therefore not protected by the Second Amendment. There is a long tradition supporting a distinction between weapons and accessories designed for military or law-enforcement use, and weapons designed for personal use. Affirmed in part.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Wood, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: 23-1353, Categories: civil Rights, constitution, firearms
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J. Palafox finds a lower court mostly ruled correctly in convicting defendant of unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon. While defendant argues that prior gun laws are “now in question” following the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen, legal precedent around firearms has generally been “premised on the principle that felons had historically lacked Second Amendment rights.” However, a “clerical error” in the lower court judgment misstates the statute which defendant violated and should be fixed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Palafox, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 08-23-00057-CR, Categories: constitution, firearms, civil Rights
J. Copperthite grants the U.S. attorney general’s motion to dismiss on an individual’s case challenging the denial of his state application for a “Handgun Qualification License.” While the individual, who seeks to buy a firearm for self-protection, has nonviolent convictions for driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest. The federal law that bans felons from owning guns is not unconstitutional as applied to him. The government has a legitimate interest in keeping weapons away from individuals that have been convicted of a crime that is punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Copperthite, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv42, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, constitution, firearms
J. Copenhaver grants in part and denies in part the Coalition's motion for summary judgment in its suit challenging the constitutionality of the 2018 "Parking Lot" amendments to the West Virginia Business Professional Liability Act that prohibits property owners from banning firearms on the parking lots of their premises. The Inquiry and Take-No-Action provisions of the amendments "facially violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech," as "the term 'any action against' is not defined, its scope is unknown and serves to chill any comment or conduct," and "property owners may certainly inquire into the presence of a firearm in order to prepare for and provide for the safety of their customers, employees and invitees and do so without intending to banish or discriminate against the possessor." The West Virginia Attorney General is enjoined from further enforcement of two provisions.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Copenhaver, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 2:19cv434, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: civil Rights, constitution, firearms
J. Chuang grants the U.S. Department of Justice’s motion to dismiss allegations of violations of a citizen’s constitutional rights when the department denied his purchase of a firearm based on a criminal background check. The citizen had previously been convicted of a crime with a prison sentence of over one year and had been committed to a mental institution two times in the past. Based on this information, when he went to purchase a gun at Dick’s Sporting Goods — a federal firearms licensee — his criminal and mental health background prevented him from purchasing one. Thus, the citizen’s argument against the department’s criminal background check lacks standing because the licensee’s test blocked him from getting the background check in the first place.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Chuang, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 8:22cv1611, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, constitution, firearms
J. Immergut finds that a new Oregon law restricting gun use and purchases is constitutional. The gun groups "have not shown that the Second Amendment protects large-capacity magazines, defined as magazines capable of firing 11 or more rounds without reloading." Furthermore, the state's requirement that firearm purchasers obtain a permit that includes the completion of a background check "is consistent with the type of regulations that the U.S. Supreme Court has deemed constitutional."
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Immergut, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv1815, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, constitution, firearms
J. Chuang denies a group of gun advocacy organizations and individuals’ motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Montgomery County in a suit challenging recent amendments to county restrictions on gun possession and use. The group’s motion requests that the county be stopped from enforcing the ban of private citizens’ possession and use of guns in certain places such as schools, churches and hospitals, citing constitutional violations. However, the constitutionality of the ban has not been determined, and currently, security guards at all relevant locations are still allowed to use firearms, addressing the group’s expressed fears about protecting their safety when in these locations.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Chuang, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 8:21cv1736, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, constitution, firearms