The newly formed Second Amendment Law Center is proud to announce that it has filed another critical amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court—this time, in support of a petition for certiorari in Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs v. Grewal. The case asks whether New Jersey’s ban on magazines over ten rounds (so-called “large capacity magazines”) violates the Second Amendment.
2ALC’s input is particularly valuable here, given our attorneys’ success in Duncan v. Becerra, the federal lawsuit challenging California’s similar magazine ban under the Second Amendment and the Takings Clause. With that unique experience in mind, 2ALC’s amicus brief provides a detailed comparison of the New Jersey case and the Ninth Circuit’s recent pro-gun ruling in Duncan, giving the Court a clear snapshot of the diverging paths that the circuits have taken.
Joined by the California Rifle & Pistol Association and Gun Owners of California, 2ALC argues that unconstitutional bans on otherwise protected conduct, like possessing common magazines over ten rounds, are only upheld because mistreatment of the Second Amendment has become the norm in the lower courts. Indeed, district and circuit courts routinely engage in watered-down Second Amendment analyses that all but guarantee that any gun control law subject to them will survive. The goal of 2ALC’s brief is to urge the Court to grant review of ANJRPC v. Grewal and begin to correct this dangerous trend.
For over a decade, the Supreme Court has been mostly silent on the Second Amendment, despite a flood of petitions asking it to review gun control laws from across the country. With the recent grant of review in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Corlett, a case concerning the right to carry, the High Court is finally poised to speak. But as 2ALC’s brief argues, it is not enough for the Court to decide just one Second Amendment issue after all these years. Given the mischief that has run rampant in the lower courts, there are countless gun-rights questions requiring the Court’s attention. And, as 2ALC points out, this includes the question of whether the government may flatly ban arms in common use for lawful purposes, like magazines over ten rounds.
2ALC is optimistic that the Court will grant review of ANJRPC so that the long overdue house-cleaning of poor Second Amendment decisions reached by lower courts can truly begin.
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2ALC supports many cases just like this one across the country because it is important to protect the rights of the citizens against government over-reach. If you would like to support ongoing cases like these, please consider giving to build the 2ALC Litigation Fund.