FEDERAL LAWSUIT CHALLENGES NEW YORK STATE SEMI-AUTO BAN

BELLEVUE, WA – A federal lawsuit supported by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Firearms Policy Coalition has been filed in New York, challenging the state’s ban on so-called “assault weapons.” The plaintiffs are represented by lawyers from SAF and FPC. The case is known as Lane vs. James.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, on behalf of New York residents J. Mark Lane of Larchmont and James Sears of Irving. They are represented by attorneys Cody Wisniewski, Adam Kraut, who is also SAF’s CEO, and Nicolas J. Rotsko.

The defendants are New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Superintendent of State Police. Steven A. Nigrelli and Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah in their official duties.

“The issue of this lawsuit is very clear,” said SAF founder and executive vice president Alan M. Gottlieb. “Both Sears and Lane are law-abiding New York residents who want to own modern semi-automatic sport utility rifles, such as the AR-15, for lawful purposes, including target shooting and home defense. Such rifles are in common use throughout the country, yet in the Empire State citizens face the threat of arrest, forfeiture, prosecution, fines, and imprisonment for legally using such rifles.”

The lawsuit alleges that when the Second Circuit previously upheld New York’s ban on semi-automatic vehicles in 2015, the court relied on a two-step test that has since been rejected by the US Supreme Court. bruen decision as “one step too many”. Because the Second Circuit found that the so-called “assault weapons” at issue are in common use, it should have held that New York’s ban violates the Second Amendment. This new action will allow the Second Circuit to correct the situation.

The lawsuit seeks a ruling declaring that Lane and Sears have a fundamental right to keep and bear arms, and that New York law’s prohibition of common semiautomatic firearms is a violation of rights guaranteed by the Amendments. Second and Fourteenth. The plaintiffs also seek a permanent injunction on the enforcement of the New York ban.

“We are simply asking the court to uphold the Constitution,” Gottlieb declared.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publication, and legal action group focusing on the constitutional right and inheritance to own and own guns. fire privately. Founded in 1974, the Foundation has grown to more than 720,000 members and supporters and runs many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.