Session is underway here in Albany and things are very busy as gun control bills are being filed and referred to committee almost daily. We’ll update you on that soon.
This is a critical update on our Federal Lawsuit against Kathy Hochul for the members of the NYS Firearms Association.
We are expecting to get a final ‘Scheduling Order’ from the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals any day now, giving us the exact date and time that we’ll be squaring off against Kathy Hochul! But NYSFA needs your immediate help to make sure we’re ready.
First, let me remind you of what’s been going on.
As you remember, in September of 2022, we sued Hochul.
That’s because her new ammo registration law took effect, requiring us to register every round of ammo we buy with the State Police and pay a hefty user fee for the ‘privilege.’
This means that buying a 5-round box of slugs from your hunting buddy before deer opener is a crime in New York.
It also means that Kathy Hochul (and likely the feds) have a list of every round of ammo that you and I purchase!
This is so typical of a tyrant like Kathy Hochul. Ignore the crime wave she helped create, refuse to put real criminals in jail, then attack the gun rights of law-abiding New Yorkers.
Hochul’s law clearly violated the Second Amendment.
It clearly violated the Bruen decision of 2022.
And despite the massive showing that gun owners made on election night, we are not able to repeal this in Albany, Hochul and her commie allies still have control of both chambers.
Instead, we filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court.
>>>HELP US DRAG HOCHUL INTO THE 2ND CIRCUIT!<<<
We filed this lawsuit knowing that we would be summarily rejected at the district court level in Rochester. But we needed to have an answer, one way or the other, from the District Court to be able to file this appeal with the 2nd Circuit!
Our contention in the lawsuit is simple.
The Bruen decision from 2022 requires the State of New York (or any other state) to show some historical precedent for each gun control law it passes.
And this precedent needs to be from the era in which the Second Amendment was ratified to the Constitution (1791.)
If the government can’t show how the law they are trying to pass has this historical precedent, it can be overturned!
In the 2024 Rahimi v United States case, the Supreme Court clarified that the ‘precedent’ didn’t need to be identical, but they confirmed there needed to be something very close!
So far, all the state has produced in their filings are examples of overt racism, where people couldn’t buy firearms based on the color of their skin.
They actually put that in their documents before the court!
That’s why I like our chances with this lawsuit as it heads into the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.
And while the 2nd Circuit has been unreliable in the way they have interpreted and applied the Bruen and Rahimi cases in other Second Amendment cases, they’ve gotten a lot correct.
>>>HELP US DRAG HOCHUL INTO THE 2ND CIRCUIT!<<<
The 2nd Circuit struck down Hochul’s social media background check requirements for pistol permit applications.
They also struck down Hochul’s law that banned concealed carry in all commercial businesses that don’t have signage specifically authorizing concealed carry.
I think the 2nd Circuit is tired of Hochul’s overreach.
There are three things that I know about Federal Lawsuits.
First, they move very slowly. It takes years to complete one. We are 26 months into this case! This is on purpose. These Leftist judges enjoy throwing up roadblocks to slow us down.
Second, they are very expensive. Again, this works to benefit the government by cutting down on our ability to sue.
Third, this is a civil rights case. So if (and I think when!) we win this case, Kathy Hochul will be forced to reimburse us for our court costs.
Sure, that means taxpayers like us pay for it. But that would leave us in a position to file another lawsuit with that money!
Here’s where we are right now, when it comes to what we’ve been able to pay for towards this lawsuit. With your help, the NYS Firearms Association has already paid for:
*** Client intake and vetting ($6,000); we’ve got solid plaintiffs on this suit. This is essential as a felony that someone failed to mention from 20 years ago can implode a case at the last minute. We’ve heard of this happening.
*** Affidavit preparation ($8,700); in addition to our main plaintiffs, NYSFA’s legal team wanted supporting affidavits from other gun owners outlining their constitutional and practical objections to having to comply with this law.
*** Preparation of the actual lawsuit($33,000); physically writing the actual lawsuit takes the bulk of the time in any lawsuit. But like everything else in life, you get what you pay for and we wanted a tight lawsuit!
*** Preparation of the preliminary injunction ($12,000); known as a PI Motion, this motion requests that the court grant an injunction against the law pending the outcome of the underlying lawsuit.
*** Filing fees ($4,000); it’s not free to file a lawsuit in Federal Court. The barrier to entry is supposedly designed to cut down on spurious lawsuits.
This is the good news.
And without your support, none of this would have happened so thank you for your generosity in this lawsuit, to date.
The bad news is that we’re not done yet.
I had to authorize a $25,000 wire transfer last week as our legal team is busy filing briefs in the 2nd Circuit laying out the basis of our appeal and responding to Hochul’s lawyers.
This payment leaves us dangerously low on funds.
>>>HELP US DRAG HOCHUL INTO THE 2ND CIRCUIT!<<<
And, very soon, we’ll actually have our day in court where our lawyers get to go head-to-head against Kathy Hochul and Letitia James.
While I won’t have an invoice on this until after the fact, I am expecting to have to raise another $22,000 to handle their time in court, preparation for court, filing fees and more.
And that’s why I am writing you today.
If I had the ability to write a check and pay for this myself, I would. Happily. But I don’t. And the NYS Firearms Association isn’t funded by a mega donor like the gun control crowd so often is.
We’re supported by everyday New Yorkers who know that if we don’t fight to stop Hochul in Albany and in Federal Court, she won’t stop attacking our gun rights until there’s nothing left.
And thanks to your support, we’re very close to finally getting a chance for a major victory in court.
But we have to be able to pay for the rest of this case.
Can you help us, with a gift of $100 or even $250?
I know that I’m asking you to consider an amount that is far higher than what you’ve given before, but we’re at a critical juncture here and WE CAN’T LET UP NOW!
If $100 is not possible, please consider $75.
While the final ‘Scheduling Order’ hasn’t been issued, it looks like we’ll be in court in Manhattan next month, or maybe sometime in early March.
That’s not much time.
So please decide on your level of support and then make your most generous donation right away so our lawyers can hammer Hochul in court and reverse this ammo registration law for good!
Thank you, in advance, for continuing to stand with us!
For New York State,
Aaron Dorr
Executive Director
NYS Firearms Association
P.S. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals will be issuing a ‘Scheduling Order’ shortly, giving us a specific date for oral arguments in our lawsuit against Kathy Hochul!
Our case, over Hochul’s ammo registration law that took effect in September of 2022, has a great chance of being successful, but we need to be able to pay for it.
As you’ll see above, we’ve paid for major portions of this lawsuit. But we are coming up short for trial prep and the cost of actually having our legal team fight in court!
>>>HELP US DRAG HOCHUL INTO THE 2ND CIRCUIT!<<<
Can you help us raise our final $22,000 with a gift of $150, $75, $25 or even just $5 today?