I’m going to get right to it.
The NYS Firearms Association is submitting an Amicus Brief to the United States Supreme Court over the AR-15 ban that took effect in Illinois last year, and we need your help right away!
I know, I know, this is New York State, not Illinois.
But there’s a reason for this that I’ll explain below. First, I want to explain why RIGHT NOW is the time to get into court.
Whatever you think of President Trump, the impact of his judicial nominations will be felt for decades to come.
During his four years in office, Trump successfully appointed a staggering 174 Federal District Court judges. This is the lowest court in the federal process, but these are lifetime appointments!
In addition, Trump added 54 Federal Circuit Court judges to the bench. Circuit Courts hear all appeals from District Court.
And, of course, everyone knows that Trump appointed 3 Associate Justices to the United State Supreme Court.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen the results.
Dozens of state and federal gun control laws have been blocked in District Court. Most of these cases have been upheld in Circuit Courts across the country. And then there was the massive Bruen decision from the United States Supreme Court in 2022!
The Bruen decision reshaped the Second Amendment field.
Previously, courts analyzed gun control laws through a two-pronged approach. First, was the law in question an infringement on an individual right covered by the Heller Decision?
If not, the court then applied ‘means-end scrutiny.’ Judges would decide if the gun law furthered a ‘governmental interest.’
Since the majority of federal judges certainly prior to Trump were anti-gun, they almost ALWAYS found a ‘governmental interest’ to justify and uphold gun control laws.
That’s why 90% of the legal challenges filed in court in the wake of the Heller decision from 2008 failed!
Bruen changed all of that. Now gun control laws need to pass the first two criteria but must also show that the law has a historical precedent that justifies its existence.
Writing for the majority, Clarence Thomas said:
We hold that when the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. To justify its regulation, the government may not simply posit that the regulation promotes an important interest. Rather, the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
This new judicial standard is why now is the best time to fight in court in generations. And NYSFA is not hesitating!
>>> HELP US FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT! <<<
Here in New York State, we’re engaged in a federal lawsuit against Kathy Hochul over ammo registration. And we will sue her over the SAFE Act, in this post-Bruen environment. Eventually.
But we may have found a shortcut.
Illinois passed a law very, very similar to our SAFE Act last year. Gun owners in our sister organization have already been through the District AND Circuit Court process and failed.
The upside to that ‘failure’ is that now they are ready to make appeal their state’s AR-15 ban DIRECTLY to the United States Supreme Court! In fact, they’ve already filed the request!
To be clear, it’s not easy getting a case heard by SCOTUS.
The process itself is simple. The party must file what’s known as a certiorari petition (cert petition) asking the court to agree to hear the case. And four justices must agree with the cert petition for the case to make it onto the docket.
That’s the hard part.
Because whenever a gun rights organization seeks a cert petition with the United States Supreme Court, dozens of Leftist groups file Amicus Briefs urging the court to refuse the case.
It’s easy for them.
With almost limitless funds from Soros or Bloomberg-backed organizations, their lawyers can file briefs one after the next.
But if gun rights organizations like the NYS Firearms Association flood the court with Amicus Briefs urging the court to take the challenge out of Illinois, we could tip the scale.
We need to try!
>>> HELP US FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT! <<<
You already know the reason: If the United States Supreme Court strikes down the ‘assault weapons ban’ in Illinois it will overturn the ban here in New York State, too!
And since the fight over New York’s AR-15 ban needs to go through District Court and then Circuit Court before it could be appealed, joining the Illinois case will save us valuable time.
In fact, the Illinois case could bring this issue to a head YEARS FASTER than if we waited on our lawsuits here.
I’m sure you can see why we’re so excited to proceed!
But filing Amicus Briefs with the Supreme Court isn’t cheap. And, given the timetable that we are working with (I’ve had to tell our lawyers to work very quickly) the costs rise fast.
And that’s why I am writing to you today.
It is imperative that the NYS Firearms Association raises $33,000 in the next three weeks, to make sure that our lawyers can join this cert petition with the hardest hitting Amicus Brief possible!
Please make a generous donation TODAY!
>>> HELP US FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT! <<<
Your support will enable our lawyers to review the Illinois case, the decisions from the lower court judges, and the Amicus Briefs filed by the gun control organizations.
Once that’s done, they’ll be able to craft our Amicus Brief to fit the situation.
But we have to hurry.
With the cert petition having been filed, we must file our Amicus Brief in support in 30 days!
But this may be our best chance at eventually overturning New York State’s AR-15 ban!
Please make a generous donation TODAY!
For New York State,
Aaron Dorr
Executive Director
NYS Firearms Association
P.S. The State of Illinois passed their version of the SAFE Act last year, banning AR-15’s and much more. Gun owners in Illinois have been through the lower courts, and now are asking the United States Supreme Court to take up their case!
Bloomberg and other Left-leaning organizations are trying to stop this, because this is the most pro-gun court in our lifetime.
This is about more than Illinois.
If the Supreme Court overturns the Illinois AR-15 ban, they’ll overturn ours at the exact same time!
But first, the Court needs to agree to take up this case. That’s why the NYS Firearms Association is filing an Amicus Brief, urging the Court to review the Illinois case. But we need your help!
>>> HELP US FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT! <<<