PA Bill Number: HB829
Title: In preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions;
Description: An Act amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), known as the Liquor Code, in preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions;
Last Action: Signed in House
Last Action Date: Jul 3, 2024
Courts Are Becoming The Nation's Gun Control Battleground :: 08/25/2018
Anybody who still thinks gun control proponents have rolled over to play dead during the Trump administration isn’t thinking at all, because the fight to marginalize the Second Amendment is getting nastier, and the courts are becoming the new battleground.
Perhaps nothing underscores that point better than the 45-page federal lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association last month against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Department of Financial Services and its director, Maria T. Vullo. The lawsuit, which may be read here https://drive.google.com/file/d/15Ld2KEw6SqsvhOYgKUl3SXFTDoz4J3IA/view details what NRA alleges is a “political vendetta against the NRA” (subhead “B” on page 7).
The legal battle and NRA’s potential financial troubles were discussed in Rolling Stone. Cuomo appeared on CNN to discuss his legal fight with NRA.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Screen snip, YouTube, CNN
“Andrew Cuomo has criticized the political speech and influence of “Second Amendment types” generally, and the NRA specifically, for decades,” the federal lawsuit asserts. “Moreover, Cuomo has a history of abusing his regulatory power to retaliate against his political opponents on gun control issues.”
The situation is compounded by the fact that the NRA is incorporated in the state of New York. The lawsuit asserts that Cuomo “has embarked on a campaign to chill the political speech of the NRA and other so-called “gun promotion” organizations.
The lawsuit’s main focus is on the alleged way Cuomo has personally tried to chill the organization’s financial capabilities. As noted in the lawsuit, “the NRA must have the ability to process and retain cash, check, wire-transfer, and other donations from members and events throughout the country, as well as transmit and apply these funds to meet operational needs.”
NRA’s lawsuit further alleges that anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s “Everytown for Gun Safety” contacted various state and municipal authorities in an effort to cause problems for NRA Carry Guard, an insurance program for people who act in self-defense with firearms.
Included in the lawsuit’s text is the wording of a Cuomo tweet on April 20, 2018 in which the governor allegedly accused NRA of being “an extremist organization.” According to the message, he encouraged companies in the Empire State to “revisit any ties they have to the NRA…”
The lawsuit also alleges that Cuomo’s actions have interfered with NRA’s activities that are protected by the First Amendment, and caused some financial institutions to stop doing business with the association. The companies that ceased doing business with NRA are identified in the legal action.
And it’s probably just a coincidence, but out in Washington State, Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson — the latter who has made something of a full-time job out of suing the Trump administration — have launched their own attack on NRA’s insurance program.
The NRA is seeking a jury trial.
Courts, Attorneys Busy Elsewhere
While the NRA’s lawsuit against Cuomo is the proverbial “big deal,” courts in other jurisdictions are also busy, and so are attorneys.
At the far end of the country from New York, NRA and Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation have separately filed legal actions in Washington State to keep a far-reading gun control initiative off the November ballot. Initiative 1639 proponents allegedly didn’t follow the requirements of state law in the printing of their petitions, which are supposed to include a full and complete version of the measure on the backside.
Instead, the two lawsuits — Gottlieb filed as an individual citizen and registered voter in the Evergreen State to assure standing — contend that people signing the petitions couldn’t tell what existing statutory language was being stricken and what would be added to state law if the measure passes.
In another action, NRA and SAF are partners in lawsuits against the Cities of Seattle and Edmonds, which have adopted local gun regulations that are allegedly in violation of the state’s 35-year-old preemption law.
In California, the courts have also been busy, and attorneys general from several states and the District of Columbia moved in late July to prevent Defense Distributed, an Austin-based firm, from publishing information on the construction of plastic guns on 3D printers.
How The Midterm Elections Figure In
It is against this legal backdrop that the importance of this November’s congressional elections is suddenly becoming clear.
Since he took office, Donald Trump has been working to fill a lot of empty federal judicial seats. So far, he has been successful, according to various sources, appointing people to those positions who interpret the law and constitution, rather than legislate from the bench and rewrite the constitution.
If the Senate changes hands, it is not likely that the president will be able to appoint another Supreme Court justice who is strong on the Second Amendment. If the House changes hands, many conservative commentators have predicted that Democrats will mount an impeachment effort.
The moral of this story is that elections still matter. The lower federal courts are where a lot of law is decided. The Supreme Court accepts relatively few cases for review, and gun rights advocates are hoping that at least one more Second Amendment case — possibly dealing with right-to-carry outside the home — is accepted.
It’s serious stuff, and the lynchpin is voting. There is going to be a major effort this fall to make sure gun owners go to the polls, or fill out and return their mail-in ballots. If you’re not registered to vote, get that done now.
One thing that is disappointing is when gun owners call me to ask for whom they should vote. Doesn’t anybody do their own homework anymore?
Here’s One Guy Who Won’t Be Voting
Bizarre is one way to describe what happened at an event in Titusville, Florida dubbed the “Peace in the City” back-to-school gathering at a city park.
Somebody opened fire on the crowd, but a legally armed bystander just happened to be on hand, and he shot the guy in the head, according to various published reports. He will reportedly not be facing any charges, since he had a Florida carry license and there seems little doubt his actions saved lives.
WFTV reported that the suspect was “taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.” At last report, the unidentified suspect was still hanging on.
https://gunsmagazine.com/courts-are-becoming-the-nations-gun-control-battleground/
