FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
May 6, 2014
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
Page 1 of 1
AG STRANGE FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN
LAWSUIT AGAINST NEW YORK’S GUN BAN
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange today filed an
amicus brief, or friend of the court brief, that was joined by a bipartisan group of
21 Attorneys General against a New York law banning certain kinds of
semiautomatic firearms. The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit as a part of a lawsuit filed by organizations and individual gun-
owners who challenged New York’s gun ban.
“This brief is about protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-
abiding citizens to bear arms in the defense of themselves and their families,”
Attorney General Strange said. “I and other Attorneys General believe these
fundamental rights deserve the highest protection and that New York’s gun ban
is unconstitutional under principles the Supreme Court has already established.”
Alabama was the lead author of the bipartisan brief, joined by Attorneys
General representing Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia
and Wyoming.
The brief explains that semiautomatic firearms are commonly owned by
law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes. It urges the Second Circuit Court of
Appeals to subject New York’s categorical ban of certain semiautomatic weapons
to heightened scrutiny. The brief argues that, because New York failed to show
that banning semiautomatic weapons would increase public safety or decrease
gun violence, the ban is unconstitutional.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
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