FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
September 3, 2013
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 NRA CHALLENGE
AGAINST FEDERAL RESTRICTION OF GUN RIGHTS FOR
YOUNG ADULTS; 21 STATES JOIN ALABAMA’S BRIEF
MONTGOMERY – Attorney General Luther Strange has filed an amicus brief to the U.S.
Supreme Court in support of a challenge by the National Rifle Association against a federal law
that restricts the sale of handguns to adults aged 18-20. Attorney General Strange’s brief was
joined on Friday by 21 other Attorneys General in protecting for their citizens “a liberty that is
guaranteed to them by the federal Constitution but currently denied to them by the federal
government.”
“The right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment is fundamental and
sacred,” said Attorney General Strange. “We must be vigilant in protecting it from intrusions
and limitations. I am proud to stand with the National Rifle Association in this effort.”
Attorney General Strange’s brief asserts that “adults who are 18, 19, and 20 honorably
defend our country when it is at war. These same Americans should be able to defend
themselves and their families when they are at home. Yet Congress has chosen to preclude the
States from fostering their citizens’ freedom in this way.”
At issue is a prohibition by Congress, found in 18 U.S.C. ßß922(b)(1) and (c)(1), which
was upheld in October of 2012 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The case is
National Rifle Association of America, Inc., et. al. v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and
Explosives, et al.
“In this particular sphere, most States have decided that 18-,19-, and 20-year-olds ought
to be allowed to exercise this aspect of their fundamental right to bear arms,” the brief notes.
“Yet Congress has sought to withdraw this liberty from the same class of people. In doing so, it
has disparaged, as ’emotionally immature’ and ‘prone to criminal behavior,’ the very persons
these States seek to protect.”
Attorney General Strange’s brief urges the Court to resolve the conflict between rights
granted by the States but which Congress seeks to restrict. “Each day (the statute) remains in
effect will further entrench the misconception that Congress may treat the Second Amendment
as a second-class right. And each day it stays in place will perpetuate a congressional policy of
disregarding States’ determination that this group of citizens deserves equal liberty.”
The states joining Alabama in the amicus brief are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado,
Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and
Wisconsin.
501 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
