Gura's already on the move

That should be a no-brainer.

I sure hope that he and his colleagues have Massachusetts and New York in their crosshairs and soon. We here in the cradle of liberty have been begging for legislative relief for years and years. The NRA has hardly lifted a finger in all of that time. MA should prove to be a rewarding and target rich environment.

Google up Sykes and Pena too. One more that Gura's on that escapes me.

There should be some opportunities under TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242

Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned

Have you read the complaint? See page 7 of 8 for item 30

"30. The Second Amendment guarantees individuals a fundamental right to carry functional handguns in non-sensitive public places for purposes of self-defense, as well as the right to purchase firearms and ammunition."

It looks like this is how Alan Gura wants to take the Second Amendment out of the house and into public. This should be an answer to all those who keep asking about the "and Bear" part of the amendment.

NYC requires a permit just to own a firearm IN YOUR OWN HOME!!!! New Yorkers not receiving permission from Ray Kelly and his tools, allowing them to exercise their constitutional rights, are arrested and put in jail. No other crime needs to be committed...A FUNDAMENTAL constitutional right IS A CRIME IN NYC!!! They need to be sued NOW!!!

Looks to me like he's picking some low-hanging fruit. It may seem like small potatoes, but having a series of wins is a good place to be..

I heartily agree that building a successive series of wins in case law, one solid case at a time, while gathering as much of the low hanging fruit as possible, is the best and most prudent way to proceed. That said, I and many of my fellow citizens here in the People's Republic are very anxious for some hope and change that we can believe in. The sooner the better. H4102 is on the horizon and closing fast, though I think that more folks in the legislature are becoming a little more circumspect in light of McDonald. Regardless, Alan, don't spare the horses getting here, please.

While not all police departments here are as bad as the NYPD when it comes to citizens exercising their rights, Massachusetts is in essentially the same position. You need permission (available for only $100 and the ability and willingness to jump through a few strategically placed hoops) in order to even possess a .22 rifle or a .410 shotgun. Make that a handgun, and the hoops get significantly more difficult to navigate. If you actually want to carry a gun for protection, you'd better be extremely well connected or, if your local police chief isn't gun-friendly, be prepared to simply move to another town. There's not the slightest pretense of equal treatment.

Greg, Ed, Ken, why are you waiting around for Gura? There are other attorneys ya know.

The one of Gura's that I forgot is Palmer. Also, Heller II was rejected by the DC Circuit. Maybe another trip to the Supes next year?

I expect the California Assault Weapon ban will be tested soon. It's based on the concept that a semi-automatic center-fire rifle with a pistol grip is inherently more deadly than one without.

A pistol grip is the problem? Seriously?

I think Gura already has cases in process in CA challenging shall-issue concealed carry procedures and the "good gun" list which CA and DC use, and which one assumes Chicago will adopt as one of their hurdles to gun ownership.

In general, we need to get some decisions in place on the standard of review before taking on the big targets like NY, MA and others (NJ?). In particular there needs to be authority that the analysis of gun control laws is not made under a "reasonable basis" test, but something stricter.

NY state OUGHT to be a relatively easy case when the time comes, but they probably have massive funds available to fight a case (Bloomberg would probably finance it personally) and you DON'T want to face that kind of opposition if you don't have to. SO - establish the foundation elsewhere, in smaller cases (how much does NC really want to spend to fight about their state of emergency gun ban law?) Then walk into NY and MA and others with a quiver full of arrows already on the books (so to speak). Makes it easier for trial judges to rule in your favor if they can cite other federal circuits to justify their decision.

And while there certainly are many other lawyers out there who can try cases, none of them have won two Supreme Court cases on the Second Amendment as an individual right. I think there's a real advantage to letting Gura's team coordinate the efforts at the start of what will probably turn out to be a decades long project. He has the experience, the research, the funding (apparently), and, I believe, the perspective on how best to use Heller and McDonald to build a series of decisions that will make the ultimate dismantling of most gun laws possible.

:start snark: So glad that the NRA is leading the fight for our rights. :end snarK:

I agree go after the low hanging fruit first. By the time we are ready for the big boys maybe some of them will be feeling the heat and make the changes.