The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a reply brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Grant v. Rovella, SAF's challenge to Connecticut's so-called "assault weapons" ban.
SAF originally filed its cert petition in November last year urging the High Court to take the case and decide once and for all that AR-15-style rifles are most certainly in "common use" and therefore protected by the Second Amendment. In Connecticut it is a crime to sell, transfer, or possess so-called "assault weapons" in the state. Connecticut's law specifies some firearms by name and identifies various features to define what it believes constitutes an "assault weapon."
"There are tens of millions rifles in circulation across America that meet Connecticut's made-up definition of 'assault weapon,'" said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. "Given that these firearms are no different than any other semi-automatic firearm owned by citizens for self-defense, there is no doubt these arms are in 'common use' and are certainly covered under the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court has already stated that a firearm cannot be banned if it is in common use for lawful purposes, which is exactly what is happening in Connecticut and elsewhere across the country."
As noted in the brief, "Given that millions of Americans own AR-15s and similar rifles, and most do so for defensive purposes…applying the correct "common use" standard, and situating it at the proper historical stage of Bruen's framework, could change the outcome of this case." SAF is joined in the case by the Connecticut Citizens Defense League and three private citizens.
"This is SAF's second 'assault weapons' ban challenge we have before the Supreme Court for consideration," said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. "The list of banned firearms in Connecticut – and elsewhere across the United States – make peaceable gun owners felons for simply owning certain types of arms for self-defense. This obstruction to the Second Amendment rights of Americans cannot be allowed to stand, and we are optimistic the Court will agree to hear at least one of our lawsuits in relation to these infringements on the right to keep and bear arms."
For more information visit SAF.org.
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.