Two prominent Second Amendment advocacy groups petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to settle the argument over whether withholding fundamental gun rights constitutes irreparable injury.
The Seventh and Ninth Circuit appellate courts determined that violations of Second Amendment rights indeed result in irreparable injury as legally defined. However, the Third Circuit not only rejected arguments but also refused to consider legitimate questions brought by plaintiffs against egregious gun control overreaches.
Despite the complex nature of many legal entanglements that fall on the high court’s doorstep, the principles presented here are rather simple.
The Supreme Court established that when First Amendment freedoms are abridged, even for the short term, the people are subjected to irreparable harm.
However, this protection has yet to carry over to the Second Amendment. Indeed, many lower courts have ruled that citizens do not suffer irreparable harm when their rights are suppressed by controversial gun control laws under challenge.
Instead, these laws are allowed to be enforced even though they deprive the people of constitutional protections.
On Monday, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) asked the high court to correct this imbalance and restore protection for fundamental rights.
Both advocacy organizations petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the consolidated cases of Gray v. Jennings and Graham v. Jennings. Each concerns Delaware’s controversial prohibition of so-called “assault weapons” and standard-capacity magazines. The state laws are rightly being challenged in the courts, but citizens are still subject to these infringements while they are being adjudicated.
The SAF and FPC asked the justices to determine whether the people suffered irreparable injury for being denied Second Amendment rights.
SAF Founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb takes issue with the Second Amendment being relegated to second-class status. “All rights protected by the Constitution are equal, and therefore, any infringements on one right should merit the same degree of scorn as infringements against another right.”
SAF Executive Director Adama Kraut noted the legal split between lower courts on the issue of irreparable damage.
“The Circuit Court of Appeals have split over whether an infringement of Second Amendment rights inflicts an irreparable harm. The Seventh and Ninth Circuits have held that infringements constitute irreparable harm, while the Third Circuit disagrees.”
Kraut added, “It is this split which should bring Supreme Court review and a ruling which applies uniformly across the circuits.”
The plaintiffs highlighted the high court’s previous determination that “the loss of First Amendment freedoms, even for minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.”
The organizations asked the Supreme Court to settle whether the same standard applies to other constitutional rights.
FPC President Brandon Combs pointed to the double standard employed by some lower courts.
“In Bruen, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the principle that the Second Amendment should not be treated less favorably than other Bill of Rights guarantees. But some circuit courts have continued to treat our sacred right to keep and bear arms as a second-class right.”
Combs urged the justices to establish “a clear and binding rule that places Second Amendment protections on the same footing as First Amendment guarantees.”
Petitioners argued that the Second and Third Circuits blatantly brushed aside the protections afforded First Amendment rights when applied to the Second Amendment. The panels rejected enjoining the Delaware bans on popular sporting rifles and magazines “without even inquiring whether these bans are likely unconstitutional.”
Suppose the Supreme Court upholds the principle that all constitutional rights are equal and reaffirms its previous position on the abridgment of First Amendment freedoms. In that case, it will have no choice but to declare that suppressing Second Amendment rights results in irreparable injury to the people.
They say the first step to solving a problem is admitting there is one.
Well, the Pew Collectors Anonymous is your way of admitting you have a problem buying guns but you have no intentions of solving that problem, because Pew Collectors Anonymous isn’t about solving a problem; it’s about embracing it.
So be sure to hit the link above and grab your Pew Collectors Anonymous T-Shirts, Hats, and Drinkware.
Click below to purchase.
