Two months ago, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear what could be the most consequential Second Amendment case since its landmark Bruen decision in 2022.
And right now, the NYS Firearms Association is preparing for the fight.
The Court has agreed to hear both Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins — cases from Illinois and Connecticut that will determine whether or not the government can ban AR-15s!
Lower courts have upheld these bans in the 2nd and 7th Circuits. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether states (or the feds) can ban America’s most popular rifle.
And with the deadline for written briefs getting closer, we need your help because a victory here could overturn our AR-15 ban here in New York State!
>>> HELP NYSFA FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT! <<<
As gun owners, we’ve been fighting to reach this moment for decades.
The Supreme Court’s 2008 Heller decision confirmed an INDIVIDUAL right to keep and bear arms. Their 2010 McDonald decision held that Heller applied not only against the federal government, but against state and local governments as well.
Then, in 2022, the Bruen decision prohibited the government from simply citing ‘public safety’ to justify gun control. Instead, they must prove that similar restrictions existed during the Founding Era when the Second Amendment was adopted.
Now the Court is poised to answer the question gun owners have been asking ever since Bruen was handed down: Can the government ban America’s most popular rifle?
The answer could shape the Second Amendment for generations.
Many organizations will be involved in this battle through Amicus Briefs — additional arguments filed with the Court to support the case.
We expect most entities who do this to use the ‘common use’ argument: that the government can’t ban items that are commonly used by 25 million law-abiding Americans.
But there is a risk to this approach.
If governments can ban AR-15s today and then later argue they are ‘uncommon’ because they banned them, constitutional rights become self-defeating.
That’s why NYSFA is working with our legal team to produce the hardest-hitting Amicus Brief possible — not just using the ‘common use’ argument, but hard-hitting constitutional arguments.
>>> HELP NYSFA FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT! <<<
Striking down Illinois and Connecticut’s AR-15 bans based on the number in circulation may win the case in the short term.
But striking them down on constitutional arguments — augmented by the Bruen and Heller decisions — could last generations!
That’s why this case matters whether you own an AR-15 or not.
The Left never intended to stop with banning AR-15s. A Supreme Court victory defending our right to own an AR-15 also defends your M1 Garand, Browning Hi-Power, and your Marlin .22.
Like I said earlier, a victory over AR-15s in the Supreme Court would almost certainly lead to us having the right to own them here in New York State, too!
That’s why the NYS Firearms Association must raise $22,500 to fund this Amicus Brief.
The deadline for written briefs is getting closer, and the legal work required to produce a brief worthy of this moment doesn’t happen overnight.
We need to research the arguments, prepare the brief, and make the strongest constitutional case we possibly can before the Supreme Court.
But we can’t do that without your help.
>>> HELP NYSFA FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT! <<<
While the Supreme Court isn’t the author of our freedoms — these freedoms come from God and are codified via law and the Constitution — the Court’s job is to defend them.
A victory in the Supreme Court on an AR-15 challenge could pay dividends for generations, not to mention overturn similar bans in more than a dozen states!
We have an opportunity to help shape the arguments that will be before the Supreme Court when it decides one of the biggest Second Amendment cases of our lifetime.
Please help the NYS Firearms Association fund this Amicus Brief with your most generous donation today.
For New York State,
Aaron Dorr
Executive Director
NYS Firearms Association
P.S. The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the government can ban the AR-15 and hundreds of similar rifles. And the deadline for written briefs is getting closer.
NYSFA must raise $22,500 to fund our Amicus Brief in this historic case. Help us make the strongest constitutional argument possible — and help secure these freedoms for generations to come — by making a generous contribution today.