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D.C. VOTES TO AMEND ITS “GHOST GUN” BAN IN RESPONSE TO LEGAL CHALLENGE
November 23, 2021 On November 16, 2021, the D.C. Council voted to amend its recently enacted law banning “ghost guns” on an emergency basis in response to a lawsuit filed by Dick Heller. Renzulli Law Firm, LLP previously reported on the lawsuit filed against the District of Columbia in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the constitutionality…
NINTH CIRCUIT UPHOLDS CALIFORNIA’S BAN ON MAGAZINES WITH A CAPACITY OF MORE THAN TEN ROUNDS
December 2, 2021 In a split decision by an en banc panel in the case of Duncan v. Bonta, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld California’s ban on magazines with a capacity of more than ten rounds (often referred to as large-capacity magazines). In so doing, the court reversed a decision by Judge Benitez of the U.S. District…
NEVADA SUPREME COURT HOLDS THE NEVADA IMMUNITY STATUTE PROHIBITS CLAIMS AGAINST FIREARM DEFENDANTS FROM THE ROUTE 91 HARVEST FESTIVAL SHOOTING
December 2, 2021 Today the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously held that the Nevada firearm industry immunity statute, NRS 41.131(1), provides the manufacturers and dealers of the AR-type rifles used in the October 1, 2017 shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas with immunity from the lawsuit filed against them. The court’s decision was issued in…
‘Tis the Season for Internet Scams
November 18, 2021 The holiday season is upon us, and along with the increase in online shopping comes an increase in online scammers. At Renzulli Law Firm, we have been tracking an increase in the number of scam sites which use the name of a legitimate company in the domain name in order to attract…
NEW YORK STATE ENACTS NEW GUN CONTROL LAWS
November 12, 2021 Several New York bills were recently signed into law banning “ghost guns,” defining the term “unfinished frame or receiver,” and expanding the definition of “disguised guns.” These new laws are poorly written, conflict with federal law, expand the class of prohibited items, and are likely to result in significant confusion. S.13A/A.2666A, the…
ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN FIREARM AND AMMUNITION TAX
October 29, 2021 The Illinois Supreme Court issued a 6-0 decision this week holding that two Cook County ordinances that impose a tax on the retail purchase of firearms and ammunition violate the Illinois State Constitution. This case arises from a 2012 ordinance enacted by the Cook County Board of Commissioners that imposed a $25 tax on…
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Allows Lawsuit Challenging Local Firearm Restrictions to Go Forward
October 22, 2021 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling this week allowing a group of plaintiffs to proceed with their lawsuit challenging firearm restrictions enacted by the City of Harrisburg, PA. The court held that the plaintiffs were entitled to proceed with their lawsuits even though they have not yet been prosecuted for violations of the…
PROPOSED ILLINOIS LEGISLATION WOULD ALLOW ANYONE TO SUE THE FIREARMS INDUSTRY IN STRICT LIABILITY FOR INJURIES CAUSED BY THE UNLAWFUL DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS
October 8, 2021 The Firearms Dealer and Importer Liability Act, a/k/a/ the Protecting Heartbeats Act, HB4156, which was introduced in Illinois on September 28, 2021 would hold firearms manufacturers, importers and dealers strictly liable for any bodily injury or death caused by the unlawful discharge of a firearm in Illinois. It would allow anyone, other than…
American Bar Association Weighs In On Major Second Amendment Case
October 1, 2021 According to the American Bar Association (“ABA”), state and local governments have the right to tailor firearms regulations according to their own judgment regarding public health and safety. This was the broad theme of an amicus brief filed by the ABA last week in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v.…
ATF FILES PETITION FOR REHEARING EN BANC TO THE FOURTH CIRCUIT IN THE HIRSCHFELD V. ATF CASE
September 15, 2021 As Renzulli Law Firm previously reported, in a 2-1 decision dated July 13, 2021, a panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals declared the provision in the Gun Control Act prohibiting federally licensed firearms dealers from transferring handguns to persons between 18-20 years old to be unconstitutional on the basis that…
Texas Constitutional Carry Law Takes Effect
September 3, 2021 On September 1, 2021, Texas House Bill 1927 took effect, making Texas the 21st state to eliminate a license requirement to carry a handgun. Prior to Sept. 1, Texans were required to submit fingerprints, complete four to six hours of training, and pass a written exam and shooting proficiency test to obtain a…
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument in Pivotal Second Amendment Case
August 18, 2021 It was announced yesterday that the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Keith M. Corlett, in His Official Capacity as Superintendent of New York State Police is scheduled for oral argument before the Supreme Court on November 3, 2021. The appeal is the final step in a lawsuit challenging…
US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Issues Precedential Second Amendment Decision Reinstating Challenge to Pennsylvania Zoning Restrictions
August 24, 2021 On August 17, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a precedential Second Amendment decision in the case of Drummond v. Robinson Township. The court reversed the district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by William Drummond against Robinson Township challenging certain zoning regulations it put in place after…
USPTO Publishes Draft Regulations That Allow Anonymous Challenges to Trademark Registrations
August 9, 2021 In late 2020, Congress passed the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”), the first major revision to U.S. trademark law in years. The TMA will have an impact on many current and prospective trademark owners (for more information on how the TMA affects trademark owners outside the U.S., click here). The TMA directed…
ATF INTRODUCES GUIDANCE TO INCREASE THE REVOCATION OF FFLS
JULY 27, 2021 The ATF’s Acting Assistant Director for Field Operations issued a memorandum on July 14, 2021 directing the ATF to seek to revoke an FFL for situations that previously would not have likely justified revocation. The subject of the memorandum is “Implementation of the Administration’s Comprehensive Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gun Crime and…
Fourth Circuit Strikes Down Gun Control Act Ban as Unconstitutional
July 16, 2021 In a 2-1 decision dated July 13, 2021, the Fourth Circuit struck down certain provisions of the Gun Control Act (“GCA”) as a violation of the Second Amendment. At issue in Hirschfeld v. ATF were the federal statutes that prohibit licensed dealers from selling handguns and handgun ammunition to 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds. It…
NEW YORK GOVERNOR SIGNS LAW INTENDED TO BYPASS THE PLCAA AND DECLARES GUN VIOLENCE EMERGENCY
On July 6, 2021, Governor Cuomo signed Senate Bill 7196 (which is a revised version of Senate Bill 1048A) into law. The express purpose of SB7196 is to bypass the immunity provided to members of the firearms industry by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”). It does so by creating a broad…
Biden Administration Announces “Zero Tolerance” Enforcement of Firearm Dealer Laws and Regulations
June 24, 2021 In a national address on Wednesday, President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland revealed the Administration’s plan to address the rising level of violent crime across the country by specifically targeting firearm dealers. They will be implementing a “zero tolerance” policy with respect to alleged “rogue gun dealers” who fail to abide…
PROPOSED NEW FEDERAL GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION
June 5, 2021 On May 18, 2021, seven Democratic members of the House of Representatives introduced H.R. 3299, the Protecting Our Communities Act. The text of H.R. 3299 is not yet available and its official name is currently “To help reduce gun violence through background checks and the National Firearms Act and for other purposes.” …
CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY BILL HEADED TO TEXAS GOVERNOR
June 5, 2021 On May 27, 2021, the Texas legislature passed H.B. 1927, the Firearm Carry Act of 2021. H.B. 1927 would allow persons who are at least twenty-one years old, are not prohibited by federal or state law from possessing firearms, and are not intoxicated, to carry a handgun concealed or openly (in a…
Connecticut Looks to Reinstate COVID-19 Executive Order that Suspended Processing of Firearm Permit Applications
May 27, 2021 Shortly after the COVD-19 pandemic took hold in the spring of 2020, State Governors began to impose sweeping Executive Orders with the stated purpose of combating infections and “flattening the curve.” On March 17, 2020, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont issued Executive Order 7E which suspended Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-17c, a law…
Supreme Court References Red Flag Laws in Fourth Amendment Unlawful Search and Seizure Case
May 22, 2021 ATF Officially Publishes its Proposed Changes to Alter the Federal Definition of a “Firearm” On May 21, 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (“ATF”) published its official proposal to amend the federal definition of a “firearm,” and implement other corresponding changes. RLF previously reported that the new proposal is…
ATF Officially Publishes its Proposed Changes to Alter the Federal Definition of a “Firearm”
May 22, 2021 On May 21, 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (“ATF”) published its official proposal to amend the federal definition of a “firearm,” and implement other corresponding changes. RLF previously reported that the new proposal is designed to enable the federal government to regulate and control the production of so-called…
ATF Documents Reveal Proposed Regulations on “Ghost Guns”
April 22, 2021 The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ plan to regulate “ghost guns” is starting to take shape. A 107-page internal document was leaked yesterday which included a number of proposals specifically targeted at manufacturers and sellers of 80% receivers and component parts, often referred to as “ghost guns.” These proposals surfaced two weeks after…