“Renzulli Run Down” — The RLF Firearms and Shooting Sports Industry Newsletter
WHAT DOES A BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MEAN FOR THE FIREARMS INDUSTRY?
December 14, 2020 While President Trump’s legal challenges to the election results continue, it becomes more apparent every day that on January 20, 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. What does a Biden administration mean for the firearms industry?Biden’s team released an extensive plan…
RLF CONVINCES PA SUPERIOR COURT TO WITHDRAW DECISION DECLARING THE PLCAA UNCONSTITUTIONAL
December 4, 2020 Renzulli Law Firm was successful in convincing the Pennsylvania Superior Court (the state’s intermediate appellate court) to withdraw its prior decision declaring the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”) to be unconstitutional. A September 28, 2020 decision by a three-judge panel had held that Congress did not have the authority to…
HAPPY THANKSGIVING – A PERFECT TIME TO HUNT
November 25, 2020 As Thanksgiving Day approaches, we look forward to seeing family and enjoying a fantastic home cooked meal with the people we love. This is a time to be grateful for the things in our lives that we often take for granted. For many, however, Thanksgiving is also inescapably linked to hunting season. …
PROPOSED LEGISLATION SEEKS TO REPEAL RESTRICTIONS ON THE ATF
November 20, 2020 U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) recently introduced S. 4841, the ATF Improvement and Modernization Act of 2020 (“AIM Act”) which would repeal numerous restrictions on the ATF that have been added to federal law through appropriations bills over the years. Among other provisions, the AIM Act would…
FEDERAL LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO CIRCUMVENT THE PLCAA
November 11, 2020 Democratic members of Congress have introduced the Stopping the Fraudulent Sales of Firearms Act (S. 4718/HR __) to make it easier for plaintiffs to plead around the immunity provided by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”). The Stopping the Fraudulent Sales of Firearms Act is an effort to provide a federal…
CALIFORNIA VOTES “YES” ON NEW PRIVACY RIGHTS ACT
November 9, 2020 California voters cast their ballots for more than elected officials on Election Night. In a ballot initiative titled Proposition 24, Californians voted “yes” to strengthen existing data privacy laws with the implementation of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). The CPRA is intended to strengthen the existing California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA),…
MICHIGAN JUDGE STRIKES DOWN SECRETARY OF STATE’S DIRECTIVE BANNING OPEN CARRY AT POLLING PLACES ON ELECTION DAY
October 31, 2020 Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray recently issued a preliminary injunction against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s directive banning the open carry of firearms at polling places on Election Day. Secretary of State Benson, also acting as the state’s chief elections officer, issued the directive banning open carry at polling…
RLF PROVES FIREARMS DEALER DID IT RIGHT – CASE AND APPEAL DISMISSED (UPDATE)
October 23, 2020 On October 16, 2020 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued an Order declining to review the appeal in a lawsuit by a customer against a Pennsylvania firearms retailer for slander and for allegedly failing to adequately supervise and control its employees during an altercation with a customer. This ruling brings finality to…
ATF ISSUES UPDATED FIREARMS TRANSFER PROCEDURES
October 6, 2020 The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) recently released two updated Procedure documents, Procedures 2020-1 and 2020-2, which supersede the ATF’s previous guidance regarding the sale and transfer of firearms by FFLs to purchasers off of the FFL’s business premises and an FFL’s facilitation of firearms transfers between private parties.…
SETTLEMENT OF CASE AGAINST MGM ARISING FROM LAS VEGAS SHOOTING
October 6, 2020 Numerous persons who were shot during the October 1, 2017 shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas, families of persons who were killed, and others claiming non-physical injuries, previously filed lawsuits against MGM in Nevada state court. Those cases were consolidated into a single action, captioned Shepherd v. MGM,…
TEXAS JUSTICE – HANDGUN MANUFACTURER DISMISSED AT EARLY STAGES OF TWO LAWSUITS BASED ON PLCAA IMMUNITY
September 23, 2020 Litigators in the Lone Star State are the first to admit: justice often doesn’t come swiftly in Texas courts. And parties to lawsuits can attest that when a case drags on through the court system – even where there are strong defenses – it will be a costly endeavor for the client. …
LEGISLATION INTRODUCED IN NEW LAW TO CIRCUMVENT THE PROTECTION OF LAWFUL COMMERCE IN ARMS ACT
September 11, 2020 A Democratic member of the New York Senate recently introduced S-8926A, which would add a new provision to the General Business Law (proposed Article 39-DDDD), that aims to make it easier to file lawsuits against federal firearms licensees (“FFLs”). The proposed law seeks to circumvent the immunity provided to FFLs by the Protection…
CALIFORNIA ADOPTS FINAL CCPA REGULATIONS
September 4, 2020 The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the final proposed regulations for compliance with the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). Enforcement of the first robust data privacy law in the nation commenced on July 1, 2020. The CCPA was enacted in 2018 and established consumer rights to access to, deletion…
FOUR CITIES AND EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY SUE ATF TO CHANGE DEFINITION OF FIREARM
On August 26, 2020, the cities of Syracuse, San Jose, Chicago, and Columbia (SC), and the gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety, sued the ATF in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to require it to change the definition of a firearm to apply to “ghost guns.” A firearm…
RICHMOND TO EXPAND BAN ON FIREARMS
August 20, 2020 Last week, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney introduced an ordinance that would expand the city’s current ban on carrying firearms in city-owned and operated parks and facilities. The new ordinance would “prohibit the possession, carrying or transportation of any firearms in any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way or any open public…
A COUNTRY WITHOUT THE NRA?
August 20,2020 The National Rifle Association is generally cast as either a hero or a villain in political debates. Now the organization is fighting for its existence against what many are calling a purely political maneuver by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The NRA, however, is far more than a collection of political action…
NINTH CIRCUIT AFFIRMS DECISION HOLDING THAT CALIFORNIA’S MAGAZINE CAPACITY BAN VIOLATES THE SECOND AMENDMENT
August 17, 2020 California’s 2016 ban on so-called “high capacity magazines” (defined as any magazine holding more than ten rounds of ammunition) has been struck down by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A three judge panel issued a decision today holding that California’s ban was not narrowly tailored to the state’s interest in…
CALIFORNIA MICROSTAMPING BILL PASSED BY SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE
On July 31, 2020, California Bill AB 2847, which revises the criteria for handguns to be certified for sale in California by requiring microstamping in one place on a discharged cartridge, was passed by California’s Senate Public Safety Committee. AB 2847 was proposed following litigation surrounding California’s adoption of Cal. Penal Code § 31910 (b)(7)(A)…
FIREARMS NEWS AND EVENTS: THIS IS WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NEW YORK
August 10, 2020 Jose Webster Untraceable Firearms Act. The New York State Senate recently passed the Jose Webster Untraceable Firearms Act, a proposed law that would prohibit the sale of “ghost guns” in New York. “Ghost Guns” are firearms that are referred to as “untraceable” because they lack serial numbers and are often built from…
PROTECTION OF A PRODUCT’S DESIGN FEATURES AS “TRADE DRESS”
July 31, 2020 Trademarks are a type of commercial speech. The presence of a trademark on a product assures the marketplace that all goods bearing the mark come from the same source and are of uniform quality. To many, the term “trademark” refers to a word, phrase, or design/emblem that appears on a product or…
NEW YORK EXECUTIVE ORDER RESTRICTING FIREARMS RETAILERS HELD CONSTITUTIONAL
July 24, 2020 On March 30, 2020 a firearms retailer based in Long Island, New York, Dark Storm Industries LLC, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York naming New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Empire State Development Corporation (“ESD”) as defendants. The lawsuit alleged that…
DEPARTMENT OF STATE UPDATES SUPPRESSOR EXPORT REGULATIONS
July 24, 2020 Earlier this month, the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (“DDTC”), an organization within the Department of State responsible for regulating the import and export of certain defense technology, published a web notice updating its suppressor policy. The notice stated that effective immediately the Department of State has rescinded its April 18, 2020…
U.S. SUPREME COURT REJECTS USPTO’S PER SE RULE DENYING REGISTRATION TO “GENERIC.COM” TRADEMARKS
Trademarks help companies communicate with their customers. The presence of a trademark on a product assures the marketplace that all goods bearing the mark come from the same producer and are of uniform quality. The system of trademark registration in the United States is administered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). The…
COLORADO SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS BAN ON MAGAZINES THAT HOLD MORE THAN 15 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION
On June 29, 2020, in a unanimous opinion, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the state’s ban on “large-capacity magazines.” In 2013, the Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper, signed HB 13-1224 into law. HB 13-1224 banned the sale, transfer, or possession of “large-capacity magazines,” which are defined as “any fixed or detachable magazine, box, drum, feed strip, or…