“Renzulli Run Down” — The RLF Firearms and Shooting Sports Industry Newsletter
Alabama Firearm Ownership a Fundamental Right?; Cleveland Mayor’s “Gun Registry”; CA Assembly Votes
September 3, 2014: Alabama Residents to Vote on Making Firearm Ownership a Fundamental Right In November, residents of Alabama will vote on The Alabama Firearms Protection Amendment (HB 8), a proposed amendment to Section 26 of the Alabama State Constitution sponsored by Representative Mike Jones (R). HB8 would amend Section 26 to make owning firearms…
NY City Proposes Gun Offender Registry Bill; California 10 Day Waiting Period Ruled Unconstitutional
August 27, 2014: NY City Council Introduces “Gun Offender Registry Bill” The New York City Council Committee on Public Safety on Thursday introduced Int 0434 (also known as the Gun Offender Registry Bill), legislation which would create a publicly-accessible database of individuals who have been convicted of a firearm offense. The database would allow the…
No Liability for Gun Exchange; Maryland Ban Upheld; Mass. Gun Law Signed
August 13, 2014: Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued significant decisions related to firearms. Specifically, the Seventh Circuit affirmed a trial court ruling that gun exchange, Armslist, LLC, was not liable for wrongful death claims arising out of the death…
Massachusetts Bill Provides for Large-Scale Changes to Firearms Laws
August 4, 2014: The Massachusetts legislature approved a bill on Friday to overhaul existing state firearms laws to, amongst other things, provide for stiffer penalties for gun-related crimes. The bill (H4376) would also provide police chiefs the ability to petition a court to deny firearms identification cards (a prerequisite needed to purchase rifles and shotguns)…
DC Ban Unconstitutional; MD Court Hears Arguments on 2013 Ban
July 28, 2014: D.C. ban on carrying handguns outside of home ruled unconstitutional On Saturday, US District Judge Frederick J. Scullin struck down as unconstitutional Washington D.C.’s ban on carrying handguns outside of the home. The plaintiffs in the case (Palmer et al. v. District of Columbia et al.) were citizens of Washington D.C. who…
Bill Proposes Prohibition of Firearm Brands on Children’s Clothing
July 21, 2014: Bill Proposes Prohibition of Firearm Brands on Children’s Clothing Last week, first-year Illinois Representative Robin Kelly (D) proposed the Children’s Firearm Marketing Safety Act (H.R. 5093), a bill which would make it illegal for firearms manufacturers to exhibit their brand on child-sized clothing and headwear. The bill provides that the Federal…
NJ Governor Vetoes Reduction of Mag. Capacity; Law Prohibiting Felon Possession Upheld in Louisiana
July 9, 2014: New Jersey Governor Christie vetoes bill aimed at reducing magazine capacity Last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed Assembly Bill 2006, which sought to reduce New Jersey’s existing magazine capacity of firearms from fifteen to ten rounds. The Bill was sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald (D), who urged that…
Judge Upholds Colorado Gun Restrictions
June 30, 2014: Colorado’s magazine capacity restrictions and universal background laws are constitutional according to U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger. In a 50-page ruling handed down on Thursday, the judge held that these laws did not infringe the Second Amendment rights of Colorado citizens. In upholding the laws, the judge made clear that it was not…
Chicago City Council Approves Restrictive Ordinance
June 27, 2014: On Tuesday, the Chicago City Council unanimously approved Ordinance 4271, forcing firearms retailers to video-record sales and restricting firearms purchases to one a month. The highly-restrictive Ordinance is the City Council’s response to Judge Edmond Chang’s January 6, 2014 ruling that struck down an outright ban of firearm sales in Chicago. If…
Supreme Court Rules “Straw” Purchase Illegal Even if True Buyer Legally Permitted to Purchase
June 16, 2014: Earlier today, a divided Supreme Court (5-4) ruled that the federal ban on straw purchases can be enforced even when the actual intended purchaser is legally permitted to purchase and own a firearm. The case, Abramski v. United States, involved a former Virginia police officer (Bruce Abramski) who purchased a firearm for…
Reduced Mag Capacity Awaits NJ Governor’s Decision, Reform Proposed for Mentally Unstable
June 10, 2014: NJ Assembly Bill 2006, which would reduce the maximum magazine capacity in NJ to 10 rounds from its current limit of 15 rounds, recently passed both houses of the NJ legislature. The bill includes limited exceptions for retired law enforcement personnel and tubular feeding devices which are only capable of holding 15…
NSSF and RLF Join the Fight Against Connecticut’s Public Act 13-3
May 29, 2014: On Friday, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. (“NSSF”) and five other groups filed amicus curiae briefs in the pending appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in June Shew et al. v. Dannel Malloy et al. NSSF’s brief, which was prepared by Renzulli Law Firm, supports and expands on the…
Judge Upholds D.C. Firearms Registration in New Heller Opinion
May 16, 2014: Yesterday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued the latest installment of Heller v. D.C. when he upheld D.C.’s firearms registration requirements finding that city officials acted “in a constitutionally permissible manner” and that the restrictive laws were consistent with the Second Amendment. Judge Boasberg held that requiring registrants to appear in person…
Reduced Mag Capacity Coming to NJ
May 14, 2014: This week the NJ Senate passed Assembly Bill 2006 which would reduce the maximum magazine capacity in NJ to 10 rounds from its existing limit of 15 rounds. The Senate, however, amended the bill, so it is headed back to the Assembly for another vote. The bill substitutes the number 10 in…
Supreme Court Passes on Right to Carry Dispute
May 8, 2014: This week the Supreme Court opted not to review a challenge to New Jersey’s restrictive approach on issuing permits to carry. The plaintiff in the case applied for a permit to carry a firearm in order to defend himself because his job involved him transporting large quantities of cash. When his application…
New “Shall issue” Legislation; GA’s New Law
April 28, 2014: In the wake of the recent 9th Circuit rulings overturning the “may issue” practices of two California counties, new legislation has been proposed which would make California a “shall issue” state. The bill would amend California Penal Code section 26150 by replacing “may issue” with “shall issue” and expressly providing that self-defense is…
Lawsuits: One Awaiting Decision, One Decided, Two on Appeal
April 18, 2014: Just more than a week ago, the trial ended in the 2nd Amendment challenge to Colorado’s 2013 anti-firearms legislation. Now, the fate of the law rests with Judge Marcia Krieger, and a decision could come any day. At the same time, the federal court challenges to the New York SAFE Act and Connecticut’s…
NY Deadline Approaches; New Laws, Courtroom Activity and Statistics
April 10, 2014: This year New Yorkers have another reason to dislike April 15—it’s the deadline for registering assault weapons under the NY SAFE Act. As the date approaches, many believe that it, like the deadline in CT, will be largely ignored. How the state will respond if it is ignored remains unknown. In addition, firearms…
Courts Continue to Support Right to Bear Arms; GA Bill Sent to Governor
March 24, 2014: The Supreme Court of Delaware recently ruled that the Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA) cannot set limits on residents’ rights to carry guns in common areas of public housing. In prohibiting such restrictions, the Court noted that placing restrictions on which areas of the public housing residents can possess a firearm conflicts with…
Firearms Legal Round-Up
March 17, 2014: In California, the 9th Circuit recently issued another victory for firearms owners. The Court followed its previous decision declaring San Diego’s “good cause” requirement to be unconstitutional, and held that Yolo County, California can no longer require residents to prove a threat of violence or robbery to obtain a carry permit. In Pennsylvania,…
Clock Ticking on NJ Smart Gun Law; MO Nullification Law Passes Senate
February 21, 2014: In 2002, NJ passed a law banning the sale of firearms other than “Smart Guns.” The law provides that it becomes effective 3 years after a “Smart Gun” goes on sale in the U.S. Start the clock, because the Armatix iP1 pistol (.22LR, 10 round capacity) is now on sale in California.…
9th Cir. Strikes Down ‘Pressing Need’; CT Gun Law Ignored; IL Registration Law
February 14, 2014: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down a San Diego County policy which required county residents to show a “pressing need” in order to obtain a concealed carry permit. The Court held that the policy was an unconstitutionally restrictive interpretation of California’s “good cause” requirement for obtaining a concealed carry…
CT 2nd Amendment Challenge Dismissed, But Far From Over
February 3, 2014: At the end of last week, a Federal District Judge dismissed the Connecticut Citizen’s Defense League’s (“CCDL”) Second Amendment challenge to Connecticut’s new firearms laws. Although he acknowledged that the law burdens Second Amendment rights and is lacking in clarity, Judge Alfred Covello held that the law does not substantially burden Second…
New Laws and New Legislation
January 31, 2014: With the New Year comes another wave of proposed legislation and already numerous states appear headed towards expanding firearms rights. Among the states seeking to expand firearms rights are: South Carolina (bill permitting concealed weapon permit holders to carry firearms in bars is headed to the Governor for approval); Tennessee (bill proposed…