On Deck at the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)

In the coming weeks, the United States Supreme Court is set to consider a number of cases that could have significant impacts on the Second Amendment across the country. As recently as January 20th, the Court heard oral arguments on Wolford v. Lopez; a case challenging Hawaii’s so-called “vampire rule,” which forces private property owners to go out of their way to expressly give permission to carry on their property. This case could have significant impacts on the legal force given to “no guns allowed” signs on private property – especially those open to the public.

Additionally, the Court granted a writ of certiorari to United States v. Hemani, a case that challenges the federal ban on the possession of firearms by a person who is “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.” This case is set for oral argument on March 2nd and GOAL has already filed an amicus brief that you can read, along with the other case documents, here.

There are also a number of cases that have been distributed for conference this Friday, February 20th. This conference will likely determine which of these cases are granted cert before the end of the Supreme Court term – if any.

There are three cases being considered for cert that challenge their states’ bans on so-called “assault weapons” on the basis of both the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. They are: Viramontes v. Cook County out of Illinois, and two cases out of Connecticut which will likely be combined: Grant v. Higgins and NAGR v. Lamont. Based on Justice Kavanaugh’s statement last term about this matter, one of these cases may make it through but given the lateness of the term it may not be likely.

There are also two cases challenging state laws restricting magazine capacity. Duncan v. Bonta out of California and Gator’s Custom Guns v. Washington out of Washington. The Duncan case has been kicking around for a while and is concerned with the common use of “ammunition feeding devices” and whether or not a confiscation of said devices violates the takings clause of the Constitution. Gator’s Custom asserts that magazines, specifically those with the capacity to hold more than 10 rounds, are “arms” and therefore entitled to constitutional protection under the plain text of the Second Amendment. Both arguments are based upon solid Supreme Court precedent and it will be interesting to see how far the Court is willing to go to defend Bruen and Heller here.

Finally, Vincent v. Bondi is also being discussed at Friday’s conference. This case will determine whether the Second Amendment allows the Federal Government to permanently disarm someone with a nonviolent felony conviction. In this case, the plaintiff tried to pass a bad check 17 years ago and is now trying to get her rights restored. This case could go a long way toward restoring rights to a lot of American citizens who may have made a mistake when they were younger and have paid for it with their Second Amendment civil rights for their entire lives.

Of course, it remains to be seen what the Supreme Court will do in any of these cases. We will continue to keep you updated if GOAL takes any actions in these cases and if/when any of them move forward in the process.