The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled
that plaintiffs against Bill Clinton’s so-called ‘assault weapon’ ban
have standing and have ordered the Federal District Court to hear the
merits of their case. The lawsuit brought by Navegar, Inc. and Penn
Arms, two gun manufacturers affected by the ban, is being funded by the
Second Amendment Foundation.
“This is a major victory for all gun rights advocates and freedom
supporters everywhere,” declared Alan Gottlieb, Founder of the Second
Amendment Foundation. “This is the first blow toward knocking out this
damaging attack on our constitutional rights.”
The thrust of this challenge to the Clinton crime bill is threefold:
first, Congress exceeded its delegated powers; second, the gun ban is a
Bill of Attainder and therefore specifically prohibited under article 1,
section 9 of the U.S. Constitution; and finally, the law is
unconstitutionally vague.
Like two previous lawsuits against the Clinton gun ban, this case was
originally dismissed for lack of standing. A Federal District Court
Judge, agreeing with government lawyers, found that the plaintiffs did
not have a credible threat of prosecution. The Court of Appeals ruled
the exact opposite in an unanimous and strongly worded reversal.
“The Court of Appeals did an excellent job of granting standing for our
case,” said Alan Gottlieb. “They decided that the plaintiffs had
standing because of a real threat of prosecution. This so called gun
ban specifically targeted the plaintiffs, both federally licensed
firearms manufacturers. In fact, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms inspected their facilities and inventoried their
firearms the very day the law became enforceable. During the inspection,
BATF representatives warned the plaintiffs of the prohibitions and
criminal penalties for violating the law. This warning was done both
orally and in writing by BATF.
“Now comes the fun part,” added Gottlieb. “We will dismantle this law
in the courts just as we have overturned many other anti-gun laws. I
will not rest until all legal challenges to this unconstitutional gun
ban are exhausted and victory is ours. After the Supreme Court
nullifies the Brady Law now before it, this gun ban will also fall.”
Concluded Gottlieb.