BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today expressed gratitude for the number of amicus briefs filed in support of its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for review of a case that challenges the federal government’s prohibition on handgun sales to non-state residents.
The case is known as Mance v. Whitaker. Since CCRKBA petitioned the high court for review of its case, five amicus briefs have been submitted.
“We’ve had awesome support from law professors and legal scholars, the firearms industry, Second Amendment organizations and state attorneys general,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “I am not only personally grateful for all of these amicus briefs, I’m also impressed with the quality of the arguments offered in support of this important case.”
The Mance case began more than three years ago as a challenge to the archaic prohibition of handgun sales to non-residents of a state. That law was adopted decades ago, and thanks to the advent of the national instant background check system, the long-standing prohibition is at best an anachronism that is no longer necessary. A federal district court ruled that the interstate handgun transfer fan is “facially unconstitutional,” and when that was reversed by a Fifth Circuit Court panel, CCRKBA sought an en banc hearing, that was denied by a fractured 8-7 vote.
Plaintiffs in the case are Texas firearms retailer Frederic Mance and Andrew and Tracy Hanson, who reside in Washington, D.C. They are represented by attorney Alan Gura and financially supported by the Second Amendment Foundation.
“We believe the issue in this case is ripe for Supreme Court review, and obviously so do all of those people who have submitted these amicus briefs,” Gottlieb said. “With the advent of the NICS background check system, it seems silly to continue an outdated prohibition that modern technology has essentially rendered unnecessary. After all, if a law-abiding citizen can clear a background check and purchase a pistol in his or her home state, they will certainly clear that same NICS check in a different state.
“We allow citizens to purchase all sorts of products across state lines, from cars and appliances to power tools, clothing and cookware,” he observed. “It defies logic to prohibit interstate sales of the one tool that is specifically protected by the Constitution’s Second Amendment.”