Third Circuit Restores Gun Rights Following Non-Violent Conviction

iStock-gguy44

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) made the following statement regarding this weeks Opinion in the en banc Third Circuit case Range v. Garland. (embedded below)

In 1995, Bryan Range was convicted in a Pennsylvania state court for making a false statement to obtain food stamps assistance, a class one misdemeanor. Because of that conviction twenty-eight years ago, he was forever banned from possessing firearms, a fundamental right protected by the Second Amendment. Today, the en banc Third Circuit held that ban unconstitutional.

“At root, the Government’s claim that only ‘law-abiding, responsible citizens’ are protected by the Second Amendment devolves authority to legislators to decide whom to exclude from ‘the people,’” wrote Judge Hardiman in the majority opinion. “We reject that approach because such ‘extreme deference gives legislatures unreviewable power to manipulate the Second Amendment by choosing a label.’”

FPC and FPCAF filed amicus briefs in this case at both the 3-judge and en banc panel stages and FPCAF’s Director of Constitutional Studies, Joseph Greenlee, argued the case as an amicus curiae before the 3-judge panel.

Greenlee’s authoritative scholarship on the issue, an article published by the Wyoming Law Review in 2020, was cited in both a concurring and dissenting opinion, as it had been by the 3-judge panel opinion. His newest article on the issue argues for a result consistent with today’s ruling by the en banc majority.

“For nearly three decades, Mr. Range has been unjustly denied his Second Amendment rights,” said Greenlee. “We’re thrilled that Mr. Range’s rights have been restored, and about the decision’s potential implications for countless others who have been wrongfully disarmed.”

Range v. Garland is the first post-Bruen en banc victory, and on an issue FPC and FPCAF have been actively engaged on. FPC and FPCAF will continue to seek the restoration of natural, fundamental, and enumerated rights for all of the People through its leading scholarly and litigation work.

Read Related:  Challenging Status Quo: Allowing Convicted Felons 2A Rights

Range v. Garland: Third Circuit Restores Gun Rights Following Non-Violent Conviction

---

Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs.

FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s first and largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.

FPC Action Foundation (FPCActionFoundation.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty through charitable legal action, public policy, education, and research programs

from https://ift.tt/Gd2ihFu
via IFTTT