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The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) isn’t backing down. After the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Maryland’s “assault weapons” ban, SAF announced plans to take the fight to the Supreme Court. In Bianchi v. Wilkinson, SAF challenges this ban, insisting it’s unconstitutional.
SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut made it clear: “We will be filing a petition for certiorari at the Supreme Court, as this case presents an excellent vehicle for the Court to settle this debate once and for all.”
The court’s 65-page opinion claimed certain black rifles aren’t protected by the Second Amendment because they’re ” military-style weapons designed for sustained combat operations that are ill-suited and disproportionate to the need for self-defense.” Chief Judge Diaz, along with five other judges, supported this view.
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However, Judge Richardson, in a dissenting opinion joined by four other judges, fired back.
“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right subject to the whimsical discretion of federal judges,” he wrote. “Its mandate is absolute and, applied here, unequivocal…In holding otherwise, the majority grants states historically unprecedented leeway to trammel the constitutional liberties of their citizens.”
SAF isn’t alone in this battle. Joining them are the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Field Traders, LLC., the Firearms Policy Coalition, and three private citizens: David Snope, Micah Schaefer, and Dominic Bianchi, after whom the case is named.
Alan M. Gottlieb, SAF founder and Executive Vice President, emphasized the flawed reasoning.
“The court relied heavily on the distinction between ‘military style’ arms and those appropriate for self-defense use,” he explained. “This distinction runs completely contrary to the mandates of Heller and Bruen, and now sets the stage for another petition for SCOTUS review of the case.”
The fight continues as SAF prepares to take its case to the highest court in the land. As always, stay tuned for updates.
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