RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SECOND AMENDMENT LITIGATION Updated July 19, 2013 A.
Introduction and Overview
The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence is tracking litigation involving Second Amendment challenges to federal, state, and local gun laws asserted in the aftermath of the United States Supreme Court’s controversial landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008). In that 5-4 decision, the court held for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual right of law-abiding responsible citizens to keep a gun in the home for self-defense. This update summarizes the most significant recent lawsuits that have been filed and decisions that have been issued related to the Second Amendment. Our more comprehensive analysis and overview of all the Second Amendment decisions since Heller can be found in the Post-Heller Litigation Summary available at http://smartgunlaws.org/postheller-litigation-summary/. B.
New Decisions
Kwong v. Bloomberg (2nd Circuit): Second Circuit Upholds New York City’s Handgun Permit Fee1 The court rejected plaintiff’s challenge to New York City’s fee of $340 for a three-year handgun permit. The court found that the fee was designed to recoup administrative costs and did not impose a substantial burden on Second Amendment rights. Accordingly, the court suggested that only rational basis review should apply. However, the court found that even if intermediate scrutiny applied, the fee would satisfy that standard. Bonidy v. United States Postal Service (D. Colo.): Colorado District Court Strikes Down Post Office Ban on Guns in Parking Lots.2 The court partially granted summary judgment in plaintiff’s favor in his challenge to the Post Office’s policy of prohibiting guns on Post Office property. The plaintiff, a concealed carry permit holder, sought to carry his gun into the Post Office in his small town to pick up his mail. The court held that while he could not carry his gun inside the building because it was a “sensitive place” under Heller, there was not a sufficient justification for prohibiting him from carrying a gun in the parking lot. The court appeared to apply intermediate scrutiny to reach the latter conclusion. This decision is puzzling because the court recognized that the Tenth Circuit has already held that concealed carry is not protected by the Second Amendment, but the court still reached the 1 2
Kwong v. Bloomberg, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 13798 (2nd Cir. July 9, 2013). Bonidy v. United States Postal Serv., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95435 (D. Colo. July 9, 2013).