In a growing trend, gun rights groups are starting to target states that have typically been considered ‘pro-Second Amendment’ by addressing their sometimes overlooked gun-bans, restrictions, and general non-compliance with Supreme Court precedent.
This week, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed a new federal lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s ban on firearm carry by non-residents (we’ve reported about a similar ongoing case brought against New York in November). FPC joins two private citizens, Douglas Mate and Christopher Baker, named in the suit.
The Louisiana complaint, known as Mate v. Westcott, challenges nonresidents’ ability to obtain a carry license. The complaint argues that this substantially infringes individuals’ Constitutionally protected right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense, and iterates that “There is no well-established and representative historical tradition of restricting the ability to bear arms based on residency.”
In July, Louisiana became the 28th state to allow permitless carry of a handgun in public (sometimes known as ‘Constitutional carry’), for law-abiding residents, 18 years or older and not prohibited from possession of a firearm. However, State Senate Bill 1 offered no provisions for non-residents to exercise the same rights. The state is also being challenged because many of the state’s exemptions to prohibited locations only apply to those individuals who have a carry license issued by the state.
This complaint directly implicates Bruen, which requires all firearms restrictions to be based on analogous, historical traditions. Indeed, Bruen is mentioned in the very first sentence of the complaint and has been the framework for nearly all pro-Second Amendment lawsuits since it was issued in 2022.
As is often the case, complaints about infringements on the Second Amendment need not be long and complicated, and this situation is no different in that it is only 10 pages in length. It’s worth noting that there are thousands of laws regulating firearms, and yet the 27 words of the Second Amendment are straightforward in that they affirm that the “right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
“Peaceable people have a Constitutionally protected right to carry firearms throughout the United States,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “Second Amendment protected rights don’t end at a state’s border. This case is an important step towards achieving our goal of restoring the right to bear arms everywhere.”
According to FPC, The Mate v. Wescott case is part of FPC’s high-impact strategic litigation program, FPC Law, aimed at eliminating immoral laws and creating a world of maximal liberty. FPC is joined in the litigation by two FPC members. FPC enjoys support from FPC Action Foundation for its strategic support of this FPC Law case.
