The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that plaintiffs against Bill Clinton’s so-called ‘assault weapon’ ban have standing and have ordered the Federal District Court to hear the merits of their case. The lawsuit brought by Navegar, Inc. and Penn Arms, two gun manufacturers affected by the ban, is being funded by the Second Amendment Foundation.
Like two previous lawsuits against the Clinton gun ban, this case was originally dismissed for lack of standing. A Federal District Court Judge, agreeing with government lawyers, found that the plaintiffs did not have a credible threat of prosecution. The Court of Appeals ruled the exact opposite in an unanimous and strongly worded reversal.
“The Court of Appeals did an excellent job of granting standing for our case,” said Alan Gottlieb. “They decided that the plaintiffs had standing because of a real threat of prosecution. This so called gun ban specifically targeted the plaintiffs, both federally licensed firearms manufacturers. In fact, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms inspected their facilities and inventoried their firearms the very day the law became enforceable. During the inspection, BATF representatives warned the plaintiffs of the prohibitions and criminal penalties for violating the law. This warning was done both orally and in writing by BATF.
“Now comes the fun part,” added Gottlieb. “We will dismantle this law in the courts just as we have overturned many other anti-gun laws. I will not rest until all legal challenges to this unconstitutional gun ban are exhausted and victory is ours. After the Supreme Court nullifies the Brady Law now before it, this gun ban will also fall.” Concluded Gottlieb.