BELLEVUE, WA – Attorneys representing the Second Amendment Foundation and its partners in a case known as Junior Sports Magazines v. Bonta have filed a memorandum of points and authorities supporting their earlier motion to enforce a court mandate and issue a preliminary injunction.
The memorandum was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
SAF and its partners sued California, challenging the state’s Business and Professions Code § 22949.80, which prohibits advertising of any “firearm-related product in a manner that is designed, intended, or reasonably appears to be attractive to minors.” This was an important First Amendment issue, and the lawsuit resulted in a victory for the plaintiffs. Junior Sports Magazine included advertising from firearms companies, which the state code prohibited. A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held the statute to be likely unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
SAF is joined by Junior Sports Magazines, the California Youth Shooting Sports Association, California Rifle & Pistol Association, the CRPA Foundation, Gun Owners of California, Redlands California Youth Clay Shooting Sports and Raymond Brown. They are represented by attorneys Anna M. Barvir, Michel & Associates, and Donald Kilmer, Law Offices of Donald Kilmer.
“As we explain right up front in our memorandum,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “this motion shouldn’t even be necessary. The state should have cooperated in securing the post-mandate preliminary injunction, which was ordered by the Court of Appeals, without forcing all of the parties involved to engage in additional, and unnecessary litigation to make it happen.”
A hearing is scheduled before Judge Christina A. Snyder on June 10.
“The state is clearly dragging its feet in this case, making every effort to stall the process,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The state has been very uncooperative since the Ninth Circuit Court ruled against the state last September and issued its mandate in February. This legal gamesmanship needs to stop.”