August 3, 2023
BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation and its partners in a lawsuit challenging Connecticut’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” have submitted a reply to the state’s objection to SAF’s amended motion for a preliminary injunction.
The case is known as Grant v. Lamont, in U.S, District Court for the District of Connecticut. Joining SAF are the Connecticut Citizens Defense League and three private citizens, Jennifer Hamilton, Michael Stiefel and Eddie Grant, Jr. They are represented by Connecticut attorneys Doug Dubitsky of North Windham, Craig C. Fishbein of Wallingford and Cameron L. Atkinson of Harwinton.
SAF originally filed the lawsuit last September, naming Gov. Edward M. Lamont, Jr. as the main defendant, along with several other officials. The case involved Connecticut’s one-size-fits-all-type “assault weapons” ban, under which firearms previously identified as “any other firearm” by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were suddenly reclassified last year as “rifles” or “short-barreled rifles.” They all became “assault weapons” under the state’s definition.
“The state is attempting to convince the court that these firearms are not in ‘common use,’ which evidence clearly shows otherwise,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The defendants are asking the Court to adopt unprecedented legal standards that squarely contradict established Supreme Court and Second Circuit precedent, and we’re fighting back.”
In its 17-page rebuttal to the state’s objection, SAF contends the defendants have not supplied any evidence or analogues supporting the state’s ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
“The state argues that the ban is necessary because modern semi-automatic rifles ‘present an unprecedented technological advance that requires a more liberal use of analogies,’ when clearly that is not allowed under the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bruen,” noted SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “We’re hopeful the court will recognize this as we move forward in this case.”