December 11, 2021 — FPC released the following statement responding to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s latest threats against human rights and the people he works for:
Our brief in Jackson v. Whole Woman’s Health predicted that tyrants like Gavin Newsom would use the Texas model against fundamental human rights including the freedom of speech and the right to keep and bear arms. We built FPC Law (FPCLaw.org), the nation’s first and largest public interest legal team focused on the right to keep and bear arms, to be the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space, capable of quickly responding to policy changes like those Newsom proposed. Just as FPC secured a trial judgment against the State of California’s unconstitutional ban on so-called “assault weapons” in our Miller v. Bonta case before Judge Roger T. Benitez, we are prepared to litigate these important issues in state courts and then up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
FPC’s work to address Newsom’s policy preferences won’t end at litigation. For example, we will continue to robustly promote the right and ability to personally manufacture firearms at home, including by 3D printing and the sharing of knowledge. We recently announced a timely new scholarly article on the Second Amendment right to self-manufacture arms, including firearms. The article, “The American Tradition of Self-Made Arms,” is based on original research by our director of constitutional studies, attorney Joseph Greenlee, and traces the right from Colonial America through modern times. The “article finds that the tradition of building arms for personal use is deeply rooted in American history, and that there is no tradition of regulating self-built arms. Moreover, under Supreme Court precedent, common arms are constitutionally protected regardless of how they are acquired. Thus, the Second Amendment protects an arm that is self-built if that type of arm (i.e., a handgun) is commonly possessed.”
FPC will not only fight Newsom’s war on human rights head-on, we will also actively undermine it through cultural change and empowerment until his authoritarian policies are as irrelevant and impotent as Newsom himself. And Newsom’s unconstitutional ‘wish list’ may be entirely irrelevant soon anyway. Days from now we will be petitioning for Supreme Court review in our Bianchi v. Frosh lawsuit challenging Maryland’s ban on so-called “assault weapons,” a legal scheme much like California’s. Bianchi is an ideal case for the Supreme Court to address these issues once and for all, and we look forward to continuing to execute our mission in the coming months and years.
If Gavin Newsom wants to play a game of constitutional chicken, we will prevail.
About FPC
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the right to keep and bear arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeiture, privacy, encryption, and constitutionally-limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s largest public interest legal team focused on the right to keep and bear arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.