The Brady Center’s Legal Action Project helped defeat gun lobby challenges to gun laws in four important cases in January 2012:

In NSSF v. ATF, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. dismissed a gun lobby challenge to an Obama Administration rule requiring that gun dealers in the Southwest border states notify law enforcement of bulk sales of semi-automatic rifles, a key indicator of gun trafficking.  The court agreed with an amicus brief filed by LAP contending that ATF had authority to promulgate the rule.

In Birdt v. Beck, a federal judge upheld Los Angeles County’s strong concealed carry laws, agreeing with an amicus brief filed by LAP.  This victory follows victories at the district court level in similar cases in Yolo County and San Diego County, in which LAP also filed amicus briefs.  

In Piszczatoski v. Filko, a federal judge upheld New Jersey’s strong public carry laws, throwing out the Second Amendment Foundation’s challenge.  Agreeing with LAP’s amicus brief, the judge stated that "the Second Amendment does not include a general right to carry handguns outside the home."

In Jennings v. McCraw, a conservative judge in Lubbock, Texas agreed with LAP's brief and dismissed the NRA's challenge to a Texas law prohibiting teens and young adults 18-20 years old from carrying concealed weapons in public.

The gun lobby has already stated that it will appeal its defeats, and LAP will continue to defend the important and life-saving gun laws at issue in each case on appeal. 

Click here for more information about the Legal Action Project.   

On January 30, 2012, the Brady Center’s Legal Action Project filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in support of the federal Gun Control Act’s prohibition on licensed gun dealers selling handguns to people under the age of 21.

The NRA filed an appeal in the case, Jennings v. ATF, in the Fifth Circuit after Judge Sam Cummings of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas dismissed its case on September 29, 2011.  The Brady Center also filed an amicus brief in the district court.

The Brady Center’s brief states that the Gun Control Act of 1968 barred sales of handguns to people under the age of 21 because of the risks of gang violence and high rates of violent crime and homicide associated with this age group.  The brief cites studies showing that young persons under 21 often lack the same ability as adults to govern impulsivity, judgment, planning for the future, and foresight of consequences.

The Brady Center won an important victory for doctors, patients, and the First Amendment when a federal judge blocked enforcement of an unprecedented new NRA-backed law in Florida that restricted health care providers, including pediatricians, from warning or advising patients about the risks posed by firearms.  The Brady Center filed suit against the law and won a preliminary injunction blocking the law. 

» Click here to read our brief
» Click here to read our press release

» Click here for this PDF report / free ebook download
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In the report Hollow Victory?, the Brady Center comprehensively analyzes the more than 400 challenges to gun laws filed by the gun lobby and gun criminals in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings in D.C. v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago. This report finds that the courts have overwhelmingly rejected these challenges.

» Click here to read the press release
» Click here to read a recent article in the Washington Post
» Click here to learn more about the Second Amendment

The report shows that in every major policy area pursued by the gun lobby in the courts, gun lobby lawsuits have met defeat.