Groups Urge Massachusetts High Court To Uphold Gun Licensing And Carry Laws

Oct 19, 2009

Washington, DC - The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, joined by law enforcement and other gun violence prevention groups, including the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police, will file a friend of the court brief today in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court urging the Court to uphold life-saving gun safety laws requiring that a person obtain a firearm identification card before possessing a firearm and obtain a license before carrying a handgun outside the home.

The Court will hear the case, Commonwealth v. DePina, on November 5, 2009, the same day as another Second Amendment case, Commonwealth v. Runyan. The Brady Center had previously filed a friend of the court brief in Runyan, which involves a challenge to a Massachusetts law requiring that guns be safely stored while not in use.

Daniel Vice, Senior Attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, commented, These common sense gun laws protect the public from gun violence and ensure that guns stay out of the wrong hands. These laws are wholly permissible under the Second Amendment and have helped Massachusetts achieve the lowest gun death rate in the continental U.S.

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger and his law firm, Proskauer Rose LLP, are representing the Brady Center and the other groups filing the brief pro bono. Mr. Harshbarger stated, We urge the Court to uphold Massachusetts possession and license to carry laws, which are two of many life-saving gun laws that have made Massachusetts one of the safest states in the nation in terms of gun violence.

In the DePina case, an individual convicted of unlawfully carrying a firearm, unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm, and possessing ammunition without a firearm identification card, is challenging Massachusetts licensing and carry laws. In support of the Bristol County District Attorney, the Brady Centers brief urges the Court to reject DePinas argument that Massachusetts licensing statute (M.G.L. ch. 140, s. 131) and firearm identification card statute (M.G.L. ch. 140, s. 129B and 129C) should be invalidated because they violate the Second Amendment.

The U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller struck down a District of Columbia gun law that broadly barred handgun possession and prohibited use of a firearm in the home, even for self-defense. The Supreme Court in Heller, however, acknowledged the appropriateness of licensing and safety requirements like those in Massachusetts, noting that it was not casting doubt on longstanding firearms restrictions that it considered presumptively lawful. In Heller, the Supreme Court limited the right granted by the Second Amendment to law-abiding, responsible citizens acting in defense of hearth and home. As pointed out in the brief, Massachusetts firearm identification card law sensibly limits gun possession to law-abiding citizens and Massachusetts licensing law reasonably requires that a person obtain a license to carry a handgun in public.

The groups joining the brief are the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Legal Community Against Violence, Massachusetts Chiefs of Police, Massachusetts Million Mom March Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Stop Handgun Violence. In addition to Harshbarger and Vice, the Proskauer Rose attorneys Gil Peles and Allison Jones, and Patrick Murphy, (J.D. 2010) are joined on the brief by Jonathan Lowy, Director of the Brady Centers Legal Action Project. As part of its Pro Bono Initiative, Proskauer serves as Amicus Counsel for the Brady Center and other amici on these cases.

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As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.

For continuing insight and comment on the gun issue, read Paul Helmke's blog at www.bradycampaign.org/blog/. Visit the Brady Campaign website at www.bradycampaign.org.