UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Plaintiff–Appellant,
v.
PAM BONDI, in her official capacity as Attorney General of the United States; and THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendants–Appellees.
Civil Action No. _______
PLAINTIFF’S TRIAL BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
I. INTRODUCTION
This case concerns the scope of the constitutional guarantee that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” U.S. CONST. amend. II.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess and carry arms for lawful purposes, particularly self-defense. See District of Columbia v. Heller. The Court further held that this right is fully applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. See McDonald v. City of Chicago.
Most recently, the Supreme Court clarified the governing analytical framework for Second Amendment challenges in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Rejecting the means-end scrutiny previously applied by lower courts, Bruen established a text-and-history test: when the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the government must demonstrate that its regulation is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Plaintiff contends that major federal gun control statutes—including the National Firearms Act, the Gun Control Act, and the Brady Act—cannot be reconciled with this historical tradition and therefore violate the Second Amendment.
By Alan Chwick
