A Second Amendment group is vowing to sue the New York Police Department in an effort to defend former President Donald Trump's concealed carry license following his felony conviction in the hush money trial.
Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) Founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said in a press release on June 6 that the group is willing to “challenge the law” to defend gun ownership. of Trump.
“If Donald Trump is prosecuted again for firearms possession,” Gottlieb said, “we will offer to defend him and defy the law.”
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Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower on Thursday, May 30, 2024 after being found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)
The group's promise to take on New York's court system came despite state law requiring convicted felons to be barred from carrying firearms permits.
Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is a federal crime.
A Gun Owners of America supporter shoots a rifle at a distance. The Second Amendment Foundation announced it would sue the New York Police Department if it confiscates former President Donald Trump's guns following his conviction. (Gun Owners of America)
SAF said its organization's position has always been that “no one should lose their gun rights due to a conviction for a nonviolent crime.”
Trump's concealed carry license was first revoked in April 2023, when he was charged in the New York hush money trial.
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Gottlieb said the former president “should not lose his Second Amendment rights.”
“Donald Trump has no history of violent crimes,” Gottlieb explained. “Under the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen ruling, which requires that gun laws have some analogous connection to historical regulation at the time the Founders wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, Mr. Trump should not lose their Second Amendment rights.
“There is no historical nexus to deny anyone, including Trump, their gun rights for such a conviction,” he said.
Republican presidential candidate former US President Donald Trump attends his criminal trial at the New York State Supreme Court in New York, New York, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. (Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS)
The founder said the NYPD's preparation to revoke Trump's gun license highlights the need for reform in gun rights legislation.
“Trump's attack on gun rights emphasizes the need to review existing gun control laws and change them to protect an individual's gun rights,” Gottlieb observed. “Until that happens, we will be more than happy to meet with the state of New York or the federal government in court.”
If SAF were to file a lawsuit against the NYPD, they have experience.
Wall gun rack with rifles. (iStock)
SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut said the armed group has “litigated challenges in the past to restore the right to bear arms to people convicted of non-violent crimes.”
“SAF has litigated challenges in the past to restore the right to bear arms to people convicted of nonviolent crimes, and we will do so again,” Kraut said. “In fact, we are currently litigating a challenge to the denial of carry permits for some former plaintiffs whose rights were restored due to prior SAF lawsuits.”
Gottlieb said the foundation has 60 cases currently underway and has won decisions that have reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
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“Our motto is 'Winning gun rights one lawsuit at a time,'” Gottlieb said. “That will include protecting and winning gun rights from Donald Trump.”
