Today, attorneys for an individual Wake
County, North Carolina resident, Grass Roots North Carolina, Second
Amendment Foundation (SAF), and Firearms Policy Coalition filed a
federal lawsuit
challenging Wake County Sheriff Gerald M. Baker’s recent actions
infringing on Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights he announced as a
response
to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. A copy of the lawsuit can be found
at:
This
latest case tracks a 2011 federal court victory in Bateman v. Perdue,
also led by plaintiffs Second
Amendment Foundation and Grass Roots North Carolina, which successfully
challenged North Carolina statutes restricting firearms during states of
emergency.
“Although
Sheriff Gerald Baker claims his refusal to accept applications for
pistol purchase permits and
concealed handgun permits doesn’t infringe on individual rights, nothing
could be further from the truth,” said GRNC president Paul
Valone. “During this emergency, as always, GRNC intends to ensure that
lawful North Carolinians have the means to protect themselves and their
families.”
“Sheriff
Baker is implementing by fiat what the Supreme Court struck
down in Heller – a ban on a citizen’s right to purchase a handgun for
the defense of hearth and home. This action cannot be allowed to
stand,” said GRNC Director of Legal Affairs Ed Green.
“Times
of emergency is when you need the ability to
obtain the means of self-defense the most. Suspending that right is not
acceptable. That is why this lawsuit is so important,” commented SAF
founder and Executive Vice President, Alan Gottlieb.
“Sheriff
Baker’s
unconstitutional actions have and will deprive law-abiding, peaceable
individuals the opportunity to obtain handguns, the ‘quintessential
self-defense weapon’ according to the U.S. Supreme Court, in a time
where the arms are most needed,” explained attorney and FPC Director
of Legal Strategy, Adam Kraut. “Sheriff Baker’s actions to stop
processing and issuing required Pistol Purchase Permits violate
fundamental human rights. We are proud to join GRNC and SAF in this
fight to defend the rights of North Carolinians.”
Individual
arms applicants/purchasers and retailers affected by ‘stay-home’ or
shutdown orders can report potential civil rights violations to
FPC’s COVID-19 Issue Hotline at www.FPChotline.org.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Ed Green, Raymond M. DiGuiseppe, and Adam Kraut.
Grass Roots North
Carolina (www.grnc.org)
is North Carolina’s most
effective gun rights organization. GRNC was founded in 1994 as an
independent, all-volunteer 501(c)(4) not-for-profit organization
dedicated to
preserving constitutional freedoms. The organization’s projects are
primarily devoted to defending the individual right to keep and bear
arms.
Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org)
is the nation’s oldest and
largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing, and legal action
group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own
and
possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than
650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to
better
inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org)
is a
501(c)4 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to protect
and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially the
fundamental, individual Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,
advance individual liberty, and restore freedom.
