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New Everytown Analysis: Everything is at Stake for Gun Safety When it Comes to the Supreme Court

September 23, 2020

Memo Details Pivotal Cases that Could Come Before the Court, including Laws Barring Domestic Abusers from Possessing Guns, Prohibitions on Assault Weapons, and Laws Requiring Background Checks on all Gun Sales

Everytown Experts are Available for Interview at [email protected] 

NEW YORK — Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, today released a memo detailing the Second Amendment issues that could be taken up by the Supreme Court following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The gun safety movement has generated historic momentum in recent years, with wins at the ballot box, in state houses, and in city councils, and the gun lobby has increasingly turned to the courts in its efforts to undo life-saving gun laws. These efforts have overwhelmingly failed, but with Justice Ginsburg’s seat on the court now open, the NRA and its allies now see a chance to stack the court with a pivotal additional vote against gun safety laws. Everytown’s memo details some of the issues that could come before the Supreme Court in coming terms, including:

  • The standard of review in Second Amendment cases, which could put almost every gun law — including laws requiring background checks on all gun sales — at risk
  • Laws regulating the carrying of guns in public
  • Prohibitions on assault weapons and large capacity magazines
  • Laws barring gun possession for domestic abusers and others showing risks of dangerousness

“Justice Ginsburg’s replacement will have an enormous influence on the health and safety of Americans, and that’s especially true when it comes to gun violence,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “As the NRA and its allies continue their campaign to use the courts to take us backward, it’s more important than ever for voters to understand how many common-sense laws — and more importantly, how many American lives — will be put at risk if the gun lobby succeeds.”

“An estimated 145,000 Americans have been killed by guns with President Trump in office, and if he appoints another gun sense opponent to the court, more Americans will die,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “We unequivocally oppose any confirmation to the Supreme Court before inauguration day, and every one of our nearly 6 million supporters will fight like hell to make sure that the American people –– not President Trump and Senator McConnell –– get to decide who picks Justice Ginsburg’s replacement.”

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