by John Boch
My fellow GSL members and our friends, the fight of our lifetimes is here — and freedom itself is on the line.
Guns Save Life, alongside our co-plaintiffs in the landmark FFL-IL v. Illinois challenge to PICA, is filing Amicus Curiae briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Viramontes v. Cook County. SCOTUS accepted the case at the end of June. As our lawyers put it: this is for all the marbles. It will decide once and for all what guns the government can ban — and how far politicians can go in harassing law-abiding owners.
Insiders on both sides expect the Supreme Court to strike down these bans. What we’re working on is helping the SCOTUS justices craft this decision as broadly as possible.
The other side knows they’re going to lose — so they’ll fight tooth and nail to keep any victory narrow and limited.
Making the win bigger
Broadening that expected win, and locking in real protections for the future, is exactly where our Amici briefs come in.
The plaintiffs’ main briefs are limited in length. That’s where strong Amici briefs come in — they let us hammer home critical arguments the Court needs to hear. Arguments that the plaintiffs simply don’t have room to explain, at length, in their briefs.
Our team is laser-focused on slamming the door on endless government “regulations” that are really just backdoor bans: special licenses to buy, gun registration schemes, ownership permits, outrageous fees, mandatory insurance, forced classroom training, and more.
This isn’t a theoretical, either. Colorado is set to implement a new law on August 1st, forcing buyers of many popular semiautomatic rifles, shotguns, and pistols to jump through ridiculous hoops: special Firearms Eligibility Cards, state AND county fees, mandatory training courses (up to 12 hours), written exams, and more bureaucratic nonsense just to exercise their rights. You want that in Illinois? Because it’s coming if SCOTUS doesn’t stop it.
We’re also pushing hard for a clear right to repair — your God-given right to buy parts and keep your firearms working without Big Brother’s permission.
Other allies are covering suppressors and essential accoutrements. Together, we’re building a wall around the Second Amendment that even activist judges can’t ignore.
We have less than two weeks to file unless an extension is granted — and the plaintiffs in this case are going to fight any extensions as we don’t want Illinois and Connecticut to drag briefs into next year. We want to keep this thing moving.
Here’s the hard truth: these briefs aren’t cheap. Each one runs about $10,000 — a deeply discounted rate from top-tier firms that would normally charge $50k or more to a “nobody” client.
We’re not asking you to send the money to Guns Save Life. Instead, donate directly to the warrior lawyers carrying the fight:
Second Amendment Law Center: www.2alc.org
Second Amendment Defense and Education Coalition: www.sadec.org
Both are 501(c)(3) organizations — perfect for itemized deductions.
You already know the other side isn’t sitting this one out. Bloomberg, Soros and their billionaire buddies and every gun-grabbing dark money machine will be flooding the Court with slick Amici designed to intimidate the justices into choosing tyranny over liberty. We can’t match their wallets — but we’ve beaten them before with freedom’s righteous cause, along with grit and sheer determination.
I know many of you have given until it hurt during the PICA fight. We at GSL have too. But this is the moment that could finally gut these unconstitutional bans and restore the rights our Founders intended. One more push. One more round of support from patriots who refuse to be disarmed.
The future of the Second Amendment in Illinois — and across America — hangs in the balance. Step up, freedom lovers. History is watching.
Guns Save Life — Defending our rights, one member at a time.