Yesterday, in an en banc, 11-4, decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Range v. Attorney General of the U.S., et al, No. 21-2835, 2023 WL 3833404 (3d Cir. June 6, 2023) held that as “Range is one of ‘the people’ who have Second Amendment rights” regardless of his prior conviction for making a false statement to obtain food stamps, and that “a law passed in 1961–some 170 years after the Second Amendment’s ratification and nearly a century after the Fourteenth Amendment’s ratification–falls well short of “longstanding” for purposes of demarcating the scope of a constitutional right,” the “Government has not shown that the Nation’s historical tradition of firearms regulation supports depriving Range of his Second Amendment right to possess a firearm” and as a result, the prohibition against his being able to lawfully purchase, possess, and utilize firearms and ammunition is unconstitutional as-applied to him.
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While a monumental decision, it is important to note that this was not a facial challenge, where the Third Circuit held that prohibition against all non-violent misdemeanants is unconstitutional. Rather, it simply held that as-applied to Mr. Range’s background and conviction, it was unconstitutional to strip him of his Second Amendment rights. As a result, individuals in similar situations will need to file lawsuits against the U.S. Government to challenge their individual circumstances.
If your constitutional rights have been denied by the U.S. Government, contact Firearms Industry Consulting Group today to discuss YOUR rights and legal options.
Firearms Industry Consulting Group(R) (FICG(R)) is a registered trademark and division of Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C., with rights and permissions granted to Prince Law Offices, P.C. to use in this article.
