Oral Arguments Monday in Commonwealth v. Donnell

On Monday, September 9th, the Massachusetts Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Commonwealth v. Donnell, a case that could have a significant impact on the ongoing battle over how the Bruen decision is applied.

The defendant in the case, New Hampshire resident Dean Donnell, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license in Massachusetts. Donnell brought a motion to dismiss arguing the Massachusetts law barring carry without a license is unconstitutional at least as applied to him. A similar case with similar legal issues, Commonwealth v. Marquis, has also been consolidated to the Donnell case.

Attorney William Kirk of Washington Gun Law, summarized the cases in a recent video that is a must-watch.

The Second Amendment Law Center filed an amicus brief in the case a criminal matter in Massachusetts state court that represents a chance to score a major victory for nonresident carry rights. The brief was joined by several other groups, including the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Gun Owners of America, Inc., Gun Owners of California, Inc., Gun Owners Foundation, Operation Blazing Sword, Inc., Second Amendment Defense and Education Coalition, Ltd., and Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois, Inc. We filed the brief with the assistance of the Law Office of Jason A. Guida, who serves as local counsel for us on this matter. We encourage Massachusetts residents to contact him with their firearms law and rights restoration needs: https://lawguida.com/. Scroll down for more on our brief in the post below.

Can you really be subject to a crime simply from exercising a constitutional right in another state? That fight is on now and we’ll keep you updated. Subscribe below for further updates and DONATE to help us in this fight!

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Brief Filed in Commonwealth v. Donnell

The Second Amendment Law Center has filed an amicus brief in the case of Commonwealth v. Donnell, a criminal matter in Massachusetts state court that represents a chance to score a major victory for nonresident carry rights. The brief was joined by several other groups, including the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Gun Owners of America, Inc., Gun Owners of California, Inc., Gun Owners Foundation, Operation Blazing Sword, Inc., Second Amendment Defense and Education Coalition, Ltd., and Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois, Inc. We filed the brief with the assistance of the Law Office of Jason A. Guida, who serves as local counsel for us on this matter. We encourage Massachusetts residents to contact him with their firearms law and rights restoration needs: https://lawguida.com/.

 The defendant in the matter, New Hampshire resident Dean Donnell, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license in Massachusetts. Donnell brought a motion to dismiss arguing the Massachusetts law barring carry without a license is unconstitutional at least as applied to him.

 The trial court granted Donnell’s motion, ruling that “a law-abiding resident of New Hampshire who is exercising his Constitutional right should not become a felon by exercising that right while he is traveling through Massachusetts merely because he has not obtained a Massachusetts license to carry…This Court can think of no other constitutional right which a person loses simply by traveling beyond his home state’s border…”

 The State appealed, and in a rare move, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the State’s highest court) opted to take the case directly instead of having it go through a usual appeals process. Then, earlier this year, the Court asked explicitly for amicus briefs, and the Second Amendment Law Center has answered the call.

 Our brief lays out the reasons why the trial court got it exactly right, and also illustrates how the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Rahimi case further vindicates the lower court’s ruling. We also point out a critical oversight in Massachusetts’ record of historical laws: the State’s briefs did not acknowledge that the concealed carry restrictions it cited from the 19th century specifically exempted travelers.

Finally, the 2ALC brief responds to the public policy arguments made by antigun groups in a separate amicus brief by pointing out both that New Hampshire, with less restrictive laws, is safer than Massachusetts, and that Americans who legally carry firearms are overwhelmingly peaceable and rarely commit violent crimes.

 The out-of-state resident public carry issue is important and is a central issue in other cases around the country, including the California case of CRPA v. LA Sheriff’s Department, brought by our friends at the California Rifle & Pistol Association.

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2ALC Announces Amicus Brief Challenging New Gun Ban

Second Amendment Law Center will be launching an amicus campaign in support of the NRA’s lawsuit challenging a newly signed Massachusetts law that could end up banning even common firearms.

Governor Maura Healey signed H. 4884 this past Thursday, amping up what are already egregious 2A restrictions in the state.

“Massachusetts already has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country,” stated 2ALC President Chuck Michel. “But it seems that many blue states see the post-Bruen era as a competition to see who can come up with the most absurd new laws. The Second Amendment Law Center exists to support righteous causes just like this.”

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2ALC To File Amicus Brief In Case With National Implications

The Second Amendment Law Center is preparing to file an amicus brief in the case of Commonwealth v. Donnell, a criminal matter in Massachusetts state court that represents a chance to score a major victory for nonresident carry rights.

The defendant, New Hampshire resident Dean Donnell, was charged with carrying a firearm without a license in Massachusetts. Donnell brought a motion to dismiss arguing the Massachusetts law barring carry without a license is unconstitutional at least as applied to him.

The trial court granted Donnell’s motion, ruling that “a law-abiding resident of New Hampshire who is exercising his Constitutional right should not become a felon by exercising that right while he is traveling through Massachusetts merely because he has not obtained a Massachusetts license to carry…This Court can think of no other constitutional right which a person loses simply by traveling beyond his home state’s border…”

The State appealed, and in a rare move, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the State’s highest court) opted to take the case directly instead of having it go through a usual appeals process. Then, earlier this year, the Court asked explicitly for amicus briefs, announcing as follows:

“The Justices are soliciting amicus briefs. Whether the district court judge erred in concluding pursuant to New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1, 10 (2022), that G. L. c. 269, § 10 (a), and G. L. c. 140, § 131F, violated the defendants’ constitutional rights to equal protection and interstate travel, as well as their rights under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, where the defendants were non-residents of Massachusetts charged in Massachusetts with carrying a firearm without a license, where the defendants could legally possess a firearm in their home State, and where there is no evidence that they applied for any license pursuant to the Massachusetts firearms licensing laws.”

So far, the Giffords Law Center (joined by Brady) has submitted a brief making a substantive Second Amendment argument. The Second Amendment Law Center believes strongly that this Court must hear the perspective of those who defend the right to keep and bear arms. Moreover, as a State Supreme Court, its rulings are directly appealable to the Supreme Court, so that could be the next step.

The out-of-state resident public carry issue is important and is a central issue in other cases around the country, including the California case of CRPA v. LA Sheriff’s Department, brought by our friends at the California Rifle & Pistol Association.

In short, this is a case with far-reaching implications and WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please subscribe for further updates and DONATE to help us get this brief filed!

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Massachusetts Legislature Introduces "Omnibus" Gun Control Bill

Massachusetts lawmakers will soon consider a bill that may represent the most sweeping set of Second Amendment restrictions anywhere in the country. HD.4420, introduced Monday by Representative Michael S. Day, includes an array of provisions aimed at making it virtually impossible to exercise the right to keep and bear arms. They include:

  • Banning nearly all semi-automatic firearms

  • Expanding the definition of what constitutes a “firearm”

  • Implementing new registration and reporting requirements, even for parts and feeding devices

  • Banning those under 21 from acquiring or carrying semi-automatic rifles or shotguns

  • Installing new training requirements and “safe storage” procedures for gun owners and new requirements for retailers

And it doesn’t stop there. The bill is well over 100 pages long, adding new and often confusing new requirements and mandates that create a legal minefield for anyone desiring to legally own a firearm in the state.

“We’re seeing this pattern all over the country in the wake of the Bruen decision,” noted 2ALC President and Senior Legal Counsel Chuck Michel. “States and jurisdictions hostile to lawful gun owners claim to acknowledge the fundamental right to keep and bear arms, then they construct laws that make it impossible to exercise that right.”

2ALC will continue to monitor this and other legislation impacting Second Amendment rights for Massachusetts citizens. If this passes, it will certainly be challenged in court. 2ALC will assist those legal efforts as we have done and are doing in Illinois, Delaware, Hawaii, and other states. Join our email list below to stay up to date!

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