Non-profit organizations and Texas citizens filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the federal government, challenging the constitutionality of statutes prohibiting firearm possession on federal property.
Two non-profit organizations supporting gun rights, Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc. (FPC) and Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), and two private citizens who are members of these organizations, Gavin Pate and George Mandry, are suing Attorney General Merrick Garland to challenge the constitutionality of two federal statutes. One statute prohibits possession of a firearm in federal facilities, while the other statute specifically prohibits possession of a firearm in United States Post Offices.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Pate and Mandry regularly carry personal handguns during their daily activities. Plaintiffs seek to preserve their right of self-defense when entering United States Post Offices and their associated property. They argue that the Second Amendment “presumptively protects” their right to carry firearms into a U.S. Post Office. Plaintiffs claim that in order for the government to enact restrictions on the right to bear arms, it must “justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” as required by the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to find the statutes unconstitutional and to grant permanent injunctive relief enjoining their enforcement.
“The federal government does not comprehensively secure post offices, so it cannot ban carry there,” the groups said, reported The Washington Times.
Brandon Combs, president of FPC, said in a press release, “The Second Amendment protects the individual right to possess and carry firearms outside of their home for lawful purposes, including at post offices. But unlike the USPS, we can promise that Attorney General Garland will receive this message on time.”
Adam Kraut, executive director of SAF, commented, “Millions of legally armed private citizens, whose daily routines may include visits to post offices to pick up or drop off mail, are directly impacted by this infringement. There is no well-established, representative historical analogue to justify this regulation, which violates the Second Amendment.”
Neither Garland nor the Department of Justice has commented on the lawsuit.