Runway in Sight
It’s time to bring this plane in for a landing. What started November 8, 2022 as an emergency motion for a TRO in district court will reach its final submission on Monday to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It has been a terrible but glorious run. I’m 0-3 for the emergency TRO. I’m 0-1 on the preliminary injunction relief, with a Second Circuit decision pending and a U.S. Supreme Court decision on cert to get to a ruling on a PI pending as of Monday. In all, I’ll have submitted five full rounds of litigation to three courts. I’ve written more than 100,000 words on the subject in final form, and left countless words under the heading “delete” and “edit.” The thrill has been the research (Josh Gates would be proud). I have exhausted the subject of “to keep” from “to keep and bear arms” as no one has ever before. I have literally opened the door to a new sub-field specialty in this last word as yet to be interpreted from our Bill of Rights.
But what’s terrible, thus far, and I do keep praying over these final two court decisions, is what’s happening to federally-licensed dealers in firearms who want nothing more than to serve the Second Amendment and the individuals who want to exercise their rights under it.
The plaintiffs in Gazzola v. Hochul inspire me each and every day to get up and get to work and fight on behalf of our shared belief that what NYS Governor Kathy Hochul did in June 2022 must be stopped. The plaintiffs are keeping a steady hand in the face of illegal state mandates and impossible to perform state edicts, while holding onto hope we can prove their need for a stay of implementation and enforcement of the new laws during the pendency of the case.
The outcome of the two anticipated rulings will not determine the merits of the case. The state attorneys have already now moved to dismiss the case; we will oppose that motion. After that, we’re entitled to and will rigorously engage in discovery. Next week, we’ll start looking for additional FFLs throughout the state to learn their stories and cultivate witness statements.
But, a complete shut-out will result in more small gun stores closing in the next year or two it will take to work our case through to a decision on the merits. It could easily mean there will be arrests as the targeted laws against dealers penalize through misdemeanor and felony charges.
We knew the odds against achieving a TRO or PI were staggering when we set out. Our conviction has carried us this far. Will it be enough to convince either SCOTUS or the Second Circuit?
It makes it difficult to have a cast-in-stone 3,000-word limit for the SCOTUS Reply I’ll be filing on Monday. (The Second Circuit Reply went in at 9,000 words.) Our “small, but mighty” team has grown close and learned much about American history and law and ourselves in these five months. We’ve earned the stay and the peace of mind it would bring as we pursue the decision on the merits.
Please join us in prayer for the clarity of mind and spirit of the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Judges of the Second Circuit. Nine, plus three, men and women with enormous responsibility in this and every other case before them.
Pass the Hat, if you can. Order a White Paper about the case, if you would. And show some love to your local FFL to keep the doors open and the lights on.
