To all;
I have just recieved this email.Its long but well worth the reading;
MAYORS FACE LAWSUIT FILED TUESDAY BY GUN OWNER GROUP
WASHINGTON, DC (Tuesday, November 30, 1999) - The Second Amendment
Foundation (SAF), a firearms civil rights legal defense, research and
educational organization, has filed a federal lawsuit today in
Washington,
DC against the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and certain individual
mayors for conspiracy to violate civil and constitution rights,
including
the First, Second and Ninth Amendments, as well as the creation of undue
burden on lawful interstate commerce.
"We warned both the USCM and individual mayors of our intent to defend
our
rights and those of millions of law-abiding Americans. We gave them
every
opportunity to cease and desist their warrantless attacks," stated Alan
Gottlieb, SAF founder. "Now, they are being sued; while their meritless
and
frivolous lawsuits are being dealt serious blows in thecourts."
The city of Cincinnati earned the dubious distinction of being the first
city to be derailed in their attack against firearm manufacturers,
distributors and trade associations. The Court firmly held that the
lawsuit
was both vague and unsupported by legal precedent. A large portion of
the
Atlanta lawsuit was also dismissed with serious doubts surrounding the
remaining portion of the suit. In addition, a ruling in the Bridgeport
lawsuit is expected in the next few weeks.
"As more and more of these city mayors' suits are dismissed, the more it
looks like these suits were only intended to financially injure gun
owners
and the federally licensed producers and sellers of firearms," stated
Gottlieb. "In addition, the USCM readily admits that they are seeking
legislation in the courtrooms, which is a clear violation of the
separation
of powers upon which our great country was founded. This is cause to
hold
individual mayors and the USCM responsible for their conspiratorial and
unconstitutional assaults on law-abiding people."
The SAF lawsuit alleges three counts against the groups. Count 1 is for
violation of lawful interstate commerce. The mayor's legal challenges
have
already forced several gun makers to declare bankruptcy, severely
downsize
their product lines, and/or raise firearm prices, thus hurting consumers
-
including taxpayer-funded federal, state and local law enforcement
agencies
- all across the country. Count 2 is for violation of First Amendment
rights. The mayor's lawsuits have prevented the gun manufacturers from
educating consumers about their products out of fear of seeing ads in
the
courtrooms, not to mention that many of the mayor's lawsuits are trying
to
eliminate or severely curtail the ability of running ads on firearm
products in general. Count 3 is for violation of the Second and Ninth
Amendment rights. The Second Amendment is an individual right to keep
and
bears according to the recent United States v. Emerson, 46 F.Supp.2d 598
(N.D. Tex. 1999). The mayor's attempt to abridge the right to keep and
bear
arms by putting gun makers out of business causes a violation of the
individual's means to self-defense which is recognized in every
courtroom
and falls under the Ninth Amendment rights.
Attorney Richard Gardiner, a well-known Washington, D.C. firearms civil
rights attorney, is the lead attorney working this case against the
mayors.
In addition to Cincinnati, Atlanta, and Bridgeport, the cities affected
by
the lawsuit are Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New Orleans,
Chicago,
Cleveland, Detroit, San Francisco, Berkeley, Sacramento, Oakland, East
Palo
Alto, Compton, West Hollywood, Inglewood, Camden, Wilmington, Gary, and
St.
Louis.
"The mayors are on notice that their lawsuits will not be free," said
Gottlieb. "The Second Amendment Foundation and gun owners across the
country will make them accountable for attempting to steal in the
judicial
branch what they have failed to rob in the legislative branch."
The Second Amendment Foundation is a tax-exempt education, legal defense
and publishing organization founded in 1974 and has over 600,000
individual
citizen supporters nationwide. It previously has funded successful
firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles, New Haven, CT,
and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners.