Topeka, KS – Kansas Justice Institute filed an amicus brief in the Federal District Court of Kansas urging the Court to consider the importance of the right to keep and bear arms.
Case Info & Legal TeamTopeka, KS – Kansas Justice Institute filed an amicus brief in the Federal District Court of Kansas urging the Court to consider the importance of the right to keep and bear arms.
KJI’s brief argues that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution codified a pre-existing, natural and fundamental right to keep and bear arms. Thus, while most courts around the country take an interest-balancing approach to gun regulations—usually resulting in gun restrictions being upheld—KJI argued for an originalist approach. Instead of weighing competing policy concerns and deferring to Congress, KJI argued the Court should follow two landmark Second Amendment cases: District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago.
Before they were Supreme Court justices, then-Judges Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett argued for this same approach as well.
“The Framers guaranteed an individual right to keep and bear arms. Any limitations on those rights, even by Congress, and even with the best intentions, must comport with the United States Constitution,” MacRoberts said.
The question presented in the amicus brief is how best to decide whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) violates the Second Amendment.
Shortly after KJI filed its brief the government dismissed the case for unrelated reasons.
