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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) announced the filing of a petition for writ regarding the one-way fee- and cost-shifting provision in SB-1327, which California enacted as retribution for Texas’s SB 8 abortion law. The petition was filed in Jones v. Bonta, the groups’ Second Amendment lawsuit challenging California’s age-based ban on firearms purchases by law-abiding adults under the age of 21. The petition can be viewed at FPCLegal.org.
“In Section 2 of the recently enacted Senate Bill 1327 (“S.B. 1327,” 2021–2022 Reg. Sess.), California has enacted a one-way fee- and cost-shifting provision that can be understood in no way other than as an attempt to chill Second Amendment lawsuits and punish the plaintiffs and attorneys who are not deterred by Section 2’s threat of ruinous monetary liability,” the Petition states. “Unless this Court (or, failing this Court, the Supreme Court) promptly exercises its authority under the All Writs Act to enjoin Defendants from enforcing Section 2 against Plaintiffs in relation to this action, Section 2 will deprive the federal courts of jurisdiction over this action.”
“While the matter is not free from doubt, it is reasonable to expect that the law may be interpreted to apply to fees incurred after that date in suits that have already been filed,” argues the Petition. “Due to this risk, and barring unforeseen circumstances (such as a binding commitment from Defendants not to enforce Section 2 in relation to pending suits), Plaintiffs plan to seek to dismiss this appeal and this suit entirely if, by January 1, 2023, they have not obtained an injunction foreclosing Defendants from seeking to obtain fees and costs under Section 2 on the basis of this lawsuit.”
“The unilateral fee-shifting provision of SB-1327 is California’s latest attempt to chill not only the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment,” said FPC Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack, “but also their willingness to run roughshod over numerous additional constitutional rights in that pursuit. The injunction sought in this Petition is essential to the ongoing battle to restore the rights of peaceable Californians.”
Individuals who would like to Join the FPC Grassroots Army and support important pro-rights lawsuits and programs can sign up at JoinFPC.org. Individuals and organizations wanting to support charitable efforts in support of the restoration of Second Amendment and other natural rights can also make a tax-deductible donation to the FPC Action Foundation. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, visit FPCLegal.org and follow FPC on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutionally protected rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs.
FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s first and largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.
FPC Action Foundation (FPCActionFoundation.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty through charitable legal action, public policy, education, and research programs.
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Firearms Policy Coalition
P: (916) 378-5785