US Attorneys General file amicus brief in 2nd Amendment case

By Jacques Couret - Senior Online Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle

Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens joined a bipartisan coalition of 19 Attorneys General that filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case that challenges a New York law they claim infringes on the constitutional right to bear arms.
The plaintiff, a private New York citizen, has appealed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding the New York law that mandates its residents provide specific proof to a state official that a handgun is needed to defend themselves in order to bear arms in public.

“The Second Amendment explicitly gives law abiding citizens the right to not only keep arms, but also to bear arms,” Olens said, in a statement. “By requiring citizens to demonstrate a ‘special need for self protection’ in order to legally carry a firearm outside the home, the state of New York is depriving its citizens of a fundamental constitutional right. This case rises to the level of Supreme Court review as it involves a core individual liberty enumerated by our Founding Fathers in the Bill of Rights.”

The amicus brief argues the case presents the Supreme Court with an opportunity to resolve whether the Second Amendment’s protections apply with equal force outside the home and whether governments can force citizens to provide evidence supporting a specific need in order to get a concealed carry permit.