Gov. Bevin Joins In Filing Amicus Brief In Second Amendment Case Before Supreme Court

Gov. Matt Bevin has joined with 25 other states in filing an amicus brief in Peruta v. San Diego County, an important Second Amendment case challenging the constitutionality of a California law restricting citizens’ rights to carry handguns outside their homes for self-defense.

“As states and individuals, we must stand united against arbitrary government overreach and this unconstitutional attack on the Second Amendment,” said Gov. Bevin. “In America, our freedom and liberty have been purchased at a great price. We must do everything in our power to preserve them for the generations yet to come.”

The case questions the legality of California’s restrictive concealed carry permit policy, which requires citizens to satisfy a number of conditions before obtaining a concealed carry license. Under the law, an applicant must show “good cause” to obtain a permit, and each county sheriff gets to create their own subjective definition of “good cause.”

Also included in the amicus brief are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

“When it comes to regulating gun rights, California thinks that the State can do things that would be unthinkable in other areas of constitutional law,” the brief noted, challenging the Court to envision the public outcry if other constitutionally protected rights were subjected to the same capricious judgement of a public official.

“Imagine if California did any of the following: no speech unless a sheriff finds ‘good cause’ for it; no public assembly unless a sheriff finds ‘good cause’ for it; no religious exercise unless a sheriff finds ‘good cause’ for it,” the 26 states assert.