The U.S. Supreme Court has received numerous lawsuits from pro-gun rights activists since Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed, the Washington Free Beacon reports.
Adam Winkler, a professor at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law whose focus is in constitutional law, gun policy, and the Supreme Court, noted that “You can’t imagine a more favorable judicial environment than what we have right now.”
He added, “You have the lower courts that feature a large number of Trump-appointed judges. Many of those judges seem likely to support strong gun rights and weaken gun control. And the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has been strengthened. And Amy Coney Barrett, in particular, has taken a strong stand on Second Amendment issues as a lower court judge.”
The National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and other groups have all filed federal cases challenging strict gun laws in several states and hoping to expand the protections offered by the Second Amendment.
“We started this process and planning as soon as Trump nominated [Barrett],” said Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation. “And, of course, as soon as she was confirmed, we started ramping it up to make it happen.”
The Free Beacon notes that the foundation has filed about half a dozen cases with the court in the last few weeks.
“The lawsuits you’re seeing are part of a long-term strategic litigation,” added Adam Kraut, the director of legal strategy for the Firearms Policy Coalition. “The confirmation of Justice Barrett, who seemingly would provide a fair analysis, is something that was part of the analysis that went into the timing of it.”