AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation filed suit in federal court, on behalf of two Texas gun owners, challenging a federal law that criminalizes the carrying of a firearm onto postal service property (including the parking lot). This case could have broader implications for any American who simply wants to secure their rights under the Constitution.
This lawsuit follows a nearly identical case (Firearms Policy Coalition v. Bondi) that was decided earlier this year in the same court, where gun rights groups secured the right of only their members to carry on postal property. Everyone else, including the plaintiffs in this case, remains subject to the restrictions that the court agreed were unconstitutional.
In addition to securing the rights of the plaintiffs in this case to carry on postal property, this case will test whether the 1984 Supreme Court case of United States v. Mendoza still acts as a judge-created burden on individuals seeking to secure their rights under the Constitution. Under Mendoza, the government can force everybody who wants to secure the same rights as their neighbors to completely relitigate claims that a court has already decided.
“What many firearm carriers might not realize is the victory in Firearms Policy Coalition v. Bondi does not apply to individuals who are not members of those groups—which is most firearm carriers,” said TPPF Attorney Anelise Powers. “You shouldn’t have to spend months and thousands of dollars litigating about a law that the court has already held unconstitutional.”
This case was brought in the Northern District of Texas on behalf of two individuals: David McCann, of Tarrant County, and Kirk Launius, of Dallas County. The complaint can be found here.
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