Tracy Rifle v. Kamala Harris || - 9-11-18 Sumry Judgmt for Plaintiff, USDC Eastern CA
 

UPDATE: Appealed to 9th Circuit

Aug. 24, 2015: Appealed to 9th Circuit; Appellants' Opening Brief and EOR Filed

Case information and docket link

Background & case file news release:

California gun dealers file First Amendment lawsuit against Attorney General Kamala Harris, California DOJ

November 10, 2014 (SACRAMENTO, CA) -- Four California gun dealers are filing a federal lawsuit today against California Attorney General Kamala Harris over what they say is a violation of their First Amendment civil rights. Stephen Lindley, who heads the DOJ’s Bureau of Firearms, is named as a co-defendant in the case.

Tracy Rifle and Pistol, a firearm retailer and indoor shooting range located in San Joaquin County, was recently cited by Harris’ Department of Justice for having pictures of three handguns in window signs that can be seen outside the store. California Penal Code section 26820, first enacted in 1923, bans gun stores from putting up signs advertising the sale of handguns -- but not shotguns or rifles. An adjacent window image at Tracy Rifle, which shows a photograph of an AR-15 rifle, was not cited by the DOJ.

“I run one of the most heavily regulated and inspected businesses in existence, but it’s still illegal for me to show customers that I sell handguns until after they walk in the door,” explained Michael Baryla, the owner of Tracy Rifle & Pistol. “That’s about as silly a law as you could imagine, even here in California.”

While California gun dealers cannot display even the word ‘handgun’ at their stores to passersby, adjacent businesses and anti-gun protesters are not prohibited from doing as much. The court filings argue that the law operates as unconstitutional speaker, content, and viewpoint-based discrimination, in addition to having other legal problems.

Similar statutes banning handgun displays can be found in places like Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, D.C., but the California Department of Justice appears to be the only state agency enforcing provisions like the challenged ban.

The lawsuit claims that this restriction violates gun stores’ First Amendment rights, by severely restricting truthful, non-misleading commercial speech. Lead counsel Bradley Benbrook said about the lawsuit, “The First Amendment prevents the government from telling businesses it disfavors that they can't engage in truthful advertising. This case follows a long line of Supreme Court cases protecting such disfavored businesses from that type of censorship.”

Though the case doesn’t claim a Second Amendment violation, plaintiffs do argue that commercial advertisement of constitutionally protected products and services -- whether abortion, contraceptives, or guns -- is especially clearly protected under the First Amendment.

The plaintiffs are also represented by Benbrook's colleague Stephen Duvernay and Eugene Volokh, a UCLA law professor who has written and taught extensively about the First and Second Amendments. Before joining the UCLA faculty 20 years ago, Volokh clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the U.S. Supreme Court. He also operates the popular legal blog “The Volokh Conspiracy,” now hosted at the Washington Post.

California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees, the state’s firearm industry association, joined gun rights groups The Calguns Foundation and Second Amendment Foundation in support of the case.

The lawsuit’s other plaintiffs include Sacramento Black Rifle of Rocklin, Ten Percent Firearms of Taft, and PRK Arms, a Fresno-based dealer that operates a chain of three stores in California’s Central San Joaquin Valley, as well as business owners Robert Adams, Wesley Morris, and Jeffrey Mullen, respectively.

A copy of the complaint can be viewed at http://www.calgunsfoundation.org/lit.../trap-v-harris.

California Association of Federal Firearm Licensees (www.calffl.org) is California’s most tenacious advocacy group for Second Amendment and related economic rights. CAL-FFL members include firearm dealers, training professionals, shooting ranges, collectors, gun owners, and others who participate in the firearms ecosystem.

The Calguns Foundation (www.calgunsfoundation.org) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that serves its members, supporters, and the public through educational, cultural, and judicial efforts to advance Second Amendment and related civil rights.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.

And how much of our taxpayers money will Sacramento spend to defend this???!!! :(

Un-frickin' believable!

Typical liberal hypocrisy.

Um, where's the ACLU??? This is the 1st Amendment, after all.... :rolleyes:

This case is GREAT news, but I won't give the thread 5 stars since "the usual suspects" will probably turn it into their personal debate forum.... (rather than using PMs to argue among themselves)

Go get em guys.

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Just saw this on Facebook.

Hope they win!

Great. But lemme guess, about a decade of waiting?

Again, just like Mulford, we live with stupid gun laws passed by previous generations.

Wrong forum?




j/k

Go get em. :D

Yup, we can be certain the ACLU will not lift a finger to help anything even remotely connected to the Second Amendment.

And Eugene is helping out? Yikes. :facepalm: What's the over/under on him throwing 10-round mags under the bus?

We can't buy handguns that aren't on some silly list, and a lawsuit over a sign is big news. :facepalm:

It's an important case to develop 1A protections around 2A rights.

And note that the Roster is already being challenged.

-Brandon

yup. and lawsuits can proceed on multiple fronts at the same time. they don't have to wait for the roster suit to finish before trying to fix 1A problems that affect the dealers.

The same "thousand cuts" antis use against us, just in reverse.

*Every* gun-related case is *important.* If we had 100 "low hanging fruit" types of cases that address very special and narrow restrictions, we should fight all 100 of them. It forces the other side to go on defense and conditions them that we'll exploit and use against them any inconsistency should they try to pass more gun control.

If I were cynical, I'd say that Brown didn't sign SB 374 (expanded AW ban) because he knew it was not well written and would endanger the current AW if challenged (just a conspiracy theory, obviously; I don't know what Brown was thinking.)

Can this case be partially on point with Frudden v. Pilling, 742 F.3d 1199 (9th Cir. 2014)?

Erik.

Low hanging fruit.

This should be a slam dunk. :D

I'm a little worried Kilmer isn't on this one. However its nice to see Volokh trying his hand at litigation. I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

So back to my question from the other thread...
How does Grant Boys get to have this "handgun" displayed on their building?

A.W.D.

http://media.yellowbot.com/r/650x500...ta-mesa-ca.jpg

Well, the ACLU has been known to take cases where Christian speech was stifled. They try to be consistent in advocating the 1st Amendment.

Not saying they would fight on this issue, but I don't think it's as crazy an idea as you make it out to be.

Ha. Maybe because it's historically important, like scripture quotes on old government buildings.

More likely Costa Mesa doesn't know it's "illegal" or even if they do....choose not to harass a long time local small business over a obviously silly law.

This will be fun.

Heck yeah! Give 'em hell, Mike!

I can't speak for the other businesses listed but I like what TRAP stands for. That is a great shop full of a great group of guys that support our 2nd amendment. This is down right silly. I will make donation to help fight this.

I hope she looses lots of sleep over this……let's make her next stretch in office as stressful as possible. She deserves to get the cancer she spreads.

CA Prisoners were able to get Federal supervision over medical/mental health shortcomings (8A) that put State prisons under Federal control. Here in CA we have 2A (Peruta and perhaps Nordyke and others), 1A (alleged in this suit) ammo law (COTUS), etc., etc.

The record is replete with out and out hostility towards gun rights from the CA Legislature. When will we plead for a consent decree/Federal oversight?

That's not true, they helped my foundation in Hawaii on multiple occasions.

Best of luck to Mike and hope he kicks some azz

Grant Boys is in Costa Mesa, not some ridiculous planned suburb full of NIMBYs, busybodies and beige condos.

I never knew this bizarre regulation was actually a law
 

My bad for being ignorant.

Link to news article .

http://www.kcra.com/gun-store-owners...court/29652644

I seen this on local tv news here in the valley. Like some people, I didn't even know this stupid regulation existed. How can this state expect business to stay here with all these crazy regulations ?

Best of luck to CA store owners! Saw this in the front of Yahoo this morning.

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Not under the current administration's DoJ, which likes to file lawsuits against states that passed laws to protect the integrity of its citizens' votes.

If our nation elects a president in 2016 that will act as per the oath of office, unlike our current one, it would be possible that the civil rights unit at the DoJ file civil right violations lawsuits against states who infringe on 2A. Perhaps with President Perry :83:

Oh, yes it will be! I hope you win and WIN BIG!

Eugene Volokh weighs in: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/v...n-their-signs/

Tracy Rifle and Pistol v. Kamala Harris (filed 11-10-2014) (First Amendment)
 

CADOJ would never want to pick that fight.

The Grant Boys aka Grants for Guns is a decades old institution that sits prominently on Newport Blvd. near the border of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. If CADOJ took any action against that sign it would quickly become a cause célèbre for any number of very wealthy, conservative and politically influential people. It would escalate into a statewide media campaign against everything that is wrong with the over-controlling, gun-grabbing Democratic Party. CADOJ doesn't want to poke that tiger.

No doubt Kamala Korps thought a harassing citation to a small time gun shop owner in the Central Valley could be easily managed. Why not bully the little guy? They could slap around a small business owner and go home feeling like they did a good day's work.

Props to CaFFL and the other parties for stepping in and making sure there is justice for all. And yeah - where IS the ACLU?

Good luck TRAP and co. Hope you guys win.

The ACLU is too busy defending people like this guy:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazin...the_police.php

I agree with them defending him by the way - 1st amendment and all - but, I just think it's funny which battles they choose.

Ironically, the owners of Grant Boys came out publicly in favor of the assault weapon ban.

But they do have the 4473 from when John Wayne bought an AR-15 in the seventies, so I guess that's cool.

Time to buy more at TR&P!

See you very soon, MB! Fully support your works and admire the excellence (persistence and dedication) you bring the area. Central CA is blessed to have your shop in town.

(Any cool pics of a Kamala and Willie B on how to win friends and influence people? meme contest like ala Cosby coming soon ... Relax and stare into the sweater ......)

Same here as soon as my next paycheck comes in.