AG James files amicus brief supporting interstate gun transfer laws

August 13, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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STATEWIDE — New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday led a coalition of 22 AGs in filing an amicus brief in U.S. v. Steven Perez, arguing in favor of federal laws regulating interstate firearms transfers and state laws regulating gun dealers. Steven Perez is appealing on second amendment grounds his 2020 New York conviction for receiving illegally purchased weapons transported from South Carolina. The amicus brief argues that “the federal law’s restriction on the interstate transport of firearms, like state-level regulations of firearms dealers, [do] not prevent a law-abiding citizen from purchasing, owning or carrying a firearm,” meaning that they would not violate the second amendment according to previous rulings that hinged on protecting citizens’ ability to obtain guns. The coalition also argues that the regulations help states maintain public safety and enforce their own differing gun laws — as well as assisting police, as with New York’s requirement that dealers maintain detailed sales records.

“States and the federal government should be allowed to enforce basic regulations about who can buy and sell guns to ensure they don’t end up in the wrong hands and to protect our communities,” said James in a press statement.

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