For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Contact: Nazneen Ahmed
919-716-0060
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting commonsense state and federal laws that keep communities safe. The brief, filed in U.S. v. Steven Perez, argues that federal laws to prevent people from transporting or receiving firearms from outside their home state are necessary to protect public safety, reduce violent crime, and support law enforcement investigations.
“These laws exist to keep families safe and help law enforcement investigate crime,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I’m defending these commonsense protections to help prevent gun violence and protect North Carolinians.”
In 2020, Steven Perez received illegally purchased weapons from an unlicensed firearms dealer in South Carolina. The weapons were transported to Mr. Perez in New York City. Mr. Perez was later arrested, criminally prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison in New York. He is appealing his conviction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claiming that it violates his Second Amendment right to carry a firearm.
The multistate coalition argue that federal laws on the transport of guns across state lines protect public safety, support state gun laws, and do not infringe on Second Amendment rights. Instead, they help states prevent gun misuse and help law enforcement effectively investigate gun-related crimes with thorough, up-to-date information.
Joining Attorney General Stein in filing this amicus brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
A copy of the brief is available here.
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