InstantNewsKaty.com

State Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) has filed the necessary paperwork to sign onto an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” brief to be filed in a landmark Second Amendment case before the U.S. Supreme Court.  

The case, McDonald v. City of Chicago, is expected to answer the question of whether the Second Amendment applies to states and localities through the Due Process Clause or the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 

In striking down Washington, D.C.’s long-standing ban on the possession of handguns last year, the Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to keep and bear arms. Because of Washington D.C.’s special status as a federal jurisdiction, however, the decision did not apply to similar gun bans at the state and local level, such as in Chicago. 

McDonald v. City of Chicago would clarify whether the Second Amendment applies to local and state prohibitions of an individual’s right to possess firearms. An appellate court decision to uphold the Chicago ban triggered the Supreme Court’s decision to review the McDonald case.

Late last week, Patrick added his name to the brief, which is being signed by state lawmakers from across the nation.

“I am proud to add my name to this brief because I strongly believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual and fundamental right to all law-abiding Americans, regardless of the state or city in which they live,” Patrick said.

The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action applauded Patrick’s decision. 

“We welcome and appreciate Sen. Patrick’s participation in this important effort,” said Tara Mica, NRA-ILA’s State Liaison based in Austin.  ”Sen. Patrick has played a key role in fighting to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen in the Texas Legislature, both as a member of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and as a proud co-author of NRA-supported legislation.  By signing onto this brief, he is taking that fight to the next level.”

McDonald v. Chicago was originally filed before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking to overturn a handgun ban and other registration regulations on rifles and shotguns in Chicago as unconstitutional.

Last December, the trial court ruled in favor of retaining the gun regulations. That decision was appealed to the 7th Circuit of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the district court.

On Sept. 30, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.