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FPC and NRA Sue Pennsylvania Over Under-21 Carry Ban

What happened. FPC and the NRA, joined by member Daniel Maines, filed Maines v. Bethel in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania bars adults under 21 from even applying for the license needed to carry concealed, carry in a vehicle, or carry at all in Philadelphia. The suit asks the court to declare that 18-to-20-year-olds have a right to carry outside the home and to block enforcement of the ban. It builds on the Third Circuit's Lara v. Paris holding that 18-to-20-year-olds are among "the people."

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Federal Court Strikes Down New York's Body Armor Ban

What happened. In Heeter v. James, Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York held that body armor is an "Arm" protected by the Second Amendment. The court granted FPC summary judgment and permanently enjoined New York's restrictions on buying and selling protective armor, finding the State showed no historical tradition supporting the ban. The court gave New York a 14-day stay pending appeal. Laws against using body armor while committing violent crimes are not affected.

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FPC asks the full D.C. Circuit to let gun owners into court

What happened. FPC filed an opening brief and a petition for initial hearing en banc in Wehr-Darroca v. District of Columbia, its challenge to D.C.'s ban on magazines holding more than ten rounds. A district court dismissed the case under D.C. Circuit precedent (Navegar, Seegars and Parker) that requires a heightened showing of a specific threat of prosecution before a gun owner can sue. Under the ban, violators face a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and a $12,500 fine. FPC also argues that its members' cost of buying restricted-capacity replacement magazines gives them standing under the court's recent Angelo v. District of Columbia decision.