Firearms Industry Trade Association Files Lawsuit Against Pleasant Hill, Calif., Gun-Control Ordinance
National Shooting Sports Foundation 01.02.14
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, has filed a lawsuit against the City of Pleasant Hill, Calif., and the Pleasant Hill City Council to prevent an ordinance passed in November from being enforced that puts an unneeded and unfair burden on already highly regulated and law-abiding firearms retailers doing business within the city.
In the complaint, NSSF and City Arms East LLC, a local retailer, are challenging portions of the city’s newly enacted gun control ordinance on the grounds that it violates and is preempted by state zoning, firearms and labor laws. In addition, the ordinance authorizes unconstitutional warrantless searches and requires liability insurance for uninsurable willful or criminal conduct, as well as violates federal law governing the firearms industry.
“This tremendous overreach by a city council rings the bell for the multiple ways it contradicts and attempts to push aside constitutional and state laws and even accepted municipal zoning practices,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “The city’s own police department told the council that firearms retailers have conducted business in Pleasant Hill ‘without creating problems’. In short, there is no reason for this ordinance other than, perhaps, a political display that targets a legitimate business.”
The lawsuit seeks to enjoin enforcement of the Pleasant Hill ordinance.
