SAF scores another gun rights win…in Omaha

The Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation is continuing its winning legal roll with a small, but hardly insignificant, win in America’s heartland.

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the City of Omaha’s prohibition on handgun registrations for legal resident aliens, and the city is reportedly now working on amending its ordinance, with the blessing of the police chief. The Omaha World Herald is reporting that Police Chief Alex Hayes – named as a defendant in the lawsuit – sent a memo to the Omaha City Council supporting a proposed change to the city’s regulation.

SAF brought the lawsuit on behalf of Armando Pliego Gonzalez, a legal permanent resident since 2008, whose home was invaded and robbed in 2010. After that, he legally purchased a handgun for home protection, but the city ordinance stood in the way of his legally registering the firearm. Pliego Gonzalez lives with his wife, also a legal permanent resident alien. The couple has four children.

“We’re delighted with the judge’s order. Mr. Pliego…jumped through all of the legal hoops to legally purchase a handgun to protect his family after his home was invaded and robbed in 2010.”—Alan Gottlieb

SAF was joined in the lawsuit by the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association.

This is reminiscent of another legal action SAF took here in the Evergreen State more than three years ago. They were joined by the National Rifle Association in a federal lawsuit challenging the Department of Licensing’s refusal to issue or renew the then-required alien firearms licenses. They won that battle, too.

Earlier this fall, SAF and NRA also walked away with another joint victory, this one over the City of Seattle in its attempt to ban firearms – even those carried legally by law-abiding citizens – in clear contradiction to long-standing state law. This column discussed that case.

SAF has adopted a slogan – Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time – that seems to be proving more accurate as time passes. Look at their record so far. Yesterday’s order from U.S. District Judge Joseph Battaillon reinforced that notion.

“Pliego Gonzalez and his wife are both legal permanent residents, and good members of the community. It is simply wrong when a local regulation stands in the way of someone’s exercise of a constitutionally-protected, fundamental civil right, especially when the safety of his family is at stake.”—Alan Gottlieb

Of course, the biggest feather in the SAF cap is the landmark Supreme Court ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago that forced the city to end its long-standing handgun ban, while at the same time incorporating the Second Amendment to the states through the 14th Amendment. Beating Chicago was a sweet victory for SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, but he has repeatedly stressed that the most important result of last year’s ruling was Second Amendment incorporation. Lawsuits like the one challenging the constitutionality of Omaha’s ordinance are now possible thanks to that ruling.

Likewise, SAF’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of California’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” was also a result of that incorporation. Anti-gun states – California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois stand out – can no longer engage in legislative demagoguery against law-abiding firearms owners. They may believe they can, but people once believed the world was flat.

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