WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 1, 2020) — Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and Firearms Policy Foundation (FPF) announced the filing of an important brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the case of Torres v. United States. FPC’s brief contains authoritative research showing that the federal ban on firearm possession by nonviolent felons is unconstitutional and not historically supported. It is available online at FPCLegal.org.

Torres v. United States challenges the federal prohibition on firearm ownership by felons, as it applies to nonviolent felons. Specifically, Mr. Torres was convicted of a felony and is subject to a lifetime firearms prohibition based on a DUI offense. After the Ninth Circuit upheld this firearms ban earlier this year, Mr. Torres petitioned the Supreme Court to hear his case.

FPC and FPF filed an amicus brief in support of Mr. Torres’s petition, providing the Court with a thorough historical analysis that proves only violent people have traditionally been prohibited from possessing arms throughout American history. The federal prohibition on nonviolent criminals, like Mr. Torres, is not supported by the original understanding of the Second Amendment.

“The Founders never intended for peaceable persons to be denied the right to keep and bear arms,” said FPC Director of Research, Joseph Greenlee. “We’re hopeful that the Court will grant certiorari and clarify that nonviolent persons, like Mr. Torres, cannot be prohibited from owning a firearm.”

The brief was authored by FPC Director of Research Joseph Greenlee, on behalf of FPC, FPF, California Gun Rights Foundation (CGF), Madison Society Foundation (MSF), and Second Amendment Foundation (SAF). 

Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)4 grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to protect and defend constitutional rights—especially the right to keep and bear arms—advance individual liberty, and restore freedom.

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