A Big Week Ahead for Free Speech
We talk all the time about “slippery slopes” in the fight for the Second Amendment. Gun control advocates rarely convey their intentions explicitly, instead casting new fees, regulations, databases, and bans as incremental “common sense reforms”.
But when you know the goals of the agenda, it’s easy to see how each step builds on the last and advances the cause.
When it was passed by the Legislature just a few weeks after the Bruen decision, AB 2571 began a new line of attack on lawful gun ownership. Prohibiting any communications about firearms that could reach youth, and punishing harshly those who violated its provisions, the new law strikes directly at the First Amendment as well as the Second.
“Through AB 2571, the state proposes to ban speech that is not only about activity that is legal, but activity that is fundamentally protected by the Constitution,” argues CRPA President & General Counsel Chuck Michel. “If this law stands, the effort to demonize Second Amendment rights gets a huge boost and free speech takes a big hit.”
As reported, CRPA secured an injunction preventing the implementation of AB 2571 while the legal challenges, which include a companion case known as Safari Club International v. Bonta, unfold. That injunction was granted when the court rightfully determined that the new law was unlikely to pass constitutional muster under Bruen.
In the coming days, CRPA will file our opening brief in the case, while also continuing the fight to keep the injunction in place. Given the huge fines imposed for violations, this is a BIG DEAL for a wide variety of publications, ranges, shows, and other 2A-related businesses.
Please help us in this critical fight!