NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging Second Circuit to Strike Down Vermont’s Waiting Period Law

Yesterday, the National Rifle Association joined the Second Amendment Foundation, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Second Amendment Law Center, and Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus in filing an amicus brief urging the Second Circuit to hold Vermont’s waiting period law unconstitutional.

In 2023, Vermont enacted a mandatory three-day waiting period between the purchase of a firearm and its delivery to the buyer. After the district court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the plaintiffs appealed to the Second Circuit.

Our amicus brief, filed in support of the plaintiffs, outlines several ways in which the district court misapplied the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment test. The brief also provides extensive primary-source evidence showing that purchasers in both the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries could immediately acquire the firearms they purchased.

The brief, filed in Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs v. Birmingham, underscores the NRA’s continued commitment to defeating unconstitutional waiting periods across the country. In August, in an NRA case, the Tenth Circuit struck down New Mexico’s 7-day waiting period. That same month, the NRA filed a challenge to Florida’s 3-day waiting period.

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights, and please visit www.nraila.org/litigation to keep up to date on NRA-ILA’s ongoing litigation efforts.