The Kansas State Rifle Association along with 13 other State Firearms Associations have filed as Amici Curiae in support of Kolbe in the case of Kolbe v. O'Malley. This lawsuit challenges Maryland's ban on "assault weapons" and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and is being filed in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Rather than target the unlawful acquisition and use of certain arms, Maryland has banned them from all law-abiding citizens. At the State's urging, the district court improperly held that the government may strip law-abiding citizens of their rights to access and use constitutionally protected arms in their homes in an attempt to curb the unlawful use of those items by a small segment of society. This reasoning lies in direct conflict with controlling Supreme Court precedent that makes clear that removing dangerous, but commonly chosen, arms from all law-abiding citizens lacks the required fit with the government's public safety interests under both intermediate and strict scrutiny.

In this case the district court erred by finding that the government may ban constitutionally protected arms from all law-abiding citizens to reduce criminal access and misuse. They also erred in finding that the state's evidence could establish the required fit between the challenged laws and the state's public safety interests.

To ban protected arms because certain members of society might misuse them is to tell law-abiding citizens that their liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the lawless minority who abuse those liberties-a perverse message indeed.

The notion that the government may flatly ban constitutionally protected activity on the grounds that it could lead to abuses has been squarely rejected in other contexts, and it should be rejected here.

The Court should reverse the judgment below to restore the rights of Maryland residents to access and use exceedingly common rifles and magazines for lawful purposes.

Here is a list of the State Associations that have filed as Amici Curiae:

California Rifle & Pistol Association Foundation, Gun Owners of California, Colorado State Shooting Association, Idaho State Rifle & Pistol Association, Illinois State Rifle Association, Kansas State Rifle Association, League of Kentucky Sportsmen, Nevada Firearms Coalition, Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, New Mexico Shooting Sports Association, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Texas State Rifle Association, Vermont Rifle & Pistol Association, Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs

(An Amici Curiae is someone who is not a party to a case, who offers information that bears on the case but who has not been solicited by any of the parties to assist a court. It is a way to introduce concerns ensuring that the possibly broad legal effects of a court decision will not depend solely on the parties directly involved in the case.)