The Second Amendment Foundation and Defense Distributed, the Texas firm made famous for publishing digital firearms information, have sued the U.S. Department of State and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in federal court, alleging violations of the First Amendment and administrative law.
Named as defendants are Grewal, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Trade Controls Mike Miller and Sarah Heidema, director of Policy, Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy, in their official capacities. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. The case is known as DD/SAF v. Department of State, et. al.
“Jurisdictional shell games are over,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “For too long these officials have avoided real judicial scrutiny. They’ve avoided the merits because they fear a real application of federal free speech protections. But no more. Grewal can’t hide from this court’s jurisdiction and neither can the State Department. DD and SAF look forward to finally having these officials’ years of censorship struck down as violations of the constitutional rights – both First and Second Amendment – that courts are designed to protect.”
According to the complaint, the case concerns important questions about free speech regarding the First Amendment right to speak about the Second Amendment. In this case, it involves “the modern right to speak about the Second Amendment by sharing computer files with digital firearms information,” the complaint says.
“This is about the State Department failure to enforce a contract to protect Defense Distributed and SAF’s right to engage in speech,” Gottlieb said o share digital firearms information. Evidently, he simply cannot stand the idea of SAF or Defense Distributed sharing information in favor of the Second Amendment.”
Earlier, the State Department agreed to the settlement of an earlier case, Gottlieb noted.
“In an earlier case,” Gottlieb said, “both the State Department and several states involved in the action conceded there is nothing inherently illegal about the computer files at issue. We say so in the complaint. Yet, here we are again, arguing about the publication of digital firearms information, with Grewal in the center of things because of his continued censorship efforts against SAF and Defense Distributed. His conduct could irreparably harm both entities. This has got to stop.”
