SCI filed an amicus brief in a case challenging a California forced-disclosure law. AB 173, adopted in 2021, requires disclosure of the personal information of California firearms owners to researchers in university “violence prevention” programs. Several plaintiffs challenged this law in federal court in San Diego. The court dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint, and the plaintiffs appealed to the Ninth Circuit. SCI’s brief argues that this forced-disclosure law violates the Second Amendment rights of hunters, because they have no real choice: if they want to purchase a firearm for use in hunting, they must provide information that will be disclosed to researchers. Moreover, the harm from this forced-disclosure is very real: SCI members and other hunters have experienced harassment because some organizations have launched “smear campaigns” against SCI members lawfully exercising their hunting rights. The same is true of individuals lawfully exercising their Second Amendment rights. SCI also argued that the law conflicts with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s R3 efforts, and reduces the conservation benefits from hunting. Finally, the law violates the Fourteenth Amendment right to privacy.
SCI Files Amicus Brief in Second Amendment Suit Against California
