Gun Laws And 2a
NRA Files Amicus Brief Against NYC Stun Gun and Taser Ban
Second Amendment Advocates Challenge Constitutionality of Non-Firearm Weapon Prohibition
📅
✍️By ZRIntel Editorial Team📍New York City, New York
On July 25, 2025, the National Rifle Association (NRA) filed an amicus brief in the case of Calce v. New York City, arguing that the city's prohibition on the possession of stun guns and tasers is unconstitutional. This legal challenge comes after a district court upheld the ban, asserting that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate these less-lethal arms are in 'common use' and thus protected by the Second Amendment. The NRA's brief, now before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, contends that the district court misallocated the burden of proof. The organization clarifies that it is not the plaintiffs' responsibility to prove an arm's 'common use' for Second Amendment protection. Rather, as established by Supreme Court precedent, all 'bearable arms'including non-firearm weapons like stun guns and tasersare presumptively protected. The government, therefore, bears the burden of proving that an arm falls outside the Second Amendment's scope. The brief further emphasizes that, under Supreme Court rulings, an arm can only be banned if it is both 'dangerous and unusual.' The NRA argues that New York City failed to demonstrate that stun guns and taserswhich are legally owned by hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Americans for self-defenseare either dangerous or unusual, let alone both. This action aligns with the broader efforts of Second Amendment organizations to protect the right to self-defense through various means, not limited to firearms.