Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed its amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Beckwith v. Frey, a challenge to Maine’s unconstitutional law that imposes a 72-hour waiting period on firearm sales, even when the buyer has already passed a background check. 

“What is at stake in this case is whether law-abiding citizens—who have already passed a background check—can be denied their constitutionally protected Second Amendment Rights. They cannot,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “The Buckeye Institute urges the court to grant review in Beckwith and make it clear that restrictions that limit the ability of citizens to obtain a firearm violate the Constitution in the same way an outright ban on gun ownership would.” 

In its brief, The Buckeye Institute argues that the First Circuit Court of Appeals erred in its decision upholding Maine’s law because the law prevents law-abiding citizens from keeping or carrying a firearm that they are legally and constitutionally entitled to own. The Buckeye Institute further points out that the U.S. Supreme Court has safeguarded actions and conduct necessary to exercise constitutional rights.

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