Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, co-chairs of nonpartisan coalition Prosecutors Against Gun Violence (PAGV), today announced the filing of an amicus brief that defends the constitutionality of Massachusetts’ common-sense requirement of a “proper purpose” for the public carry of firearms.
In the brief, which can be read in full here, PAGV wrote:
Prosecutors, along with other local law enforcement agencies with which they collaborate daily, play a critical role in promoting citizen safety, the highest objective of state and local government. The key issue before this Court is whether a state may require that a citizen show a “good” or “proper” reason for carrying a firearm in public. From their position on the front lines of local efforts to curb gun violence and defend public safety in a wide cross-section of communities, prosecutors within the First Circuit, and throughout the nation, will be directly affected by the outcome of this case.
Accordingly, PAGV submits this amicus brief to emphasize the need for deference to local jurisdictions’ determinations about the type of firearm licensing requirements that are best suited to their specific public safety challenges, and to extend its support for Massachusetts’s determination that a “proper purpose” requirement for public carry of firearms effectuates that state’s interest in promoting public safety and reducing crime.
prosecutorsagv.org 