The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) has filed a lawsuit in federal district court in North Carolina regarding astate law barring CCW permits for legal residents of that state. The lawsuit is on behalf of an Australian citizen who legally resides in the state, but cannot obtain a concealed carry permit under a state law that only allows citizens to get such permits.
The plaintiff, Felicity M. Todd Veasey, lives with her family in Butner, where she has resided since 2004. Prior to that, she lived in neighboring Durham County. She has a permanent resident visa and she once worked at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
“Felicity is a long-time resident of the community and she can legally possess a concealed firearm in North Carolina, but only on her own property as the law now stands,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “We're challenging that, just as we have challenged similar laws in New Mexico, Washington, Arkansas and elsewhere.”
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western Division.
“Although we've won similar cases in other states we seem to keep finding such laws on the books and we have to challenge them,” said Gottlieb. “Felicity has set down roots in North Carolina, where she lives with her husband and stepson. Her rights under the Second Amendment are being violated.”
SAF's lawsuit seeks to establish that the recognition and incorporation of the Second Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause, renders North Carolina's ban on non-citizens obtaining a concealed carry license, unconstitutional.
