Attorney General Knudsen asks SCOTUS to strike down unconstitutional firearm magazine ban

HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a 27-state coalition Monday asking the Supreme Court of the United State (SCOTUS) to safeguard law-abiding Americans’ right to keep and bear arms in public for self-defense and reverse an unconstitutional decision by the Washington Supreme Court banning magazines that can hold more than ten rounds.

The amicus brief was filed in Gator’s Custom Guns, Inc. v. State of Washington. In May, the Washington Supreme Court wrongly upheld the state’s ban on firearm magazines that can contain more than 10 rounds of ammunition. A Cowlitz County Superior Court judge had previously struck down the 2022 law, ruling it violated the Second Amendment.

“The Supreme Court needs to step in to uphold Americans’ right to keep and bear arms. Lower courts, including the Washington Supreme Court, are attempting to attack and rewrite the Second Amendment,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “Washington’s failure to properly interpret the Second Amendment and ban plus-ten magazines ignores both history and constitutional precedent. Law-abiding citizens should not be treated like criminals for exercising their right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. As attorney general, I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure Americans and Montanans can protect themselves.”

Plus-ten magazines are commonly possessed by citizens for lawful purposes including self-defense, hunting, and sporting activities. Following the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, courts must determine whether modern firearm regulations are consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding. Washington’s ban would not pass the Bruen or Heller test and therefore is unconstitutional.

For example, in Bruen, SCOTUS ruled the Second Amendment protects the right of citizens to bear arms “that are unquestionably in common use today” for lawful purposes. One study found that 542 million Americans own plus-ten magazines, reflecting on a longstanding history and tradition of law-biding ownership.

Attorney General Knudsen also argues that “Washington’s restrictions, burden the rights of millions of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear magazines that have been considered appropriate for self-defense.” The constitutional meaning of “arms” extends to the instruments necessary including magazines, regardless of whether they are uses in handguns, rifles, or other firearms.

Attorneys general from Idaho, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the Arizona Legislature also joined the brief.

Click here to read the brief.