WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 11, 2025) – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced the filing of an important Supreme Court brief in the case of Melynda Vincent v. Attorney General Pam Bondi, a challenge to the federal lifetime ban on the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms for nonviolent felons. FPC is joined by FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF), the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) as parties to the brief, authored by attorneys Joseph G.S. Greenlee and Erin M. Erhardt of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.
An “analysis of the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation shows that there is no tradition that supports disarming peaceable persons” like Vincent, the brief argues. Indeed, it goes on, “[h]istorically, no individual was disarmed because the law he violated was classified as a felony. Moreover, upon completing their sentences, offenders not only had full access to their Second Amendment protected rights, but able-bodied males were required to keep and bear arms under the state and federal militia acts.”
“This powerful brief highlights why the Supreme Court should take up this case and settle this issue once and for all by holding that non-violent people cannot be disarmed for life,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “As we’ve consistently shown in research and litigation, this ban is a travesty of justice and flat-out unconstitutional. It’s time for the Court to say that all peaceable adults have a right to keep and bear arms.”
“The federal government simply cannot prove that its lifetime firearm ban on nonviolent individuals meets constitutional scrutiny,” said attorney and FPCAF President Cody J. Wisniewski. “The Supreme Court should grant review here and resolve a well-established circuit split by applying the text of the Constitution as informed by our nation’s history, which clearly shows this ban is unconstitutional.”
FPC sincerely thanks NRA-ILA and FPCAF’s Wisniewski for their hard work and collaboration on this important brief.
The brief in Vincent v. Bondi can be viewed at firearmspolicy.org/legal.
Individuals who want to support FPC’s work to eliminate unconstitutional laws across the United States can join the FPC Grassroots Army at JoinFPC.org.
About FPC
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit membership organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. We work to achieve our strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. Our FPC Law program is the nation’s preeminent legal action initiative focused on restoring the right to keep and bear arms throughout the United States. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, follow FPC on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.
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