Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) is leading 54 of his colleagues in the filing of an amicus brief in defense of the National Shooting Sports Foundation in its case against Letitia James, the attorney general of New York (NSSF v. James).
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is leading a number of his colleagues in an amicus brief on the Senate side.
The goal is to secure review of the Second Circuit’s decision in NSSF v. James from the Supreme Court of the United States. The case centers on New York’s public nuisance law, which the Second Circuit allowed to stand in a ruling last year even though the NSSF argued the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) preempts it. The nuisance law provides an avenue around PLCAA so that litigation can be filed against a gun manufacturer in certain situations if their lawfully made and sold product is used criminally.
The NSSF explained that New York’s law accomplishes this by “[creating] a new civil action under which ‘gun industry members’ may be forced to redress criminals’ misdeeds, on the theory that they ‘unreasonably’ made, sold or marketed a firearm that is later misused in New York.”
The NSSF, Rep. Fry and his House colleagues, and Sen. Cruz and his Senate colleagues contend that the public nuisance law violates PLCAA, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2005.
Moreover, in the amicus brief, Fry and his House colleagues warn that if SCOTUS does not intervene and the Second Circuit’s decision stands, New York’s public nuisance law will serve as a guide for other states wishing to circumvent the PLCAA: “This Court’s review is needed because the Second Circuit decision thwarts the will of Congress expressed in the PLCAA, and provides a roadmap to other states and localities that wish to impose the very liability that the PLCAA ‘prohibit[s].’”
Fry and his colleagues added, “…as we explain, the importance of the issue presented—the conflict between federal legislation designed to protect a constitutional right, and state legislation designed to make the right’s exercise practically impossible—underscores the urgent need for this Court’s prompt review.”
As of Friday, cosigners on Fry’s brief included Republican Reps. Ryan Zinke, Wesley Hunt, John Rose, Adrian Smith, Aaron Bean, Barry Moore, Glenn Grothman, Claudia Tenney, Sheri Biggs, Scott DesJarlais, John H. Rutherford, Pete Sessions, Mike Ezell, Ann Wagner, Blake Moore, Kevin Hern, Buddy Carter, Rich McCormick, Lance Gooden, Randy Weber, Nick Langworthy, Harriet M. Hageman, William Timmons, Ralph Norman, Tracy Mann, Troy Nehls, Scott Fitzgerald, Diana Harshbarger, Joe Wilson, Jeff Hurd, Dusty Johnson, Mike D. Rogers, Lauren Boebert, Scott Franklin, Scott Perry, Jeff Crank, Addison McDowell, Ronny L. Jackson, Mark Messmer, Marlin Stutzman, Pat Fallon, Mike Collins, Julie Fedorchak, Jodey Arrington, Glenn “GT” Thompson, Julia Letlow, Mark Harris, Richard Hudson, Eric Burlison, Riley Moore, Derek Schmidt, Robert B. Aderholt, Gabe Evans, and Ben Cline.
The amicus brief from Rep. Fry and his colleagues was filed March 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
NSSF senior vice president and general counsel Lawrence Keane praised Rep. Fry’s efforts to get SCOTUS to step in and review the Second Circuit’s decision.
“New York’s law, and several other states that have enacted virtually identical unconstitutional laws at the behest of gun control groups,” Keane warned, “has already launched a new wave of frivolous lawsuits against our industry that the bipartisan PLCAA was enacted in 2005 to inter.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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