Court Rules Legal Immigrants Can Carry Concealed Weapons

While the debate on restricting guns rages in Congress and state legislatures, firearms advocates are turning to the courts to expand the playing field for carrying concealed weapons — and scoring some victories.

The Second Amendment Foundation won an injunction this week against a New Mexico law that had restricted concealed weapons permits only to citizens, and it went to court in Nebraska to try to halt a similar law there.

{snip}

“There’s an equal protection issue here that people residing in the United States legally should enjoy the same protections that we have as citizens — specifically the right of self-protection,” said Dave Workman, spokesman for the Second Amendment Foundation, based in Bellevue, Wash.

In the New Mexico case, a federal court Monday enjoined the state’s law, saying that there is no compelling reason for the state to discriminate against noncitizens in the case of gun ownership.

“The citizenship requirement is overinclusive; it encompasses a large number of noncitizens who, by virtue of their status alone, pose no greater risk of harm to public safety,” Judge M. Christina Armijo wrote.

{snip}