When the ISAA first filed a lawsuit against the City of Sandpoint for flagrantly violating the state’s pre-emption law — Sandpoint’s lawyers were sure they would outlast us.
I’m not surprised.
After all, this has been a thirty-eight-month-long battle. And unlike the City of Sandpoint, the taxpayers aren’t covering our legal expenses.
Most organizations/individuals would have given up by now. But the members of the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance aren’t like everyone else. We’re in this fight for the long haul!
But after fighting in court for over three years, I’m very pleased to announce the Idaho State Supreme Court has officially assumed this case! In fact, it may be heard in the next 45 days!
As a brief reminder, Idaho’s pre-emption law makes it illegal for cities to create their own local gun control laws, and that specifically includes establishing ‘Gun Free Zones.
Many cities and counties have tried to break this law, only to be forced to rescind their policies after pressure from ISAA members or our legal team, who reminded them of state law.
In fact, we’ve forced over 80 different municipalities to comply with the law over the last few years!
I’m proud of this! Besides being illegal, these ‘Gun Free Zone’ policies are notoriously dangerous. Almost all mass shootings happen in these areas, and we all know it.
Eventually, the word got out…so the City of Sandpoint changed their approach.
When the town held their annual ‘Festival at Sandpoint’ in 2019 (on city property) they allowed the festival to ban guns at the event, hoping to bypass Idaho law. Multiple ISAA members were escorted out of the event due to their firearms policy.
The arrogant Mayor of Sandpoint is claiming that because city staff didn’t enforce this policy, they aren’t liable.
The ramifications here are obvious.
If Sandpoint can allow a third-party entity to ban guns on taxpayer-owned property — and get away with it — hundreds of cities and counties will immediately follow suit.
So while this occurred way up in Northern Idaho, it impacts every gun owner in the state!
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That’s why the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance immediately filed a lawsuit in First District Court. We had no choice.
Now, given what we knew about the judge in this case, we went into that first hearing fully expecting to lose. And we did. But losing there was the necessary step to get this case kicked up to the State Supreme Court.
But as you may remember from our update six months ago, this is where things got tricky.
You see, the Supreme Court forced ISAA to cough up $20,000 in legal/filing/admin fees before they would even decide whether or not they would consider our case.
The City of Sandpoint thought we’d be forced to drop out.
But thanks to the unrelenting commitment of ISAA members like you, we were able to raise that $20,000 and keep this case alive. (BTW, we may be able to get some of that money back.)
When the $20,000 fee didn’t force ISAA to drop out of the case, Sandpoint was obviously hoping that the State Supreme Court would simply choose to reject our case.
You see, just because we appealed to the Supreme Court doesn’t mean they have to agree to hear the case.
But again, Sandpoint’s worst nightmare came true as the court decided to hear our case! And, given the experience that our legal team has before this court, we think our chances of winning this case are high!
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So now, after fighting for three years to get our day in court, our case may be heard in just forty-five days.
That’s why I am writing you today.
I always knew that we needed to earmark an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 in actual legal expenses to engage ISAA’s lawyers to prepare for and argue this case.
But I didn’t worry about raising that money previously, as I just didn’t know for sure if the court would take up the case.
Now that they have, I need to raise this money, FAST!
If we win this case, we’ll crush the ability for liberal mayors across the state to establish their own ‘Gun Free Zones’ and arrest gun owners who violate it.
But if we lose this case, Idaho will become a patchwork quilt of town-by-town gun control regimes, each one waiting to ensnare a well-meaning gun owner. We can’t let that happen!
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That’s why I hope you’ll agree to an immediate donation of $150 or even $250 so that our lawyers can get prepared to fight for us!
I know that with Biden’s inflation rate ravaging our standard of living by sending the cost of gas, housing, and food to incredible prices, times are tight.
As a father of five, I understand this all too well.
Idaho is an incredible place to live and raise a family. But the things that make Idaho so wonderful are being attacked more and more every day.
We need to hold the line. And that starts with this lawsuit. So please make your most generous donation TODAY!
For Idaho,
Greg Pruett
President
Idaho Second Amendment Alliance
P.S. After a thirty-eight-month-long fight to get here, the Idaho State Supreme Court has agreed to hear ISAA’s lawsuit that Challenges the City of Sandpoint’s ability to defy the State of Idaho pre-emption law and create local ‘Gun Free Zones!’
There’s a lot on the line. But now that the court has agreed to hear the case, I need to raise an immediate $15,000-$20,000 to allow our lawyers to prepare for and argue this case.
>>> DONATE TODAY – HELP ISAA FIGHT IN THE SUPREME COURT! <<<
If we don’t fight now, mayors across the state will set up ‘Gun Free Zones overnight! Help us finish this fight with an immediate donation of $150, $75, $25, or at least $10!