{"id":106954,"date":"2025-01-23T08:59:49","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T14:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=106954"},"modified":"2025-01-23T08:59:49","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T14:59:49","slug":"106954","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=106954","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Truckers File Lawsuit Arguing They Shouldn\u2019t Lose Second Amendment Rights Just Because They Cross State Lines.<\/a><\/p>\n

Do rights granted under the U.S. Constitution end at the border of one state when a citizen enters another? Generally speaking, no. The privileges and immunities clause of\u00a0Article IV<\/a>, Section 2, of the Constitution says that citizens of one state are \u201centitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens\u201d in other states. This includes the right to travel for employment and recreation. However, there are limitations.<\/p>\n

The scope of the\u00a0Second Amendment<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0right to keep and bear arms for self-defense across state lines is the issue at the heart of a\u00a0case<\/a>\u00a0filed on January 7, 2025, against Bob Jacobson, in his official capacity as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0complaint<\/a>\u00a0challenges Minnesota\u2019s refusal to recognize lawfully issued firearms permits of other states, including those held by plaintiffs David McCoy and Jeffrey Johnson in their home states of Texas and Georgia, respectively. Johnson also holds a permit from Florida, where he used to live.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs are professional long-haul 18-wheel truck drivers who crisscross the country, 300 days a year. According to the complaint, both maintain firearm competency with safety courses and memberships in various firearms organizations. Each regularly passes background checks required by their employment. Neither has any history of violence, felony convictions, or class one misdemeanors. Their backgrounds include experience as firefighters and emergency medical technicians.<\/p>\n

The men consider themselves good Samaritans, their \u201cpersonal ethos\u201d impelling them to \u201cmake the road a little safer\u201d by \u201chelping stranded motorists, coming to the aid of accidents, assisting law enforcement and emergency workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

While driving, McCoy and Johnson regularly carry firearms for the purposes of self-defense, as well as defense of others, their home, and cargo. But whenever they reach the Minnesota border,\u00a0Minnesota law<\/a>\u00a0requires them to unload their firearms and stow them in a closed, fastened container, rendering them not readily accessible. Other states have analogous restrictions.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Different State Requirements<\/h2>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a spiderweb of regulations as I travel from state to state,\u201d said McCoy, who spoke on a hands-free phone while en route to Nashville. \u201cAs I turn up Interstate 81, I pass into West Virginia,\u201d he said, by way of example. \u201cTwelve miles later I pass into Maryland where I stop and unload my gun.\u201d When he reaches Pennsylvania, he stops again to retrieve his firearm. He repeats this scenario again and again, 300 days a year.<\/p>\n

When McCoy called lawyer Loren Seehase for advice about his travel difficulties, she was shocked to discover the \u201cpatchwork of laws\u201d he had to navigate. Seehase is senior counsel at the nonprofit\u00a0Liberty Justice Center<\/a>, a public-interest litigation firm. \u201cMinnesota\u2019s law currently recognizes the validity of handgun permits issued by 20 states but denies reciprocity to 29 others,\u201d she said. The law can fluctuate year to year. And it has no statutory requirement that the commissioner explain denial of reciprocity for any state law he considers not \u201csimilar\u201d to Minnesota and thereby excludes.<\/p>\n

After comparing Texas and Minnesota regulations, Seehase said she believed Texas\u2019 law is actually more restrictive.<\/p>\n

Non-compliance with Minnesota\u2019s gun permit requirement carries hefty penalties that would threaten plaintiffs\u2019 licenses and livelihoods. First offenses carry fines up to $3,000, incarceration up to 364 days, or both. Second and subsequent offenses can result in fines up to $10,000, incarceration up to five years, or both.<\/p>\n

Needed for Protection<\/h2>\n

Safety on the road is also a serious concern for truckers. \u201cThey live in their truck. In a sense it is their home,\u201d said Seehase.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne time I was carrying cargo to a new job and the mechanic was intoxicated and didn\u2019t recognize me and shot at me in my truck,\u201d McCoy said. While stopped at crashes to help motorists, he has witnessed individuals fleeing from purported crimes. Road rage against truckers is a common occurrence.<\/p>\n

There are reports of violence against\u00a0female truckers<\/a>\u00a0too. They account for 6 to 10 percent of\u00a0long-haulers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The year\u00a02023<\/a>\u00a0saw an enormous surge in cargo theft across the U.S. involving hijacking, forced entry, and break-ins while truckers stepped away from their vehicles. Totals for 2024 are not in yet, but theft rose substantially during the\u00a0third quarter<\/a>. Estimates place the financial\u00a0fallout<\/a>\u00a0at $15-$35 billion.<\/p>\n

The costs and logistics of complying with assorted state permits add additional burdens. Minnesota alone charges a $100 application fee for a firearms permit and requires applicants to apply in person. Permit notification can take another 30 days. Meanwhile, the law prohibits out-of-state truckers and others from carrying firearms. Permits, valid for five years, are mailed to applicants\u2019 home addresses, adding another layer of difficulty for truckers to retrieve them.<\/p>\n

Lawsuit<\/h2>\n

The complaint alleges that these burdens are not only onerous on the plaintiffs but on \u201cmillions of other similarly situated Americans.\u201d Professional truck drivers number approximately 3.5 million in the U.S., of which 300,000-500,000 are long-haulers. Add to that others with valid permits who travel out-of-state for work or pleasure, including those residing in recreational vehicles. Seehase says this results \u201cin a refusal to recognize the carry permits of approximately two-thirds of Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that Minnesota\u2019s refusal to recognize lawfully issued out-of-state firearms permits violates the Second Amendment, an injunction prohibiting enforcement, and an order requiring Minnesota to honor lawfully issued out-of-state firearms permits.<\/p>\n

The complaint says in no other instance does Minnesota require a visiting individual to obtain permission before exercising a constitutional right. What about regulations, for example, that require permits for parades or protests and the First Amendment right to peaceably assemble? \u201cThat\u2019s different,\u201d Seehase said. \u201cUnder the law, they\u2019re not treating residents and nonresidents differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

The commissioner\u2019s office declined to weigh in, stating it was generally not their practice to comment on pending litigation. Once served with the complaint, the commissioner will have\u00a021<\/a>\u00a0days to respond.<\/p>\n

The litigation will undoubtedly turn on the application of the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s 2022 decision in\u00a0New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen<\/em>, which struck down New York\u2019s concealed carry permit regulation requiring applicants to demonstrate special need for carrying a firearm in public for self-defense. The court did not prohibit states from enacting firearms licensing requirements, but held that the Second Amendment\u2019s right to bear arms extended beyond one\u2019s home. It further placed the burden on a state to substantiate that its laws are consistent with the nation\u2019s historical tradition of firearms regulation. \u201cI don\u2019t think Minnesota can overcome that burden,\u201d Seehase said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Truckers File Lawsuit Arguing They Shouldn\u2019t Lose Second Amendment Rights Just Because They Cross State Lines. Do rights granted under the U.S. Constitution end at the border of one state when a citizen enters another? Generally speaking, no. The privileges and immunities clause of\u00a0Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution says that citizens of one … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courts","category-rkba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=106954"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106955,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106954\/revisions\/106955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=106954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=106954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=106954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}