Do Non-Citizens Have the Right to Keep and Bear Arms?
Are non-citizens entitled to the same protection of their constitutionally-protected natural rights that U.S. citizens receive? That is the crux of the issue in the matter of Messmer v. Harrison. On Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina answered in the affirmative with respect to the right to keep and bear arms. The plaintiff, Kirsten Messmer, is a legal permanent resident residing in Wake County, North Carolina, but a citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany . . .
She wanted to obtain a North Carolina concealed handgun permit for self-defense purposes. Ms. Messmer was barred, however, from obtaining such a permit by North Carolina General Statute §14.415-12, which reads, in pertinent part:
(a) The sheriff shall issue a [concealed handgun] permit to an applicant if the applicant qualifies under the following criteria:
(1) The applicant is a citizen of the United States and has been a resident of the State 30 days or longer immediately preceding the filing of the application.
Ms. Messmer brought suit in federal court, arguing that §14.415-12 violated her Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection …read more
Via:: Truth About Guns
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