Lawsuit Filed To Block NJ’s Attempt To Criminalize Gun File Sharing

By Tom Knighton

The courts have routinely found that data equals a kind of speech. As a result, that speech should be protected like any other speech. In other words, it should be free.

The state of New Jersey, however, doesn’t buy that. Especially when the “speech” in question are files for building guns.

Now, a number of groups are filing a lawsuit to block the state’s attempt to criminalize the sharing of those files.

The Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation, Second Amendment Foundation, Calguns Foundation, California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees, and Defense Distributed petitioned the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against state attorney general Gurbir Grewal’s threat to prosecute the company hosting CodeIsFreeSpeech.com. The site is where a number of gun blueprints had been available for download. The group has also filed for declaratory and injunctive relief.

“With a torrent of civil and criminal enforcement actions, Grewal is conducting a censorship campaign that expressly targets Defense Distributed’s publication of digital firearms information and expressly targets its audience,” the groups said in the complaint. “If anyone dares to share the information deemed illicit, Grewal swears that he ‘will …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms