Meyer joins Gun Safety SCOTUS case amicus brief

Salisbury, Md. – On Wednesday, Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer announced he has joined multiple governors in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold state and local laws regulating assault weapons.

Meyer has joined the filing of an amicus brief arguing that states have broad constitutional authority to enact laws that protect public health and safety. In the brief, the governors argue that striking down certain protections would interfere with states’ abilities to enact gun safety measures that protect communities from mass shootings.

“As a Delaware teacher, I had students and families whose lives were devastated by gun violence,” Meyer said in a statement released by his office. “After a shooting, the death toll tells us how many people were killed, but it doesn’t tell us how many lives were changed. No family should have to experience that kind of loss before their government takes action. We must protect every family and every community, and states must retain the authority to enact and enforce commonsense gun safety laws that save lives.”

According to state officials, the brief, which was filed through the Governors Action Alliance’s Safer Communities Initiative in the consolidated Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins cases, calls on the Supreme Court to “preserve states’ ability to enact gun safety measures that protect families and communities from deadly mass shootings.” The filing comes as the SCOTUS considers challenges to certain assault weapons restrictions at the state and local level.

“My job as governor is making sure I’m doing everything today to assure parents and families that our communities are safe, that your kids are going to a school where we’re doing everything we can under the law to protect public safety,” Meyer told WMDT in an interview. “And now there’s a challenge to one of those critical elements we’re doing to protect people against semi-automatic rifles. And I want to make sure we lead, not just to keep kids in Delaware safe, but to keep communities across our country safe.”

Since the 2004 expiration of a federal law banning assault weapons, 12 states and the District of Columbia have enacted their own restrictions.

Governor Meyer joined the Safer Communities Initiative alongside Govs. Gavin Newsom (California), Jared Polis (Colorado), JB Pritzker (Illinois), Wes Moore (Maryland), Kathy Hochul (New York), Tina Kotek (Oregon), Dan McKee (Rhode Island) and Bob Ferguson (Washington).

A broadcast version of this story aired on Wednesday, Oct. 28.