Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is taking issue with a multi-state lawsuit that challenges the legality of 3D-printed gun plans being sold online.
Last week, Texas company Defense Distributed was set to upload designs of 3D-printed guns for the public to buy and download. This came after a Department of Justice settlement with the firm in April paved the way for publication of the designs online.
But on July 31, a day before the planned launch, a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked the release of the plans after seven states and Washington, D.C. sued the company and President Trump’s State Department.
Since then, twelve additional states have joined the court battle to stop the gun plans from being sold online, a preliminary injunction hearing has been scheduled for August 21 and the temporary restraining order has been extended until August 28.
Alabama is not on the list of nineteen states suing to prohibit the gun plans from being uploaded and sold.
“Attorney General Marshall has concerns with the lawsuit … and the resulting court action,” Mike Lewis, Communications Director for Alabama’s Office of the Attorney General, said in a statement to Yellowhammer News.
Only one Republican has joined the nationwide lawsuit — Colorado’s Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, who is leaving office after mounting an unsuccessful run to be that state’s next governor.
Besides Colorado, Washington, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia are suing.
“In addition to the significant First and Second Amendment concerns at issue in this case, the Attorney General remains skeptical of the uptick in policy-driven nationwide injunctions being issued by activist federal judges around the country,” Lewis added.
This echoes the admonitions made Monday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an unrelated case about illegal immigration.
“The judicial branch has no power to eviscerate the lawful directives of Congress—nor to enjoin the executive branch from enforcing such mandates,” Sessions stated, via The Hill. “We have recently witnessed a number of decisions in which courts have improperly used judicial power to steer, enjoin, modify, and direct executive policy.”
Read more about the constitutional arguments involved in the 3D-printed gun plans lawsuit here and here.
Does Alabama Attorney General Marshall believe that these plans should be allowed to be sold and downloaded online? And on the flip side of that coin, should Alabamians be allowed to purchase and download the plans and then manufacture 3D guns?
“Attorney General Marshall’s non-participation in the lawsuit speaks for itself,” Lewis responded.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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