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ANDERSON <br /> f ER <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> CONFIDENTIAL: ATT NEY-C;L ENT COMMUNICATION <br /> To: Board of Selectmen, Town of Lexington <br /> Carl Valente, Town Manager <br /> From: Kevin Batt, Mina Makarious, and Christina Marshall <br /> ANDERSON & KREIGER LLP <br /> Re: Citizen's Article on Assault Weapons Ban <br /> Date: February 4, 2016 <br /> You have asked us to identify potential legal concerns with a ban on the manufacture, sale, and <br /> possession of assault weapons in Lexington. A Lexington Town Meeting Member has submitted <br /> a citizen's petition article substantially similar to an assault weapons ban ("AWB") ordinance <br /> enacted in Highland Park, Illinois. <br /> The Highland Park ordinance was recently upheld by the Seventh Circuit. The Supreme Court <br /> denied the plaintiff's petition for writ of certiorari in December 2015. Friedman v. City of <br /> Highland Park, Illinois, 784 F.3d 406 (2015), cent. denied, 136 S.Ct. 447 (2015). Although the <br /> Supreme Court's denial has no precedential effect, it signals a continued reluctance by the Court <br /> to consider Second Amendment cases following District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 <br /> (2008), which recognized a constitutionally-protected right to keep guns in the home for self- <br /> defense, and McDonald v. City of Chicago, Illinois, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), extending the Second <br /> Amendment to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment. <br /> Leaving aside federal constitutional and preemption challenges, the proposed bylaw may well be <br /> preempted by the Massachusetts state AWB, codified at G.L. c. 140, § 131M. <br /> SHORT ANSWER <br /> This article contemplates enactment of a bylaw and is therefore reviewable by the Attorney <br /> General. If enacted and approved by the Attorney General, the bylaw may be subject to <br /> challenges under Article 89 of the Massachusetts Constitution (the "Home Rule Amendment"), <br /> state preemption principles, and the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Given the <br /> existence of a state-level AWB and comprehensive licensing scheme for firearms, the proposed <br /> bylaw is quite vulnerable to such challenges. <br /> 3A0339303.1 1 <br />