09/29/2026
SAF filed an amicus brief with the NRA in the U.S. Supreme Court case Daniel Defense v. Lowy supporting petitioners’ request for review of a Fourth Circuit decision.
The plaintiffs in the case seek to hold lawful fi****ms manufacturers liable for a third party’s crime on the theory that advertisements using military, patriotic, or law-enforcement themes promoted a “warrior mentality” and appealed to “militaristic fantasies.” The plaintiffs have never so much as proven the suspect in the crime even saw the ads in question, let alone that he was influenced by them to commit a heinous crime. The Fourth Circuit held that allegations the shooter was “exposed to and influenced by” such ads satisfy Article III standing.
The brief argues that military themes have long accompanied civilian arms commerce. That’s appropriate given the Second Amendment’s militia clause, the Founding-era duty of militiamen to bring their own combat-suitable arms, civilian participation in posse comitatus and home-guard service, and Congress’ longstanding Civilian Marksmanship Program and surplus-service-arm sales to the public.
“This is not a new kind of speech. It is how Americans have sold and described arms since the Founding,” said SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Kostas Moros . “Traceability requires more than a distant ripple through someone else’s criminal choice. If commonplace military or law-enforcement themes in lawful advertising are enough for standing, every manufacturer becomes a defendant after a crime committed with a similar product.”...
Read more here: https://saf.org/saf-files-brief-urging-supreme-court-to-reject-liability-for-fi****ms-advertising/
