2. Following in the abusive footsteps of these repressive regimes, the New Jersey
Attorney General has taken a series of actions to suppress Smith & Wesson’s speech, and with the
intention of damaging Smith & Wesson both financially and reputationally. The most recent such
action is the issuance of an administrative subpoena (the “Subpoena”) on October 13, 2020 that
allegedly seeks evidence of consumer fraud relating to advertising – but in reality, it seeks to
suppress and punish lawful speech regarding gun ownership in order to advance an anti-Second
Amendment agenda that the Attorney General publicly committed to pursue.
3. The Subpoena presents no legitimate inquiry into any purported fraud, and instead
targets mere opinions and other protected statements allegedly made by Smith & Wesson, such as
(1) whether Smith & Wesson’s products are “safe,” make a home safer, or enhance one’s lifestyle;
(2) whether an untrained consumer could successfully and effectively use a Smith & Wesson
firearm for personal or home defense; and (3) whether private citizens should have the right to
carry a concealed firearm. The only fraud here is the Attorney General’s abuse of his position to
suppress a political viewpoint with which he disagrees.
4. As the Supreme Court has recognized, “the enshrinement of constitutional rights
takes certain policy choices off the table.”2
Here, what must be off the table is the Attorney
General’s repeated abuse of power that violates the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth
Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,
15 U.S.C. §§ 7901 et seq. (the “PLCAA”).
![[rolleyes]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/042.gif "Roll Eyes [rolleyes]")
