Cooley + League of Women Voters File Amicus Brief in Second Amendment Case Before SCOTUS to Protect Electoral Process and Right to Vote Safely

Boston – September 27, 2021 – Cooley represented the League of Women Voters in filing an amicus brief in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, a US Supreme Court case examining New York laws regulating the right of individuals to carry guns in public places. Lawyers Adam Gershenson, Kathleen Hartnett, Daniel Grooms, Adam Katz and Andrew Barr led the Cooley effort.

“Allowing private citizens to carry guns inside polling places and at other election-related events poses a threat to the electoral process. Voter intimidation must not be tolerated,” Dr. Deborah Ann Turner, board president of the League of Women Voters of the United States, said in a news release. “Voters have a right to safe access to their polling place, and these laws protect that constitutional right. They must be upheld.”

The League’s brief supports current New York laws requiring citizens to show proper cause – as opposed to “speculative or specious” grounds – before allowing them to carry concealed weapons in certain public spaces, including polling places. Without such restrictions, the threat of intimidation at polling places, during registration and as votes are counted could imperil the electoral process.

“Cooley is proud to partner with the League of Women Voters to ensure that all citizens can safely participate in the electoral process,” Cooley partner Gershenson said. “No citizen should face intimidation or have their fundamental right to vote undermined, especially at a time when we have seen a disturbing increase in armed intimidation at the polls and at political activities more broadly.”

The case will be heard by the Supreme Court on November 3, 2021.

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