Overview
The Recorder highlighted Steptoe’s advocacy for gun control measures in a December 27 article covering recent developments in a significant Ninth Circuit case involving local gun control regulations. The article, titled “Ninth Circuit Will Revisit Controversial Gun Case," discusses how gun control advocates in California will get a second chance to make their case that a Bay Area county ordinance restricting where firearms stores can be located does not violate the Second Amendment.
In an order filed on December 27, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted en banc review in Teixeira v. County of Alameda County. A split panel in May sided with opponents of the ordinance finding that officials had not sufficiently justified a 1998 regulation prohibiting the sale of firearms within 500 feet of a residentially zoned area.
Steptoe Palo Alto partner Laurie Edelstein submitted an amicus brief for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Youth Alive!, advocating for en banc review. They argued: "Gun regulations are effective in reducing gun violence and gun-related deaths. Protecting the ability of local governments to enact sensible laws regulating the commercial sale of guns is a matter of increasing urgency, particularly in light of recent firearm tragedies."
The full article can be read at The Recorder (subscription required).