BELLEVUE, Wash. — June 10, 2026 — The Second Modification Basis (SAF) right now submitted formal testimony to the thirty sixth Legislature of the USA Virgin Islands opposing Invoice No. 36-0144, which might undertake expansive gun management legal guidelines within the territory.
SAF advises the Virgin Islands legislature to undertake a wait-and-see strategy on condition that a number of pending circumstances earlier than the U.S. Supreme Court docket and the Third Circuit Court docket of Appeals will immediately impression the constitutionality of most of the invoice’s provisions.
In a letter to Senate President Milton E. Potter, SAF highlighted that the modification comprises quite a few Second Modification violations – together with restrictions on carry in locations the place such limits are impermissible, bans on frequent arms in violation of Heller, and exorbitant charges that successfully tax the train of a constitutional proper – however emphasised a sensible purpose for delay.
“Most of the very legal guidelines that the invoice would enact are already awaiting courtroom rulings that might be binding on the Virgin Islands,” SAF wrote within the letter. “There isn’t any purpose for taxpayers to incur the expense of potential lawsuits, particularly at a time when the Virgin Islands are already underneath federal scrutiny for associated points. These questions are all about to be answered in different circumstances.”
The letter particularly notes that the modification’s “vampire rule” proscribing keep it up personal property open to the general public with out affirmative permission is ready to be determined by the Supreme Court docket as quickly as this week in Wolford v. Lopez. It additionally flags en banc Third Circuit circumstances addressing “assault weapon” and journal bans and sensitive-places restrictions (together with SAF’s case Koons v. Lawyer Common of New Jersey) – all of which contain points immediately implicated by the Virgin Islands laws.
SAF provided to offer detailed substantive arguments on every constitutional defect if senators have an interest however harassed that the pending litigation alone warrants pausing the invoice quite than speeding it into regulation solely to face probably invalidation whereas saddling taxpayers with pointless authorized payments.
For extra data go to SAF.org.
The Second Modification Basis (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt training, analysis, publishing and authorized motion group devoted to safeguarding and selling the basic rights of people enshrined within the Second Modification of the USA Structure. SAF engages in aggressive authorized motion to make sure the ideas of armed self-defense, private liberty, and the possession of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Via public training initiatives, SAF teaches the significance of the Second Modification to advertise a society that values and workout routines the appropriate to maintain and bear arms.
