Steven Perez v. United States

Petitioner was convicted of interstate transport and receipt of firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(3), and conspiracy to commit this offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. In affirming the judgment of conviction, the Second Circuit held that an individual’s “acquisition” of firearms was merely an “ancillary” Second Amendment right. Because this was the case, it adopted and applied a “meaningful constraint” test also used by the Ninth Circuit: “[R]egulations on the means of acquiring, transporting, and storing firearms only implicate the text of the Second Amendment if they meaningfully constrain the right to possess and carry arms.” Accordingly, the questions presented are: Does the Second Amendment presumptively protect an individual’s right to acquire firearms? Is the “meaningful constraint” standard applied by the Second and Ninth Circuits to determine the constitutionality of regulations concerning “ancillary” Second Amendment rights correct?