Brady Center joins fight over gun rights

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is joining the federal government's fight to stop states that want to exempt themselves from national gun control laws, arguing the effort threatens public safety.

The gun control advocates and the U.S. Department of Justice both filed new arguments Tuesday in the ongoing legal battle over federal gun control and states rights.

The issue was sparked with the "firearm freedoms act" first enacted in Montana last year and subsequently in several other states, and is leading to a constitutional showdown over the reach of Congress into state borders.

The states argue they should decide which rules, if any, would control the sale and purchase of guns and paraphernalia made inside their borders.

The state would then be exempt from rules on federal gun registration, background checks and dealer-licensing.

At t o r n eys g e n e r a l i n Montana, Utah, Alabama, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia subsequently signed on to help the gun advocates who launched the lawsuit last fall.