Ryan Morrison
Ryan joined the Liberty Justice Center as Senior Counsel in May 2025 to protect the right of free speech, defend the right to keep and bear arms, and stop government overreach.
On January 7, 2025, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit arguing that Minnesota’s failure to recognize other states’ firearm permits violated the Second Amendment. The lawsuit aimed to defend a trucker’s constitutional right to bear arms in public and carry them in his truck across state borders.
Jeffrey Johnson is a full-time, long-haul trucker with both a Florida Concealed Weapons License and a Georgia Weapons Carry License. Even though he had been lawfully issued firearm licenses, Mr. Johnson was prevented from carrying firearms for self-defense while in Minnesota because the state prohibited carrying a firearm for self-defense, in public or in one’s vehicle, without a Minnesota Permit to Carry or a permit recognized by the state.
Each year, Minnesota determines which states’ firearm permits it will recognize and which it will not. Currently Minnesota excludes Texas, Georgia, and Florida—along with 15 other states—from that list. Due to this law, Mr. Johnson was unable to exercise his constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense out of fear of prosecution, which could have jeopardized the credentials required for his profession.
On January 7, the Liberty Justice Center filed the lawsuit on Mr. Johnson’s behalf, arguing that Minnesota’s firearm permitting law deprived nonresidents of their Second Amendment right to bear arms. The lawsuit asked the court to declare the law unconstitutional and order the state of Minnesota to honor firearm permits issued by all other states.
“Minnesota’s refusal to honor other states’ lawfully issued firearm permits places an unreasonable burden on the Second Amendment rights of individuals like Mr. Johnson who regularly cross state lines in the course of his work,” said Loren Seehase, former Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “There is no other constitutional right that individuals are prohibited from exercising until they’ve obtained permission from the state. No one loses their right to free speech or freedom of religion by simply driving from Texas to Minnesota—so why should Mr. Johnson lose his right to self-defense? We ask the court to intervene and require the state of Minnesota to honor nonresidents’ Second Amendment rights.”
Litigation in this case has concluded after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari on October 5, 2026, leaving the lower court’s ruling in place and bringing the case to a close. The question at the heart of this case remains open: whether a law-abiding American forfeits his Second Amendment right to self-defense simply by crossing a state line. The Liberty Justice Center remains confident that this question will reach the Court in time and will continue the work to defend this constitutional right.
Johnson v. Jacobson was filed as McCoy v. Jacobson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on January 1, 2025.
The left can’t intimidate patriots who have spoken loud and clear–our constitutional rights will not be taken away and we won’t be intimated into giving them up.
Ryan joined the Liberty Justice Center as Senior Counsel in May 2025 to protect the right of free speech, defend the right to keep and bear arms, and stop government overreach.
Tim Kilcullen serves as a staff attorney at the Liberty Justice Center. He has a deep passion for protecting Americans’ fundamental liberties, particularly their right to free speech and a free press.
By Jacob Sullum | 9.8.2026 (Reason Magazine) Meanwhile, the top court of Massachusetts considers whether the state can deny carry permits to applicants who are deemed “unsuitable.” Four years ago in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court said the Second Amendment precludes states from...
Author: Tyson Fisher (Land Line Media)—A patchwork of concealed carry laws can turn a law-abiding truck driver into a criminal instantly just by that driver crossing a state line. A lawsuit filed by a pair of truckers and a bill in Congress both aim to fix that. In January, two...
(The Federalist)—A complaint challenges Minnesota’s refusal to recognize lawfully issued firearms permits of 29 other states. Do rights granted under the U.S. Constitution end at the border of one state when a citizen enters another? Generally speaking, no. The privileges and immunities clause of Article IV, Section 2, of the...
(WDAY Radio Midday)—In this interview, Senior Counsel Loren Seehase joins WDAY Radio Midday’s Austin Erickson to discuss the Liberty Justice Center’s lawsuit defending two truckers’ Second Amendment rights. The Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of two long-haul truckers in early January, arguing that Minnesota’s failure to recognize...
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)—Two long-haul truckers, with the backing of a legal nonprofit that has argued multiple U.S. Supreme Court cases, are suing Minnesota over the state’s refusal to recognize more than half of the firearm permits issued by other states. The plaintiffs, one from Texas and another from Georgia,...
(The Trucker)—The Liberty Justice Center (LJC) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two truckers arguing that Minnesota’s failure to recognize other states’ firearm permits violates the Second Amendment. “Minnesota’s refusal to honor other states’ lawfully issued firearm permits places an unreasonable burden on the Second Amendment rights of individuals...
(The Washington Times)—Two truckers have filed a lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s gun laws, saying the state won’t let them carry their firearms as they drive its roads, even though they’re legally licensed to publicly carry their weapons in their home states. Minnesota does have reciprocity with 20 states, but doesn’t recognize...
(Truck Driver News)—Two truck drivers have filed a lawsuit against Minnesota, claiming the state’s policies infringe on trucker gun rights and violate their Second Amendment protections. The drivers, David McCoy and Jeffrey Johnson, argue that Minnesota’s refusal to honor firearm permits from other states leaves them defenseless. The case, McCoy...
(Tampa Free Press)—The Liberty Justice Center filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday challenging Minnesota’s refusal to recognize firearm permits from other states, a policy the nonprofit argues violates the Second Amendment rights of interstate truck drivers. The lawsuit, McCoy v. Jacobson, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the...
(CDL Life)—A lawsuit filed this week accuses the state of Minnesota of infringing on the Second Amendment rights of two truck drivers by failing to recognize other states’ firearm permits. The lawsuit (McCoy v. Jacobson) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on January 7,...