On January 7, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit arguing that Minnesota’s failure to recognize other states’ firearm permits violates the Second Amendment. The lawsuit aims to defend two truckers’ constitutional right to bear arms in public and carry them in their trucks across state borders.
David McCoy is a full-time, long-haul trucker who lives in the sleeper compartment of his eighteen-wheeler. He has a Texas License to Carry that permits him to bear arms in many states across the country. Jeffrey Johnson is also a full-time, long-haul trucker, with both a Florida Concealed Weapons License and Georgia Weapons Carry License. Even though both men have lawfully issued firearm licenses, they are currently prevented from carrying firearms for self-defense while in Minnesota because the state prohibits 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 choses which states’ firearms permits it will recognize and which it will not. Currently, Minnesota excludes Texas, Georgia, and Florida—along with 26 other states—from that list. Due to this law, neither Mr. McCoy nor Mr. Johnson can exercise their constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense due to fear of prosecution, which could jeopardize the credentials needed for their profession.
On January 7, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on Mr. McCoy’s and Mr. Johnson’s behalf, arguing that Minnesota’s firearm permitting law deprives nonresidents of their Second Amendment right to bear arms. The lawsuit asks the court to find 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. McCoy and Mr. Johnson who regularly cross state lines in the course of their work,” said Loren Seehase, 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 they lose their right to self-defense? We ask the court to intervene and require the state of Minnesota to honor nonresidents’ Second Amendment rights.”
McCoy v. Jacobson was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on January 7, 2025.
The Liberty Justice Center’s legal filings in McCoy v. Jacobson are available here.
Loren A. Seehase is a Senior Counsel at Liberty Justice Center where she litigates cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property, and other Constitutional rights in both federal and state courts across the country.
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