KELSO, WA – The law firm that successfully argued the landmark Bruen case has agreed to take up the high-profile Gator’s Custom Guns case concerning Washington state’s prohibition on the sale, manufacture and distribution of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.
In 2022, the law firm of Clement & Murphy successfully argued the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, a United States Supreme Court decision that significantly expanded the scope of the Second Amendment’s protection of the right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.
The case centered on New York’s requirement that individuals demonstrate a “special need” for self-defense to obtain a concealed-carry permit.
The Silent Majority Foundation, which has represented Gator’s Custom Guns in Kelso, Wash., and owner Wally Wentz from day one, is still on the case. However, SMF founder and lead counsel Pete Serrano had to step aside last week when he accepted President Donald Trump’s nomination to be U.S. District Attorney for Eastern Washington.
Gator’s Custom Guns has argued the state’s 2022 ban on the sale of gun ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds violates the Washington and U.S. constitutions.
Serrano told The Center Square, just ahead of his nomination to federal office, SMF filed a writ for certiorari, or a petition for review to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Gator’s Custom Guns case.
The Washington Supreme Court ruled against Gator’s Custom Guns earlier this year. According to the court, the state can regulate magazines without violating federal or state constitutional protections of the right to bear arms.
Serrano hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will take the case.
“It’s been docketed so we have an official number, and so now it’s a wait for the state to file its response brief, and then we’ll file our reply brief after that, and then they’ve got to take it back and decide if they want to hear it,” Serrano explained. “That’s what they call the conference process, and if four of the nine justices decide they want to hear the case, they will schedule it for merit briefing, and probably, my guess is, like fall of 2026 or maybe summer ‘26 term [they could take the case]. So, we should know by the end of the year where we’re going.”
Serrano is cautiously optimistic.
“I think it’s absolutely worth them taking the case,” he said. “Where some believe that large capacity magazines are not arms, some believe they are arms not protected by the Constitution. So, it is a really a good opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to put its finger down and say, ‘OK, this is how we define the term, and if you lower courts can’t get it, stop not getting it.’”
Wentz said having Clement & Murphy on board with their case is a considerable boost.
“Clement & Murphy having an interest because of their confidence in the potential success of the case, it is a big deal for applying pressure to get SCOTUS to take the review,” Wentz said. “The concept of Clement & Murphy is their experience at this level of litigation. They’ve been successful.”
As for losing Serrano on the case, Wentz said he still has every confidence in SMF and more respect than ever for Serrano.
“The whole gang at Silent Majority has worked like a well-oiled machine for two years. I have no confidence issues. Pete leaving is one thing, but he is not leaving my life. He’s leaving as one of my counsel team and the lead litigator going forward from the Silent Majority Foundation. Austin Hatcher is an extremely good litigator. He’s level-headed, and he’s the one [who] spoke for me at the Washington State Supreme Court with accuracy, prudence, and a calm, level-headed demeanor.”
