Two-thirds of the nation’s attorneys general have filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari and review the case of NRA v. Chicago, according to the National Rifle Association. The bi-partisan group contends that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Now if you haven’t been to law school and aren’t well versed in Latin, this might seem a little confusing. Let’s take a more simplified look at what this means for those of us who have a stake in the country’s Second Amendment.

First of all, an amicus brief refers to someone (in this case two-thirds of the nation’s attorneys general), who aren’t a party to a case yet volunteer to offer information on a point of law or some other aspect of the case to assist the court in deciding a specific matter. The decision of whether to admit the information lies with the discretion of the court. In this case, that decision is up to the Supreme Court.

A writ of certiorari is an order by a higher court directing a lower court, tribunal or public authority to send the record in a given case for review. In this case, it refers to the Supreme Court requesting the Seventh Circuit Court to let them review their decision in the case of NRA v. Chicago.

So with our little Latin lesson under our belts, why have two-thirds of our nation’s attorneys general, including those in Missouri and Kansas, filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court?

According to an NRA statement, the collection of 33 attorneys general — along with the attorney general of California in a separate filing — agree with the NRA’s position that the Second Amendment protects a fundamental individual right to keep and bear arms in the home for self-defense. The group disagrees with the decision recently issued by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in the Chicago area.

“The historical record clearly shows that the Second Amendment was intended to apply to every American in every state in the country,” said Chris Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. “As the Supreme Court said clearly in last year’s landmark Heller decision, the Second Amendment protects an individual right that ‘belongs to all Americans.’ Two-thirds of America’s state attorneys general agree.”

The Seventh Circuit released a statement saying precedent bound it from holding in favor of incorporation of the Second Amendment. The panel of three judges affirmed a lower district court ruling that the incorporation of the Second Amendment into the Bill of Rights as it is applied to the states is a question for the Supreme Court rather than a court of appeals.

The decision by the Seventh Circuit Court upholds current bans on the possession of handguns in both the Chicago and Oak Park, Ill., areas.

“It is fundamentally wrong to violate the civil rights of any law-abiding person based on their zip code,” Cox said. “The fundamental right of self-defense must be respected by every jurisdiction throughout our country.”

Sports correspondent Jeff Leonard can be reached

at outdoors@npgco.com