Veteran Los Angeles artist Dom Kennedy and fellow plaintiff Garry Matthews are suing the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissions, and the LAPD. The class-action lawsuit claims Los Angeles’ gun laws are unconstitutional. The lawsuit aims to invalidate restrictive gun laws in Los Angeles.

Kennedy who was a frequent collaborator of the late Nipsey Hussle has seen the unfair and often unconstitutional practices enforced by policymakers and the LAPD. This class-action lawsuit marks the 1st, where a Los Angeles artist has taken up the constitutional law to empower self-defense. Los Angeles, in the last few years, has seen the loss of a few popular artists to gun violence. Artists are often targeted by law enforcement for carrying firearms, a practice by artists that makes sense for a well-known public figure.

Dom Kennedy and Matthews are challenging the city, and its licensing scheme, claiming that it violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. Both men believe they were unjustly arrested in the past. Dom Kennedy and Matthews want the gun licensing scheme to be declared unconstitutional. They seek to have their arrests – and others like them – be ruled null and void.  They also want everyone impacted by the laws to have their arrest and prosecution records sealed. Dom Kennedy and Matthews call for damages for themselves and others impacted by these unconstitutional laws. The pair want a jury to award additional funds to cover their attorney’s fees and court costs.