Gov. Sam Brownback's campaign for re-election is raising funds off a federal lawsuit filed against a gun bill he signed.

In an email sent Thursday, Brownback's campaign said the lawsuit the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed on behalf of five Kansans is reason to financially support his re-election bid.

"To put it simply, the gun-grabbers at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence are suing Governor Sam Brownback for protecting the Second Amendment rights of Kansans," the campaign email states. "That’s right, they’re suing him for defending the Constitution."

Jon Lowy, director of the Brady Center's Legal Action project, said that was a mischaracterization of the lawsuit and it was inappropriate for the governor to use the legal action as a fundraising tool.

"I do think it’s galling that the governor who signed legislation which is likely going to cost Kansas taxpayers thousands of dollars to unsuccessfully defend is now using a lawsuit brought by Kansas citizens to raise money for his personal political campaign," Lowy said in a phone interview Friday.

The target of the lawsuit, the "Second Amendment Protection Act," states that the federal government has no jurisdiction over firearms made and sold in Kansas and makes it a felony to enforce federal laws on such guns.

During testimony on the bill last year, a representative from Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt's office warned that the U.S. Constitution's "Supremacy Clause" bars states from waiving federal law and Schmidt requested an additional $225,000 after the law passed in anticipation of having to defend it in court. Schmidt has called the timing of the Brady Center suit "political" and vowed to fight it.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who owns a financial stake in an Overland Park company planning to manufacture AR-15 tactical rifles, said last year the state would welcome a challenge to the bill, calling it "a fight worth having."

Lowy said legal precedent, including a federal appeals court striking down a similar Montana law, is on the plaintiffs' side.

"I would challenge the governor to offer any legal support for the proposition that Kansas can exempt itself from federal gun laws," Lowy said. "I don’t think there is any."

The Brownback campaign fundraising email also suggests the Brady Center is colluding with President Barack Obama's administration to try to thwart the Kansas gun law.

"Last year, Gov. Brownback championed the Second Amendment Protection Act, which exempts firearms manufactured and owned in Kansas from being subjected to the regulations or authority from the Obama Administration and gun-grabbing (U.S.) Attorney General Eric Holder," the email states. "The President’s administration must not have liked this because they decided to find some Washington, D.C., lawyers at the Brady Center to try and get rid of the new law."

It's the second time this week Brownback has suggested the Brady Center is acting as Obama's puppet.

"For the governor to repeat his suggestion that the Obama Administration is behind this lawsuit when he knows there’s absolutely no involvement is also disturbing," Lowy said. "This lawsuit is brought by Kansas residents who are greatly disturbed that their Legislature is sacrificing the public safety of Kansans to cater to the gun lobby."

When asked for evidence that the Obama Administration is behind the Brady Center lawsuit, Brownback campaign manager Mark Dugan provided the following statement:

"What's clear is that President Obama and the Brady Center share the goals of neutering Kansas citizens' Second Amendment rights," Dugan said. "The day after the governor signed the Second Amendment Protection Act he received a letter from President Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder, claiming the bill was unconstitutional and now their liberal allies are suing the state of Kansas, citing General Holder's letter in their legal filing."

Lowy said that's no evidence.

"We also cited a long line of U.S. Supreme Court precedent, as well as 9th Circuit (Court of Appeals) precedent that held that a law very similar to Kansas' is patently unconstitutional," Lowy said.