Arms and the Law

Dave Workman has the story.

Notice here. Early in the new Term, and only case set for that day. Since I'd predict the ruling will come late in the Term, say in June, we'll have a long wait.

It sues for defamation, over CSGV calling it a "domestic terror organization." I can't give it good odds, regrettably; courts do NOT favor defamation suits at all. CSGV will probably start off with the argument that no one could have understood they really meant it literally.

From Everytown for Gun Control (alias for something more acceptable-sounding):

"Across the country, the NRA has convinced lawmakers to pass permitless carry--a dangerous law that allows people to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public without a background check or any safety training. Starting today, Texas is the 20th state with a permitless carry law in effect, marking a dangerous new chapter for gun safety in the state."

Biden sends Beto O'Rourke to Afghanistan.

""Unlike America, the Taliban is very progressive when it comes to gun legislation. This is just a common-sense measure," O'Rourke said as he wrestled an AK-47 out of the hands of an Afghan woman before the Taliban whisked her away."

But there is good news.

"Unfortunately, O'Rourke was caught in his furry costume and is now imprisoned on death row. Biden says we will have to either drop off some pallets of cash to get him back or start a second Afghan war."

From the Babylon Bee, our most trusted source for fake news.

Analysis here. Alan Beck and Stephen D. Stamboulieh got the win.

Hawaii law requires a permit to purchase a handgun, and the first case struck down the requirement that the handgun be obtained within ten days of the permit being issued. The law also requires the purchaser to bring the handgun to a police station so it can be inspected and registered. That was struck down, as well.

Just reflected--among all the military hardware left in Afghanistan, there were around 978,000 M-16s and M4s. Last I heard, the number of transferrable full-autos in the US was about 200,000. So Afghanistan, population around that of California, now has five times as Many full-autos as does the US! And that's not counting what they got from the Soviets.

I got an email ad for ammo, and replied they should send their buyers to Kabul. They have tons of US-made 5.56, and likely will sell it for scrap value.

It's been cancelled. I had had plans to fly in, but given the covid numbers for Houston, was not looking forward to it.

From gun lawyer Ev Nappen. Combine the "no one on the 'no fly list' should be able to have a gun" and a bill now introduced to put all unvaccinated persons on the no fly list....

They are supporting North Carolina's Jim Crow era pistol permit requirement.

David Codrea and attorney Steven Stamboulieh have filed a suit in an effort to get at ATF records regarding the gun Hunter Biden bought and discarded in the trash. ATF contends that any records are so clearly involving personal privacy that it need not even search for them.

Captain's Journal reports of the Taliban, first, they came for the guns.

From the Supreme Court docket, a minute ago: "ARGUMENT SET FOR Wednesday, November 3, 2021."

Update: I say "Whoever," because by the Federal Rules, an official named in his official capacity changes when he is replaced, so Smith v. Jones becomes Smith v. Lagune if Smith retires, the NY post named here as lead defendant/appellee/petition has turned over several times, and it's hard to keep track!

From the federal District Court, District of Connecticut. Driver stopped, hands over his driver's license and permit to carry, informs officer that he had a gun and a permit. He winds up handcuffed, the officer gets carried away, and he sues. Motion to dismiss denied.

"In light of the uncontested fact that Plaintiff presented his pistol permit to Defendant before or at the time he disclosed that he was in possession of a pistol and the absence of any other indicia that Plaintiff was otherwise violating the statute, no reasonable officer could believe probable cause was present. Any contrary holding "would eviscerate Fourth Amendment protections for lawfully armed individuals" by presuming a license expressly permitting possession of a firearm was invalid. United States v. Black, 707 F.3d 531 (4th Cir. 2013) (holding that an individual openly carrying a firearm, even when in a high-crime area...."

One gun homicide the mass media seems to be ignoring... But Judicial Watch is getting the documents. It seems that her husband was notified at 3"45 PM on January 8, and the DC Medical Examiner ordered her body cremated, which was done sometime before 7:13 PM the same day. The document is p. 372 of the linked pdf, The name and all information about the person requesting cremation are redacted, but at 7:13 the "Transaction was completed successfully."

Rochester, NY, mayor Lovely Warren has been indicted on gun charges, not long after her husband was busted for drug and gun violations.

More detail on her husband's arrest here. He was busted with $60,000 in cocaine, $100,000 in cash. In their home, police found three unregistered handguns and a banned "assault rifle." The mayor's excuse was that she knew nothing of what her husband was doing. Sure....

The other day a friend and I were discussing foreign cyberattacks and probes that appeared to be, if not government-launched, at least made with government protection and immunity. Prominent among these being Russian and Chinese hacking.

My friend suggested an imaginative use of letters of marque and reprisal, as authorized by the Constitution. These were the basis of privateering, perhaps the ultimate in privatization. The government would authorize the captain of a civilian vessel to seize enemy shipping, and sell it for his own profit. The letters ensured that if he was captured, he would be treated as a POW rather than as a pirate. A factor in ending the War of 1812 was that, while the US Navy was far too small to have an impact, American privateers (far outnumbering the Royal Navy) were inflicting great pain upon British merchant shipping.

The idea could be implemented along these lines: the US announces that unless a given country stops the cyber-raiding, the US will proclaim that the country is fair game for all American hackers and crackers. Do whatever you want, with no worries about prosecution. If you get any economic benefit, it's yours. If you find any secrets, sell them (we get dibs on military and statecraft secrets, but you sell them to anyone else, too).

In response to a petition signed by 100,000 people, the Czech Republic has adopted a constitutional guarantee of the right to arms.

Radio Prague has has more. And a story about the arms amnesty going on, which allows people to turn in illegally-held guns, and get them back after they get their license. Among the arms turned in was a T-34 tank and an SU-100 tank destroyer!

In NYSRPA, a group of public defenders just filed this amicus. I cannot find words to describe it. You don't need to know 2A law or Supreme Court standards to feel its impact. It's "Why We Fight" in brief form. The NY gun law is a stupid law, stupidly and zealously applied, so as to destroy good people's lives. Implicit message: if you feel compunction about striking it down, don't. You'll be doing humanity a favor.

Just reading the table of contents is enough to sway a reader.

The Court's docket is here; skim down to nearly the end for today's filings.

The brief that I filed is here. I'm too tired to add more, but arguments I and II are the most important. Yes, "bear arms" was understood to mean "carry weapons," if you were writing a constitutional amendment.