Arms and the Law

1. Of course, the pro-2A vote is now 6-3.

2. Certiorari is governed by the "Rule of Four," it takes four votes. There were two reliable ones going in, now it becomes three. It just takes one more, and if any pro-2A hold-outs were worried before about the outcome of a case, they can now stop worrying. It only takes one more vote to grant cert. now.

3. CJ Roberts is no longer swing Justice. At 6-3, there is no swing Justice.

4. If Roberts is in the majority, he can keep an opinion or assign to whoever in the majority he chooses. If he dissents, that power goes to the senior Justice in the majority. Justice Thomas.

I believe it is a whole new ball game....

"Everytown for Gun Safety

Republicans in the Senate have voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. As her confirmation hearings demonstrated, she is a threat to gun safety laws across the country and could be a dream come true for the NRA."

One of the bigger constitutional events of my lifetime....

Right here. And to that we will soon be able to add Young v. Hawaii, my choice for Supreme Court review.

Story here. A number of Seattle businesses sued the city over its allowing the blackshirts to take over a part of downtown for a month, and in fact providing city aid (city-provided barriers to block vehicular traffic, etc.) to the efforts. I'd expect the city to plead the doctrine that a government has no legally-enforcable duty to protect its citizens (so much for the idea that police will be there to protect you).

ATF is issuing a new 4473, mandatory November 1. The changes seem modest.

"Everytown Statement: During Questioning, Judge Amy Coney Barrett Confirms Extreme and Dangerous Second Amendment Beliefs". But you say that like it was a bad thing!

""This morning, Judge Barrett confirmed what we already suspected: she is a gun rights extremist who has no place on the Supreme Court."

""Judge Barrett confirmed this morning that she's a dream come true for the NRA and a nightmare for the safety of the American people."

"A more detailed analysis can be found in this memo detailing Judge Barrett's extreme positions on the Second Amendment, this memo on how this Supreme Court confirmation could impact gun safety in the U.S, and this chart showing which states' gun safety laws are at risk." I needed a cold shower after reading them....

Yes, she is a gun-owning Superwoman.

Then, as someone said, these confirmation hearings are a breeze for her. She has seven kids, so answering stupid questions all day is something she's done for years.

Story here. It specifically covers disclosures about their backing Mark Kelly for the Senate here in AZ.

"It's an imperfect system. I mean, I wish we would just give up the goat and stop pretending that like we aren't connected and we have to keep this firewall or whatever but like, that's typically how it's done. It's like this kind of beat around the bush kind of thing," he said. "But if we do that is because if we didn't it would be bad for everything we believe in."

Right here. Franklin Armory got Bushmaster, Ruger got Marlin, Roundhill Group got the remaining firearms businesses, Sierra got Barnes Bullets.

Right here. Interesting that it was prepared before the nomination was announced, so it nowhere uses Barrett's name. It's a handy template to be used whoever was chosen.

"Albany man rescued from Lake George by priests on a floating tiki bar."

Story here.

They're meant for persons fleeing California.

My host suffered a cyberattack that took days to deal with.

From Everytown:

:NEW YORK - Today, Everytown for Gun Safety released the following statements in response to President Donald Trump's newly released additions to his shortlist of potential Supreme Court nominees, should a vacancy arise. The additions to the shortlist notably include Judges Kyle Duncan and James Ho, both of whom espoused an extreme and dangerous interpretation of the Second Amendment in voting to reconsider the decision in Mance v. Sessions, which had upheld a federal gun safety statute, and said they would have struck the statute down; former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, the attorney of choice for the NRA and its affiliates, including in McDonald v. Chicago, NYSRPA v. City of New York, and Peruta v. County of San Diego; and Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Josh Hawley (R-MO), all of whom have opposed common-sense gun safety laws like background checks on all gun sales throughout their time in the Senate:

"This list is a gift from President Trump to the gun lobby....""

Order here, in Aposhian v. Barr.

This might be Supreme Court material, not as to 2A issues, but as to "Chevron deference," the degree to which a court should defer to an agency's interpretation of the statutes it enforces. Justice Gorsuch has taken particular difference with the idea of such deference. This might be a prime case, since ATF initially ruled that such stocks (at least those not using springs) were not NFA arms, then reversed that and ruled that they were. Why is the second position less worthy of deference than the first? Should court turn a 180 on their read of a law because an executive branch agency did the same?

Some useful thoughts, from a guy who's been there.

This takes the cake: "Weary of NRA fear-mongering as schools brace for more violence" The author's, or editor's, lack of self-awareness is staggering.

I can remember a day when "vigilantes" meant members of a mob, attacking an individual. Under the current NewSpeak, it means an individual defending himself against members of a mob.

War is peace, freedom is slavery, victims are perpetrators....