• I’ve been listening for songs with a connection to firearms. I’ve noticed that there are far too many songs that imply that somebody is going to get shot for disrespecting somebody else.

            

  •  

    I was up far too late for yesterday’s post, around 0200. Which was better than the night before when I was up until 0330 getting that post out.

    The following links will contain some older news articles, mostly because I’ve not had a link dump in a while. Hopefully, something interesting in the dump

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  • B.L.U.F. I need another image with a cheerleader for courts that get it right. After fighting my way through the monstrosity from yesterday, this Memorandum and Order is great news for the Second Amendment community. This is (hopefully?) a short article, I might write something longer about our win in the future.

    My wife read yesterday’s article and was upset about the Court’s opinion Herrera v. Raoul Illinois AWB/LCM ban. Later in the day, I was watching Guns and Gadgets on YouTube talking about Barnett v Raoul and she got the cases mixed up. Understandable.

    What I told her was that in Barnett v. Raoul the state was going to appeal, and it would make its way to the Seventh Circuit court. I predict that all of these cases from the district level will be consolidated. This case is already a consolidation of four cases.

    I was right. The stated did file for an appeal the same day the order came down and has also filed a motion for this Court to stay the injunction pending appeal.

    The state argues that since this court didn’t go along with the other court’s opinion, that this court should stay its injunction. “For consistency”, don’t you know. The state is also claiming that since the Seventh Circuit did not choose to grant a preliminary injunction in those other cases, this court is going against the wishes of the Seventh Circuit.

    I hope that his court stands its ground and makes the state get an injunction from the Circuit Court of Appeals.

    The question

    Are assault weapons band and large capacity magazine bans constitutional?

    Conclusion

    No.

    Ok, maybe a bit more

    Definition of Protected Arm under The Second Amendment

    (more…)

            

  • The Judge Said What?

    B.L.U.F. The Court found that the country has a history and tradition from pre-founding through the modern day of banning dangerous weapons.

    The plaintiffs (good guys) have requested a Temporary and Preliminary Injunction to enjoy the state from enforcing the Illinois assault weapon ban as well as the large capacity magazine bans. This is a Second Amendment Challenge

    The Court’s statement regarding the factual background

    The factual background is whatever the Court decides it is. This is part of the task of a Judge. They decide what the facts of the case are when there is no jury involved. We can learn significant information about the leaning of the Court just from their statement of facts.

    In response to widespread mass shootings nationally, including the mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois on July 4, 2022, the State of Illinois passed the “Protect Illinois Communities Act,” HB 5471 (“the Illinois Act”). Ill. Pub. Act 102-1116, § 1; …
    — Herrera v. Raoul, in his official capacity as Attorney General for the State of Illinois, 1:23-cv-00532, (N.D. Ill. Apr 25, 2023) ECF No. 75

    Here the Court gives its first glimpse of their bias via the implied facts. “[W]idespread mass shootings nationally” is certainly a loaded phrase. It has the implied fact that there are widespread mass shootings. A fact that is not in evidence.

    They move on to give a pretty standard definition of “assault weapon” to include many semi-automatic rifles. It is important to note that this is a ban on possessing an assault weapon as well. The exception being that you have to register the firearm with an “endorsement affidavit”. The same affidavit is required for all LCMs.

    The court points out that the new ban is no big deal because the county and city have had bans since 2006 and 2013. No big deal to have the state do it too.

    The Question

    Is the plaintiff’s right to self-defense threatened by his inability to keep his rifle and pistol and magazines in his home?
    Is the “endorsement affidavit” a forced registration, threatening his right to keep and bear arms?

    (more…)

            

  • This has been an interesting week for me. I’m working on a project where I’m being required to do much more frontend work than I normally do. This required me to actually learn Bootstrap’s grid system. It is astonishing how much I learn when I read the code instead of just reading the documentation.

    Another part of this was learning about citations and what they mean. This became critical when reading Judge Lindsay Jenkins’ Memorandum Opinion and Order regarding the Illinois AWB + LCM ban.

    Consider the following: “561 U.S. 742, 767 (2010)”. This is an official reference to McDonald. “561” is volume 561 of U.S. which is “United States Reports”. The same case can be referenced via the “S.Ct.” reporter, which is “Supreme Court Reporter”. And finally, there is “L.Ed.” and “L.Ed.2d) which is the “United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers’ Edition”.

    The next number, in our example “742”, is the page number in the printed reference. The “767” after that is the page from which this particular quotation was taken.

    Here is the quote of interest to me:

    In that vein, the Court noted that “[f]rom the early days of the Republic, through the Reconstruction era, to the present day, States and municipalities … banned altogether the possession of especially dangerous weapons.” Id. at 899–900.
    — Herrera v. Raoul, Memorandum Opinion and Order, (2023) ECF No. 75

    Id. is Latin for “idem” meaning “the same”. In citations, it means the same citation just used. This means I have to find the correct citation. This particular Judge is good with his citations. Whereas most people put the citation immediately after the quotation, this Judge puts them close. He mentions McDonald v. City of Chicago and a line later he gives the citation.

    This reference is to pages 899 through 900. Somewhere on those two pages of the printed reporter will be the quote he is citing.

    Now I don’t remember anything in Heller, McDonald, or Bruen that said that there was a history or tradition of banning the possession of especially dangerous weapons. The judge quoted them; therefore it must be there. Maybe he pulled it out of context?

    The text of the McDonald opinion is available from multiple sources. What isn’t available from most of those sources is a version with the page numbers as used in the cited reporter.

    After a bit of looking, I found it at the Library of Congress. I verified it was the correct version because it starts at page 742. Time to find his quote.

    Oh shit, there it is:

    From the early days of the Republic, through the Reconstruction era, to the present day, States and municipalities have placed extensive licensing requirements on firearm acquisition, restricted the public carriage of weapons, and banned altogether the possession of especially dangerous weapons, including handguns. See Heller, 554 U. S., at 683–687 (Breyer, J., dissenting) (reviewing colonial laws); Cornell & DeDino, A Well Regulated Right: The Early American Origins of Gun Control, 73 Ford. L. Rev. 487, 502–516 (2004) (reviewing pre-Civil War laws); Brief for Thirty-four Professional Historians and Legal Historians as Amici Curiae 4–22 (reviewing Reconstruction-era laws); Winkler, Scrutinizing the Second Amendment, 105 Mich. L. Rev. 683, 711–712, 716–726 (2007) (reviewing 20th-century laws); see generally post, at 931–941. After the 1860’s just as before, the state courts almost uniformly upheld these measures: Apart from making clear that all regulations had to be constructed and applied in a nondiscriminatory manner, the Fourteenth Amendment hardly made a dent. And let us not forget that this Court did not recognize any non-militia-related interests under the Second Amendment until two Terms ago, in Heller. Petitioners do not dispute the city of Chicago’s observation that “[n]o other substantive Bill of Rights protection has been regulated nearly as intrusively” as the right to keep and bear arms. Municipal Respondents’ Brief 25.
    — McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010) at 899-900

    That is pretty damning language. Why didn’t I know about this?

    Oh, here it is, “Stevens, J., dissenting”. Yes, that is Associate Justice Stevens in his dissent to McDonald making this statement. When he quotes back to Heller you have to be cautious because he will often cite back to his own dissent.

    In conclusion, this judge decided to justify his acceptance of “historical record” of firearms regulations because the loosing side in McDonald thought, incorrectly, that there were such historical regulations.

    On the fun front, a Henry Golden Boy in .22 followed me home. She is very sweet. I need to do a bit more hole punching to get it fully zeroed, that’s just fun.

    I hope you all have a great weekend.

    Did any of you listen to the Mean Mary music from Tuesday? Should I be looking for different types of music for you’ll?

            

  • Matt Driscoll, over at The News Tribune out of Tacoma, Washington, has an opinion.

    The reason you are angry about an emergency bill that bans most/all semi-automatic rifles in the state of Washington is because you are selfish.

    On Tuesday morning, less than 48 hours after the close of the 2023 legislative session, reason and decency prevailed in Washington — at least for one shining moment.
    — Matt

    There you have it, reason and decency prevailed when the legislature passed and the Governor signed into law a bill that strips you of your Second Amendment protected rights. Of course, he has to mislead by saying more than 50 assault-style weapons were banned.

    First, the ban lists not just firearms by name, but entire classes of weapons. It doesn’t ban the Colt AR-15, instead it bans AR15, M16, or M4 in all forms — Washington State, 1240-S. In addition, it also bans by feature, some of those features are:

    • semi-automatic rifle with an overall length of less than 30 inches
    • “Assault weapon” conversion kits, part, or combination of parts
    • A semi-automatic center fire rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and has one or more of the following:
      • Pistol grip
      • Thumbhole stock
      • Folding or telescoping stock
      • Forward grip
      • Any sort of muzzle device
      • thread barrel
      • Grenade or flare launcher
      • A barrel shroud unless it on a fudd gun
    • A semi-automatic rifle that has a fixed magazine that accepts more than 10 rounds
    • And more!!! Including pistols

    This bans almost all modern semi-automatic rifles. It seems to be even worse when it comes to pistols. Their definition of a “shroud” would include most slides. If your semi-auto, center fire pistol, takes a detachable magazine, it is an assault weapon under Washington State law.

    Matt says this is reason and decency in action.

    But you know what? Forget about our fractured politics for a moment and, instead, consider what Washington’s newest gun law will actually do. Just as important, contemplate the little it asks of citizens in return.
    — Matt

    You are giving up so little for what this law will actually do. Let’s see what Matt thinks this law will do.

    Umm, nothing. He doesn’t actually say what he thinks this law will do.

    There’s just a litmus test: Either you believe your perceived individual freedoms outweigh the overall safety of society and our children, or you don’t. It’s that simple.
    — Id.
    It’s amid this backdrop that opponents of Washington’s ban on assault weapons trot out the same tired arguments in response. Guns don’t kill people, they contend, people do — and besides, the only ones likely to be affected by any new gun regulation are law-abiding citizens. Criminals are criminals, after all, and no new regulation or restriction will solve all our problems. If someone has the will to kill, they can find a way to do it, no matter their weapon of choice.
    — Id.

    Don’t miss this little gem, that one that every gun infringer puts out there, the “it is just a start”. There’s also little question that reducing gun deaths in America will take more than new regulations… — Matt

    But there’s also what the research and common sense tell us, and juxtaposed with the me-first objections from the right, what the contrast reveals about the battling priorities at stake in our national gun debate shouldn’t get lost in the noise.
    — Id.

    You have a politicized cultural gun fetish. I promise you that it is not a gun fetish, at least mine isn’t.

    It’s a declaration that the health and safety of all of us are more important than someone’s selfish right to do whatever they want, regardless of the societal toll.
    — Id.

    And he closes with standards, he gets to define what “the right to keep and bear arms.” means. Besides, it is just a small price to pay for you to give up some of your rights.

    Washington assault weapon ban about more than gun rights

            


  • B.L.U.F. Why the Sixth Circuit Court found that the bump stock ban is not constitutional.

    This was not a Second Amendment challenge to the rule. Instead, it was an Article I, Section 1 challenge.

    All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
    — Constitution of the United States of America

    The ATF is not a part of the Congress, but is instead a part of the Executive branch. The Executive branch is charged with enforcing laws, not in creating laws.

    Given this challenge, Bruen plays no part in the decision except that it indicates that the Supreme Court is serious about Second Amendment protected rights.

    The Question

    Is the ATF’s interpretation of 18 U.S.C § 922(o)(1) which incorporates 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b) Constitutional?

    § 922 is the Gun Control Act. This is where it says it shall be unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machinegun. — §922(o)(1). That definition of a machinegun is what is at issue:

    The term “machinegun” means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
    — 26 U.S.C. §5845(b) NFA

    Is it a machinegun?

    (more…)

            

  • I ran across Mean Mary when looking for Dueling Banjo’s. I wasn’t certain whether I liked her voice or not. Google added her to my rotation, and every once in a while I’d hear a song that I really liked. And then I would look, and it was Mean Mary.

    She is a multi instrumentalist. She plays fiddle, banjo, and guitar. That’ve seen so far. She likely plays more.

    As I looked through YouTube for more Mean Mary videos, I found a number of “Reacts to” videos. The opera singer was impressed with her voice. The pair of hard rockers were impressed with her playing. The others had similar statements.

    And they almost all then went to, “Oh shit, she plays like that! That’s amazing.” when they got to the end.


    This one is for all of you that have ever had to give a product pitch


    She has a religious bend. This is a devil of song.

    She is self-named. When she was younger, she wrote a song titled “Mean Mary from Alabama”. By younger, I mean 6. There is a video of her on some sort of local show at a very young age, being introduced as “Mean Mary St. James”.

            

  • B.L.U.F. — Examining the 1939 case of United States v. Miller 307 U.S. 174 where we first lost our Second Amendment Rights. Touching on how Heller, McDonald, and Bruen all reference back to Miller but how it got twisted to allow the courts to allow infringements to continue

    Background

    On April 18, 1938, the Arkansas and Oklahoma state police stopped Miller and Layton outside of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, en route from Claremore. They had an unregistered, short-barreled shotgun in the car and apparently were “making preparation for armed robbery.” So the police arrested them.

    Miller and Layton ended up in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas Clinton R. Barry charged them with violating the National Firearms Act. Barry knew all about Miller, as he had attended the O’Malley trials and seen Miller testify. Barry was eager to ensure the government could prove an NFA violation. It is “[e]xtremely important this case be investigated by competent federal officers quickly before these parties released on bond to prove possession this weapon in Oklahoma immediately before arrest in Arkansas to show transportation.” The United States Attorney’s office forwarded Barry’s request to the F.B.I. for investigation.
    — N.Y.U. Journal of Law & Liberty [Vol. 3:48 2008]

    There is a different version of the arrest of Miller in Unintended Consequences, this appears to be more factual.

    This is how the District Judge Heartsill Ragon described it:

    The defendants in this case are charged with unlawfully and feloniously transporting in interstate commerce from the town of Claremore, Oklahoma, to the town of Siloam Springs in the State of Arkansas, a double barrel twelve gauge shot gun having a barrel less than eighteen inches in length, and at the time of so transporting said fire arm in interstate commerce they did not have in their possession a stamp-affixed written order for said fire arm as required by Section 1132c, Title 26 U.S. C.A., the regulations issued under the authority of said Act of Congress known as the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S. C.A. § 1132 et seq.
    — United States v. Miller, 26 F. Supp. 1002 (W.D. Ark. 1939)

    There are some significant aspects to this case and how it was charged. The state would have to prove that the firearm in question required a NFA tax stamp, that it did not have that tax stamp, that it had been transported across state lines. And that the police had reason to make the stop.

    This was before Miranda but the law still required some reason to arrest and search people.

    The Miller case was a case of tax evasion. Failure to pay a $200 tax on a $15 shotgun. In addition, the NFA made transporting a registered firearm across state lines a crime unless the state first gave permission.
    (more…)

            

  • I am not an expert in this. These are my own personal opinions.

    The first thing I would say is that for a first-time shooter, guns are scary. I have a difficult time remembering the first time I shot a firearm. I’m thinking it was a 12gage shotgun with my uncle. It was loud and exciting. We didn’t use ear protection, we didn’t wear eye protection.

    We went to the end of his driveway and I got to shoot his gun. This was part of him making his house safe for me to visit. I was maybe first or second grade? The point of it was that he had a beautiful gun cabinet with lots, from the point of view of a very young child, guns in them. It was glass – fronted and beautiful.

    Later I was exposed to more shotgun shooting, culminating with a wonderful rabbit hunt.

    That was then. My housemate the summer after high school took the time to show me where he had his defense weapon stored. It was a derringer. It was so exciting to handle it when I was alone. I knew to keep my finger off the trigger and I never pointed it at me, but it wasn’t a “safe” situation.

    When I finally got the money to buy my own firearms, I had a little more experience. My mentor had given me some lessons. Nothing spectacular. Nothing good.

    I was self-taught. Not a good way to learn firearms.

    Today, I teach firearm safety to anybody who wants to learn. Not the formal NRA training, but my own person version of firearms training.

    Here is how I go about it:

    First is the safety talk. This is where we go over the four rules until they have it. I do not go any further if they aren’t comfortable with the rules.

    The next step is to let them handle different firearms. At this stage, they learn that they really, really should treat every firearm as loaded. They learn how to handle those firearms safely. They learn how to verify, for themselves, that the firearm is unloaded. They learn to keep the firearm pointed in a safe directly. They learn a bit about how it feels.

    During this time, there is never more than one firearm out at a time.

    We go through the different types of ammunition. This is partially to disprove the “AR-15 assault weapons fire the most deadly killing bullets!!!!”

    At that point, I show them the .22LR we will be using for our first shots. The idea here is that I want them to see this as small and less scary.

    We now move to the range. At the range, we will have four different firearms.

    • .22LR semi-automatic pistol
    • .22LR Bolt Action rifle
    • 9 mm semi-automatic pistol
    • .45cal semi-automatic pistol

    There are many choices for .22LR semi-automatics. I choose to use a semi-automatic because that is what the rest of my primary pistols are. Yes, I have a few SAA style and one .357 Magnum revolver, but those are not my primary. Those are just for fun.

    The next question is with regard to the manual of arms. When you look at .22LR pistols, you’ll find many different styles. For me, I needed a .22LR that had the same manual of arms as my other primary pistols.

    What does this mean?

    What this means is that everything that you have to do right with my primary firearms you need to do right with the training firearm.

    For me, my primary firearm is a 1911. Because my primary is a 1911, my other firearms that I regularly use have 1911 style controls. I prefer a push button for a magazine release, just like the 1911. I want it to have a manual safety, just like my 1911. Likewise, I want it to have a slide release in nearly the same place as the 1911. And I want it to have good sights.

    My choice was the M&P 22 Compact. Everything I needed for the manual of arms applies. In addition, it is just fun to shoot.

    There are a number of .22LR rifles out there. Pick one that is of a comfortable size for you and the people you are training. I thought about getting a youth sized rifle, but by the time I was ready to do it, my kids didn’t need a youth sized rifle.

    Start Slow

    When starting, most of the time they want to start with a pistol. Starting with a pistol is a little easier in some ways.

    Here is the big starting point, only put one round in the magazine the first time.

    This person is going to pull the trigger. There will be a loud bang. You do not know what they are going to do next. Sometimes they will turn towards you, sweeping with the pistol, sometimes they will want to drop the pistol. Regardless of what happens, you want it to be as safe as possible.

    I always stand where I can put a hand on their hand if they start to swing towards me, but that is not always the best choice.

    Start with one round.

    Once they have done one round a few times, then you can move to two rounds in the magazine. The idea, again, is to be safe.

    During initial training, I normally do not put more than 5 rounds in the magazine. For you, it might not feel like anything to put 18 rounds of spicy 9 mm down range. For a new person, holding that pistol out for 15+ rounds can be tiring.

    At this point, I will demonstrate the 9 mm and the .45. I only send one round down range. The idea is to let them hear that sound up close.

    If it works for them, I will let them put a round down range from each of them.

    From there we move to the rifle. This gives them a chance to better understand the loading process. We normally shoot offhanded because most of the time people don’t like to get prone. Depending on the range, we might be able to let them sit at a bench to shoot the rifle.

    This is how I do it. Lots of talk beforehand. Lots of familiarization beforehand. It is about making them comfortable and to not do stupids or allowing them to do stupids.