The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, the circuit responsible for hearing appeals from Federal District Courts in the Virginias, the Carolinas, and Maryland, just ruled on a case involving the regulation of semi-automatic assault weapons. The Court sided with the state of Maryland, upholding its ban on such weapons, “reasoning”: that the banned assault weapons […]
From Lincoln’s Address before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, a speech well worth reading in full: At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All […]
In case you haven’t noticed, Washington D.C. is a sieve on a sinking ship whose life rafts have holes in them. And I’m not talking about Donald Trump. No, it’s the ATF, also known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explsives, aka BATFE. But they’re going with ATF, and so are we. On […]
Scalia was possibly the best writer on the Supreme Court–ever. Kagan, almost his political polar opposite, will likewise rank as one of its best writers. These are generous, kind thoughts and a worthy example to emulate when we speak of someone we may otherwise disagree with.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer delivered the court’s majority opinion today in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, a case in which the plaintiff challenged the “admitting-privileges” and “surgical-center” requirements that were part of legislation enacted by the Texas Legislature in 2013. Those requirements, the Legislature said, were to ensure safer practices by Texas abortion providers and […]
Things I learned while on Twitter: Thomas Jefferson owned a 22-shot rifle, a Girandoni air rifle. You can read all about these air rifles here. Pretty nifty rifle. Here’s a video explaining how the rifle works. Here’s another video (not as well done), this time showing the rifle in action. The implications of Jefferson owning […]
The 9th Circuit rules against concealed carry in California. The court said there was no constitutional right to concealed carry. I’m guessing we haven’t heard the last of this case. And for what it’s worth, the 9th Circuit hasn’t fared too well in the Supreme Court: The Justices [of the Supreme Court] have long had […]
Two things interest me about the two quotes below: First, that original material was written in 1764–in Italy–by Cesare Beccaria in his treatise On Crimes and Punishments. Yes, I know. It sounds like something right out of an NRA press release in response to yet another move by the [name your president] to implement by executive order more […]
David Koppel’s got it if you want it: a complete review of federal circuit court jurisprudence on the 2nd Amendment post Heller and McDonald. Here’s the abstract: “The Supreme Court decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago left lower courts with the responsibility to flesh out many aspects of Second Amendment […]
So I have a friend who lives in Utah and wants a concealed carry permit. Unfortunately, he still drives on a Wyoming drivers license and doesn’t want to give it up. And because of this, he thought he couldn’t get a concealed carry permit, which is a reasonable assumption if you look at the FAQs […]