Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Yesterday’s ruling by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding most of the gun control laws passed in New York and Connecticut after the Newtown tragedy may not be getting the rave reviews one might expect because of a couple of key tenets of Circuit Judge Jose A. Cabranes’ decision.
“This much is clear,” Judge Cabranes wrote, “Americans own millions of the firearms that the challenged legislation prohibits.
“The same is true of largeâ€capacity magazines, as defined by the New York and Connecticut statutes,” he continued on page 24 of the ruling. “Though fewer statistics are available for magazines, those statistics suggest that about 25 million largeâ€capacity magazines were available in 1995, shortly after the federal assault weapons ban was enacted, and nearly 50 million such magazines—or nearly two largeâ€capacity magazines for each gun capable of accepting one—were approved for import by 2000.
“Even accepting the most conservative estimates cited by the parties and by amici,” he observed, “the assault weapons and largeâ€capacity magazines at issue are ‘in common use’ as that term was used in Heller.”
“Common use” is a term used in the 2008 Heller ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that cemented the role of the handgun in self-defense, not to mention its protection under the Second Amendment. It’s an observation from the judge that may seem like a bread crumb right now, but it could have the weight of a wrecking ball somewhere over the legal horizon.
The ruling also held that New York’s magazine load limits – in this case the mandate that only seven rounds could be loaded into a pistol magazine that holds nine or ten rounds – are unconstitutional, even under intermediate scrutiny. Let the legal beagles sniff around that for a while. Maybe they'll find a chew toy or box of biscuits.
Judge Cabranes included an inexplicable observation in his 57-page ruling that could be easily challenged with FBI crime data. Regarding so-called “assault weapons” he wrote, “These weapons are disproportionately used in crime, and particularly in criminal mass shootings like the attack in Newtown.” According to the FBI Uniform Crime statistics, rifles of any kind are used in a fraction of homicides in any given year. That’s hardly “disproportionate.”
As for their use in mass shootings, that may be about half-true. The shooters at Virginia Tech, the Appalachian Law School, Seattle Jewish Federation, Seattle’s Café Racer, Fort Hood I and II, Thurston High School, Marysville-Pilchuck High School and other incidents used handguns. The Washington Navy Yard gunman used a pump-action shotgun.
All this really demonstrates is that determined nutballs will use whatever weapon they can get their hands on. Last month in northwest China, at least 60 people identified as mostly migrant coal miners were all knifed to death, according to Today online. This happened in Baicheng county in the Zinjiang province.
Remember the Santa Barbara spree killer? He murdered three people with a knife before fatally shooting three more victims with a handgun, which he purchased after a background check and waiting period. That “assault weapons” law in California didn’t prevent the carnage.
MEANWHILE, Mail-in ballots are now arriving at Washington state mailboxes, and there are two measures Evergreen State gun owners should pay careful attention to: Initiatives 1366 and 1401. The former is a tax-limiting measure that the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms yesterday urging its members to pass. The latter is a proposed ban on the sale of ivory and other animal parts that hunters and gun collectors should nix.
I-1366, says CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “is our chance to send a clear message to Governor Jay Inslee, who has an epically bad record, not just on gun rights, but on taxes as well.” It’s payback of sorts for Inslee’s support of I-594 last fall, and for the City of Seattle’s recently-adopted – and currently challenged – tax on gun and ammunition sales.
Whatever else gun owners happen to be, they’re taxpayers, and it’s time they send a message that they have had enough, Gottlieb intimated. Inslee, and the people opposing I-1366, don’t want their ability to tax to be eroded.
I-1401 is a stinker that could hammer gun and knife collectors, according to its critics. The main target is elephant ivory, which is used for all sorts of things including fancy handgun grips and custom knife handles. The Seattle Times writes about it today, and it may be read here.
What is alarming about I-1401 is that several pages are devoted to definitions and fish and wildlife management, and only a couple of pages seem to focus on what proponents seem to be alarmed about. Beware of any measure where the details are or may be confusing.
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