Archive for the 'Gun Control' Category

Source.

… two legal challenges to the Trump administration’s prohibition are pending at the Supreme Court – including one that has been rescheduled for consideration 20 times. The lack of a decision about whether or not the court will hear the litigation has led to speculation among experts who follow the issue closely that the court’s 6-3 conservative majority may not agree on how to proceed.

The court twice declined emergency requests from gun groups to delay implementation of the ban in 2019. And it declined to hear a similar challenge in 2020.

“The six conservatives on the court right now aren’t really on the same page about guns as much as people think they are,” said Dru Stevenson, a professor at South Texas College of Law Houston. Some in the court’s conservative wing, he said, “might be afraid to take the case if they’re not sure that they’re going to get their way.”

In addition to once again raising the issue of guns at the nation’s highest court months after it decided a landmark Second Amendment case, the new litigation also delves into how much power federal agencies have to create regulations when the law those rules are based on is unclear. Conservatives for years have sought to limit that agency discretion and their arguments seem to be gaining traction with the high court.

[ … ]

Feldman points to another reason why the Supreme Court may have been slow to take up the issue of bump stocks: So far, gun rights groups have been losing in appeals courts. The justices often like to see a disagreement in circuit courts – known as a “circuit split” – before wading in to resolve a dispute and provide guidance to lower courts on a thorny legal question.

“Right now,” Feldman said, “there is no circuit split.”

But that may soon change. In a separate case, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has scheduled arguments in a challenge to the bump stock ban for Tuesday. Meanwhile, at least one of the justices has signaled a receptivity to the arguments being made by the gun rights groups.

The ATF, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in 2020, “used to tell everyone that bump stocks don’t qualify as ‘machineguns.’ Now it says the opposite. The law hasn’t changed, only an agency’s interpretation of it.

“Why should courts,” Gorsuch asked, “defer to such bureaucratic pirouetting?”

Good question.  Here’s the answer.  They shouldn’t.

The bump stock decision was perhaps the worst mistake Trump ever made because of the precedent it set.  I don’t have a bump stock, but that isn’t the point.  The right to own one without interference from the FedGov is enshrined in the 2A.

But more importantly, with all due respect to Justice Gorsuch and his observation on pirouetting (which is correct since the ATF has taken contradictory positions on this as they have on many other things), this is about the question whether a bureaucratic organization has the authority and power to write law.

Here’s the answer.  They don’t.  Beyond that, even the ban on machine guns, I claim, runs afoul of the 2A.  So if the ATF had always taken the position that bump stocks met the definition of machine gun and they had never pirouetted on this issue, it still doesn’t make it right.  Pirouetting isn’t what makes this sinful.  It’s the failure to follow the constitution.

However, with the law and order justices, and also with the progressives, I doubt this issue will find traction in the SCOTUS and I have serious doubts they will overturn this ridiculous rule and put the ATF in its place.

So you see, if they don’t overturn it, the conservatives want to have their cake and eat it too.  On the one hand, they want to disgorge the authority of the bureaucrats from making law (de facto authority because they’ve done it unchallenged), but on the other hand, when it comes to bump stocks their Ox may be gored.  So they will find another route to do their disgorgement of the controllers if they ever do it all.

Will the Supreme Court finally deal the death blow to the bump stock ban?  Color me skeptical.

Breitbart.

Payment processor Visa Inc. said Saturday that it plans to start separately categorizing sales at gun shops, a major win for gun control advocates who say it will help better track suspicious surges of gun sales that could be a prelude to a mass shooting.

But the decision by Visa, the world’s largest payment processor, will likely provoke the ire of gun rights advocates and gun lobbyists, who have argued that categorizing gun sales would unfairly flag an industry when most sales do not lead to mass shootings. It joins Mastercard and American Express, which also said they plan to move forward with categorizing gun shop sales.

Visa said it would adopt the International Organization for Standardization’s new merchant code for gun sales, which was announced on Friday. Until Friday, gun store sales were considered “general merchandise.”

“Following ISO’s decision to establish a new merchant category code, Visa will proceed with next steps, while ensuring we protect all legal commerce on the Visa network in accordance with our long-standing rules,” the payment processor said in a statement.

Visa’s adoption is significant as the largest payment network, and with Mastercard and AmeEx, will likely put pressure on the banks as the card issuers to adopt the standard as well. Visa acts as a middleman between merchants and banks, and it will be up to banks to decide whether they will allow sales at gun stores to happen on their issued cards.

Gun control advocates had gained significant wins on this front in recent weeks. New York City officials and pension funds had pressured the ISO and banks to adopt this code.

Visa was the holdout, and they buckled.

I see a lot of firearms purchases being made in cash in the future.

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit remarks.

SOCIAL CREDIT SCORING COMES TO AMERICA: Visa, Mastercard, AmEx to start categorizing gun shop sales.

Imagine if they were doing this about abortion. Or if legislatures tried to make them do so.

A reader comments: “Have you seen this yet? It sure feels like there is a very coordinated effort throughout the woke financial sector to create ‘private’ gun control. I wonder if it is being driven by interaction with the ATF, etc like the censoring of private speech by coordination between government and social media. Also, wouldn’t this enable the card companies to create a gun registry? The credit card transactions include our names and what we bought and the card company knows our addresses, etc. Seems like another example of actual fascism where government coerces private companies to do their bidding.”

Based on experience, the likelihood that this is happening without government encouragement is very low.

Government => Social Media => Censorship of speech.

Government => Financial Corporations => Censorship of products.

Government = Corporations.

Benito Mussolini would be very proud of his legacy.

If it’s determined that your gun isn’t an SBR, at least they have all of the information on it, including information on you.

If it’s determined that you are in possession of an SBR illegally, then what happens?  Do ATF agents come to your door, shoot your dogs and arrest you?  Or do they simply register your firearm, now putting that gun on a list of NFA items that cannot cross state lines without their approval?

You see, heads they win, tails you lose.

This is a gigantic buffalo jump, folks.

Ten killed in Canadian stabbing spree. Also here.

At least ten people have been killed and many others injured, after two assailants went on a stabbing spree in multiple locations in a rural area of Saskatchewan province, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed on Sunday. They warned that the suspects were still at large, and armed and dangerous.

“We have located 10 deceased individuals in 13 locations in the community of James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Saskatchewan,” RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said at a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

The police official added that “several additional victims have been injured, 15 of which at this point have been transported to various hospitals,” noting that there “may be additional injured victims who transported themselves to hospital,” and urging them to come forward.

“We believe some of the victims have been targeted, while others have been attacked randomly,” Blackmore added.

Good thing nobody had a gun, or somebody could have been seriously hurt.

Here is the court decision.  Of course, it’s the right call, but that doesn’t mean it will stand the rest of the appeals through the cicuits of black robed tyrants.

I discussed this with friends today.  The source is here.

Mike does a good job of breaking it down.  I was just trying to recall the compliance rate with AR-15 registration when Connecticut tried this stunt.  As best as I recall it was < 10%.  This is different, i.e., declaring a SBR, but even worse because for those who comply, they can’t even carry the firearm across state lines without ATF approval.

I never got into the pistol brace scene, but there are a lot of them in circulation, many more than I suspect will be registered with the ATF as SBRs.

This article is not about Force Reset Triggers. You should read it for the intelligence value to understand how ATF is running ops against America.

One of these agents spoke to AmmoLand News on a condition of anonymity, giving the gun community an insight into the ATF’s actions.

The Special Agents do not have discretion whether to contact the buyer or not. The order from ATF HQ demanded the field offices act. The ATF Special Agents are instructed to persuade the owner to turn over the triggers. While some agents are honest with gun owners and even give them a couple of days to decide what to do with the triggers, others have lied to the target. Law enforcement officers are not under any obligation, to be honest.

There’s also a degree of speculation in the article. Parse it yourself.

And separately, the legality of ATF’s “Knock and Talk” is being questioned.

US Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has demanded to see legal justification for the growing number of ‘knock and talk’ visits to lawful gun owners by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).

In a letter written Tuesday to Attorney General Merrick Garland and reported on by Breitbart, Ernst laid out eight questions about the program, which according to Garland is aimed at uncovering ‘straw purchases’ – cases in which a person legally barred from buying a gun uses someone with a clean record to purchase it for them.

Ernst asked Garland what constituted probable cause for these visits and whether agents sought a warrant before turning up on the target’s doorstep, expressing concern about what procedures were in place to protect their Fourth Amendment right against unwarranted search and seizure. She also questioned whether any guidelines existed for what time of day agents could conduct their inquiries and whether they were required to wear uniforms identifying them as ATF.

There are a number of things to digest here.  First, this video explains the background.

Second, this video is the perspective of GOA when they submitted the brief to the court.

Third, this is the result.

BREAKING: The U.S District Court for the District of North Dakota Eastern Division has denied GOA and GOF's request for a preliminary injunction against the ATF's Frame & Receiver Rule. pic.twitter.com/cdVpfqTI4y

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) August 23, 2022

Another tyrant in a black robe, coupled with tyrants inside the beltway, all of whom should be fired and the agency disbanded.

Fourth, this is another follow-on from the rule, said rulemaking which should never have been done, and which should have gone through the comment period.

This ATF rule makes it so EVERY SINGLE firearm transaction record (Form 4473) will eventually end up in a digital searchable database, rather than be destroyed after 20 years. But somehow, THAT isn't a violation of the prohibition on creating a gun registry!? ‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/ADNoHXa5R0

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) August 23, 2022

Take it all under advisement, dear readers.  Hope, work and pray for the best, prepare for the worst.  They have made it clear that they don’t care about the law, and they don’t even care anymore that you know that they don’t care.  ATF agents should be mighty proud tonight.  How can they look themselves in the mirror and answer questions from their children about their work without holding their heads down in shame?

Your firearms are your birthright as an American, and the underlying moral code which justifies it comes from the Almighty.

From Dan Wos at AmmoLand. Includes Video. The Congress of the United States should be ashamed of itself, but communists have no shame. They desire control above all else.

USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- In another attempt to discourage firearm manufacturers from producing guns and as a Segway to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA,) the Democrat-controlled House Oversight committee has issued a subpoena on Smith and Wesson in an attempt to get their sales and production information.

House Oversight Committee chair and anti-gunner Rep. Carolyn Maloney (A democrat from NY) held a hearing on so-called “gun violence.” During that hearing, she challenged Chris Killoy at Ruger and Marty Daniel at Daniel Defense to “accept responsibility” and apologize to victims of mass shootings and their families.”

This is effective propaganda by the right:

At a certain point, you would think the left would realize that their anti-gun fear campaign is being seen as nothing more than a scam even in the eyes of their battle-weary comrades.

Fighting by their rules is smart!

Shockingly, this article at CBS New York is not hyperventilating over Bruen.

As CBS2’s Alecia Reid reports, in New York, carry permits are getting easier to come by. This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York’s restrictive handgun laws.

[…]

Applications are expected to skyrocket, but it doesn’t mean crime will increase.

“The vast majority of gun crimes in New York are committed by people who do not have gun permits at all,” Feldman said.

The reforms go into effect Sept. 1. People who were recently rejected because of the current statute can reapply within the next 60 days, all free of charge.

Bravo to Alecia Reid for playing it straight down the line. Although according to her bio, she’s a communist. Via The Gun Feed.