Tag: Supreme Court

Think of It as Good Old-Fashioned Bench Electioneering

US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined to put on hold a New York City licensing rule requiring prospective gun owners to show good moral character to own a firearm. In rejecting a stay request on Thursday relating to a district court order that’s being appealed, Sotomayor turned away yet another bid to prohibit government officials from enforcing their laws while being challenged in court. [More]

Sounds to me like she’s campaigning to keep her seat.

Related UPDATE

Yes, by all means.

[Via Jess]

Are They Trusted to Walk Among Us?

Should non-violent felons have the ability to get their Second Amendmet rights back? Is this an issue that finally needs to be decided once and for all by the Supreme Court? Washington Gun Law President, William Kirk, dicusses a case, which has not garnered a lot of attention, but which may be the perfect case for SCOTUS to decide this issue once and for all. There are thousands of Americans who need this issue resolved so that they too may exercise their inalienable right of self=preservation. [More]

You know my answer.

[Via Jess]

Challenge to Illinois Assault Weapon Ban Includes Militia Considerations in Right to Arms

“If courts continue to operate under the misimpression that the right to keep and bear arms protects only neutered firearms like break-barrel shotguns and bolt-action hunting rifles, the Second Amendment will offer little but a parchment barrier against tyranny,” the GOA petition correctly observes. [More]

It’s a necesary legal hurdle to clear if gun owners ever hope to challenge the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act.

Meanwhile, Over at the ‘Living Constitution’…

Former Justice Breyer rips conservative Supreme Court for giving nation ‘Constitution no one wants’ – Breyer said originalism will ‘overlook lots of changes designed to further the value of protecting basic civil rights, because the world has changed’ [More]

Yeah, the guy who dissented in Heller and said the RKBA shall be infringed wants the Constitution to say whatever he and his fellow authoritarians want it to say, because they’re smarter than the Founders and they’re smarter than you.

Everybody wants that.

No…?

News in Brief

GOA Petition to SCOTUS for Writ of Certiorari Against Illinois Categorical Ban on AR-15s… Friends of The Captain’s Journal Stephen Stamboulieh and Oliver Krawczyk wrote this brief, along with Rob Olson. A better constructed and more direct and honest one you will never find. [More]

This covers some essential points that can’t be raised enough. I intend to write an article soon explaining why.

One Step Forward…

The Second Amendment Foundation has been granted summary judgement in a federal challenge of California’s One-Gun-A-Month (OGM) purchase law. U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes stayed his decision for 30 days for the defendants to facilitate an appeal. [More]

And thumbing noses at Bruen will drag on and on and on with the hopes that Republicans blow the election and Democrats can reshape SCOTUS to reverse it.

And here’s the thing:

The Supreme Court has no power to enforce its decisions. It cannot call out the troops or compel Congress or the president to obey. The Court relies on the executive and legislative branches to carry out its rulings. In some cases, the Supreme Court has been unable to enforce its rulings.

I’d need a lawyer to weigh in on whether they could charge inferior court judges with contempt for disregarding their rulings, and they’d still be dependent on the other branches. I fear the only “legal” remedy is impeachment, for which Republicans have neither the power nor the appetite.

So now we have to see what Hayes says in a month, and then see who initiates an appeal, then lather, rinse, repeat.

Delay of Game

Maryland’s “assault weapon” ban has been kicked back up by the panel for en banc review by the anti-gun Fourth Circuit, meaning it’s going to take the Supreme Court to sort this one out — and all they have to do to leave this gross denial of rights in place is nothing. [Watch]

[Via Jess]

Sore Loser

I am disappointed in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision stripping states of the authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment for federal candidates. Colorado should be able to bar oath-breaking insurrections from our ballot. [More]

What you ought to be is embarrassed that even your own side proves you to be a childish and incompetent partisan hack tampering with adult things you don’t understand.

But then, we already knew that.

SCOTUS: Trump Stays on Ballot

The Supreme Court on Monday tossed out a Colorado court ruling that barred Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s Republican presidential primary ballot. The ruling means that no other state can bar Trump, or any other candidate, from a presidential ballot by invoking the insurrection clause in the Constitution. [More]

Plea to Pres. Trump: As all the treasonous lawfare has shown, these people will stop at nothing. Now that this door has been slammed shut, some are no doubt plotting more extreme measures of exclusion. Double your security and most of all, LISTEN TO THEM.

Supreme Court Back-and-Forth on Bump Stocks Creates Nail-Biter Anticipation

This pretty much defined the day. Those expecting a Second Amendment defense decrying Chevron deference overreach instead heard the justices trying to grasp competing definitions of “function of a trigger” along with scenarios unlikely to persuade judges who equate “common use” with widespread commercial popularity. [More]

You were expecting a slam dunk…?

It Depends Upon What the Meaning of the Word ‘Peers’ Is

Justice Alito worries about improperly removing jurors with ‘traditional religious beliefs’ [More]

And if you think that’s a disqualifier, try going through voir dire on a gun case and admitting you’re an NRA member…

[Via Michael G]

The Holding Pattern

I’ve mentioned before how I love to read books but between the reading I have to do for my professional obligations, the work itself, and my personal life, there’s just not a lot of time. I suppose having a sense of purpose and looking forward every morning to a full day I’m enthusiastic about living is something I should be grateful for, but it does mean making one choice means not making another — for now.

I just finished The Deadly Path, and am finalizing an interview with former ATF Agent and author Pete Forcelli for AmmoLand. Stay tuned.

I also agreed to read The Misinformation Antidote because the author contacted Firearms News claiming “court decisions carry with them the seeds of the [Second] amendment’s future destruction.” I’ll let you know what I think after I read it.

And then yesterday, one of my favorite liberty authors, Miguel A. Faria, Jr., M.D., sent me a copy of his new book, Stalin, Mao, Communism, and their 21st-Century Aftermath in Russia and China. The man knows whereof he speaks and I’m looking forward to reading it and sharing my impressions — just give me a minute.