Day: July 8, 2008

Looks like a guy in New York is using Heller to challenge being prohibited to possess a firearm because of a restraining order.  I’m going to agree that this guy probably isn’t the best plantiff, but using Heller like this was probably inevitable.  It’s worthwhile to consider that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Emerson ruled that there was sufficient due process in the restraining order hearing, but probably barely so.  This is an area the courts are going to be very reluctant to overrule the legislature on, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the door gets left open for misdemeanors and restraining orders to be disabling offenses if the legislature chooses to do it.

Janet Napolitano has vetoed two more pro-gun bills, after saying she would sign one of them and then changing her mind.  My fear is that with 2008 looking increasingly like a blow out for Democrats, many anti-gun Democrats will begin showing their true colors, knowing that the gun vote won’t necessarily overcome the tidal wave of pro-Democrat sentiment.

This blogger takes issue with GOA’s handling of the Olofson machine gun case:

I’ve never posted about the Olofson case here, because, in addition to the fact that it was put out by GOA, it never passed the smell test. To believe the story–that an innocent man was charged with and convicted of a felony simply due to a mechanical malfunction occurring with one of his rifles–one would have to ignore the very real fact that intent is a required element of the crime charged, and that an actual malfunction in an otherwise legal and unmodified firearm would totally negate that element. Hell, AR-15 rifles will sometimes trip off multiple shots when the disconnector breaks or wears. Every AR-15 shooter knows this. I just had one that was doing it and I casually mentioned it a few posts ago. Does that make me a felon? No. Because I didn’t deliberately cause it and I remedied it by replacing the disconnector.

I’ve posted similar thoughts here, but I won’t stand by the notion that David Olofson got what’s coming to him, because I just don’t believe what he did should be a crime, nor do I think the public is served in any way, shape or form by him being in prison.  The real injustice is the laws that make using certain naughty gun parts a multi-year felony.

Interesting story in the Canadian media.  Most of the guns they seize at the border aren’t seized off of gun smugglers, as the media would have us believe.

Crossings into British Columbia account for the largest percentage of all gun seizures, and about a third of all handguns, the agency says. A high percentage are in transit to Alaska and not intended for the illicit firearms market, the report says.

Americans travelling through Canada between Alaska and the lower 48 states, often doing seasonal work, can take their guns if they declare them.

My understanding is that you can’t declare restricted firearms, which are basically pistols, and many semi-auto rifles.  For those you need to get a special permit to transport restricted firearms through Canada to Alaska, which you can get if you jump through the hoops.  Still, it’s not shocking that most of the guns seized are from people who don’t realize our government is one of the few to recignize a right to bear arms for self-defense.