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CA: Gun sales surged to record numbers since March. What does it portend?
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Sociologists like me see the gun business as a telltale for the American psyche. In recent years, surges in sales have preceded high-stakes elections and followed high-profile gun tragedies, amid the prospect of tightening gun laws. While concerns about self-defense are almost always in the mix, increased sales often center on concerns that gun enthusiasts should get the guns they want while they still can.
But 2020 looks a little different. |
Like Scalia, Amy Coney Barrett shares an 'originalist' view on Second Amendment
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Mark A. Taff
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The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett come as the Supreme Court’s nascent Second Amendment jurisprudence is at an important inflection point. So far, the court has clearly held only that the Constitution protects the right to keep a handgun in one’s home for self-protection. The most practically important questions that have not yet been answered have to do with carrying firearms in public. The justices have hinted that there is such a right, but they have not determined what limits on that right they will recognize, or how far legislatures may go in restricting it. |
NC: Plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor grew from the militia movement’s toxic mix of constitutional falsehoods and half-truths
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Mark A. Taff
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The far right’s reading of the First and Second Amendments – which govern free speech and the right to bear arms, respectively – starts from a simple premise: Both amendments are literal and absolute. They believe that the First Amendment allows them to say anything, anytime, anywhere, to anyone, without consequence or reproach by government or even by other citizens who disagree or take offense at their speech.
Similarly, the alt-right gun advocates hold that the Second Amendment protects their God-given right to own a weapon – any weapon – and that governmental efforts to deny, restrict or even to register their weapons must be unconstitutional. They think the Second Amendment trumps every other provision in the Constitution. |
Judging From His Grilling of Amy Coney Barrett, Sen. Richard Durbin Thinks Voting Is More Important Than Staying Alive
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While misleadingly portraying Barrett as untroubled by the consequences of felon disenfranchisement, Durbin himself seemed completely untroubled by the consequences of permanently disarming people without any evidence that they are prone to violence. That policy makes sense, he said, because distinguishing between violent and nonviolent felonies would be impractical (even though courts make that sort of distinction all the time, as Barrett pointed out). Yet the policy Durbin supports, like the one he opposes, is unjust and has a disproportionate racial impact, since one-third of African-American men have felony records, compared to 8 percent of the general population. |
Rep. Eric Swalwell Faces Republican Opponent
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Mark A. Taff
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“The incumbent has promised to nuke us if we didn't give (guns) up willingly,” Hayden said in the Ballotpedia.org questionnaire. “This is alarming for naysayers of the Democratic-Socialist plan for America that has held the Second Amendment in its sight as a first target to change our form of government. Without the means of self-defense, our voice and freedom of choice are no more. Any government can become corrupted. Our constitution rests sovereignty in the people, and the Second Amendment allows citizens to form militias for such occasions. It must be protected.” |
Second Amendment rights at stake in November
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Both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have made it abundantly clear in both word and deed that they support the Constitution and Bill of Rights. More specifically they both support the Second Amendment (the right to keep and bear arms) completely, especially because of its importance in protecting the rights guaranteed by the First and other amendments.
Not so with Vice President Biden and his chosen running mate, Senator Kamala Harris. Both of those two individuals have repeatedly stated their intent to disregard all aspects of the Second Amendment. Both Democrats have stated their intentions to confiscate all firearms held by civilians. |
Who Would Biden Appoint? Andrew Cuomo as Attorney General
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Mark A. Taff
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Who is elected President matters – and not just because the President signs legislation and has the bully pulpit at his (or someday, her) disposal. It also matters because the President of the United States can appoint officials to the Cabinet, and those are often the people who would make a lot of the policy decisions.
This is why Second Amendment supporters should greet reports that New York governor Andrew Cuomo is a potential contender for the post of Attorney General in a potential Biden Administration with great alarm. |
IL: Lawsuits Mounting Over FOID Delays
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Mark A. Taff
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The backlogs for Firearm Owner Identification Cards are getting longer, up to an average of 116 days, and even longer for concealed carry cards.
As the backlogs increase, lawsuits against the state are also stacking up.
Illinois State Police say the average time for FOID card processing is 116.35 days. FOID cards are supposed to be processed within 30 days. |
80% Silencers, the Political Ramifications of Mass Ownership
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In the first two parts of this on home made silencers series, I wrote of how we arrived at the current situation, historically, and what exists today, in terms of the technology and legal system, for individuals to make their own silencers utilizing the ATF Form 1.
Because of the tremendous bureaucratic and monetary infringements imposed by the National Firearms Act (NFA), very few form 1's (required to legally make your own silencer, short-barreled rifle, or shotgun) were processed as late as 1990. |
OK: Comanche Co. jury finds man not guilty of murder
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A Comanche County jury found a man on trial for first degree murder in Lawton not guilty tonight.
Reginald Talbert was accused in the January 2019 shooting death of Tyrun Johnson.
After deliberating for more than three hours , jurors also found him not guilty of manslaughter, and pointing a firearm.
They did find Talbert guilty of possessing a firearm after two previous felony convictions. |
"Does Owning a Gun Make a Judge's Second Amendment Rulings Suspect?"
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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.) was trying to help out Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett when he asked her whether she owns a gun during her confirmation hearing yesterday. But the premise of his question—that gun ownership might be viewed as disqualifying a judge from dealing fairly with cases involving the Second Amendment—could not be more absurd. Here is the relevant exchange: |
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