Hidden Victory in Tossed Supreme Court Case

Three weeks ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a challenge by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association to a now-defunct New York City ordinance that prevented legal handgun owners from taking their licensed handguns out of the city, many portrayed it as a loss for gun rights advocates.

But not so fast. While the high court didn’t stomp the city into the pavement with a blistering ruling, a couple of significant things happened around this case.

First, the way New York City weaseled out of this case amounted to an admission by the city that it knew its ordinance was unconstitutional all along and only changed the law to avoid having the high court say so. That much was made clear by Associate Justice Samuel Alito in his 31-page dissent, which was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.

“In the District Court and the Court of Appeals,” Alito wrote, “the City vigorously and successfully defended the constitutionality of its ordinance, and the law was upheld based on what we are told is the framework for reviewing Second Amendment claims that has of thought that the City, having convinced the lower courts that its law was consistent with Heller, would have been willing to defend its victory in this Court. But once we granted certiorari, both the City and the State of New York sprang into action to prevent us from deciding this case. Although the City had previously insisted that its ordinance served important public safety purposes, our grant of review apparently led to an epiphany of sorts, and the City quickly changed its ordinance. And for good measure the State enacted a law making the old New York City ordinance illegal.”

Translation: The Big Apple’s conduct twisted the needle right off the Stink-O-Meter.

Second, the city’s behavior after the case is proof the Second Amendment has teeth, and anti-gunners do not care to be bitten.

Step Up, SCOTUS

It’s been 10 years and several high court sidesteps since we had a Second Amendment decision from the nation’s highest court, and it’s time those nine justices step up to the plate and take a case.

There are plenty of theories about the court’s reluctance, ranging from timidity by Chief Justice John Roberts to a lack of backbone on the court to hand down a ruling that might be devastating to states and municipalities with strict gun control laws. If that assessment is accurate, the court must take a case and get on with it because the longer bad gun laws remain on the books, the more people they hurt.

Such egregious laws must be nullified on constitutional grounds; else the Bill of Rights — and especially the Second Amendment — is a paper tiger.

The court must first rule the obvious, that the right to bear arms extends beyond the confines of one’s own home. Then the court needs a case that will allow it to rule that the Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms, protects semi-auto rifles. Not just some arms, but all of them.

This is where the rhetoric of anti-gunners will get them in trouble, because if any guns were to protected by the Amendment, it would be semi-auto rifles because of their apparent usefulness to the unorganized militia in an emergency. It’s not gun owners that labeled such firearms “weapons of war,” but the gun prohibition lobby. Their own arguments will paint them into a corner.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-280_ba7d.pdf

Train + Protect

Federal has announced new loads in its Train + Protect ammunition line, and they’re already showing up on retail shelves.

Joining the lineup is a .380 ACP round with an 85-grain Versatile Hollowpoint (VHP), a .38 Special pushing a 158-grain bullet and a .357 Magnum topped by a 125-grain projectile.

According to Federal, the VHP bullet is based on the Federal hollowpoint design. All three loads come in reloadable brass and they have “extremely reliable” primers, which lend to their consistent performance.

Exactly what you want on and off the range.

Alliant Powder Offers ‘Improved’ Herco Powder

Handloaders who have been using Herco propellant for such popular calibers as the .44 Special and .45 Colt will find this next bit interesting.

According to Alliant Powder, Herco has been “enhanced” to deliver improved performance, and the best part is the loading data remains the same. The improved Herco is said to burn cleaner, flows better and is consistent from lot to lot.

A good choice for shotshell reloaders, handgunners have also found Herco powders to be reliable. And, it’s produced here in the U.S.

https://www.thetacticalwire.com/releases/45377b84-3f00-46a1-924e-7f0213be292b

As with most states, the DOJ background checks in my area were a 4-5 day wait to process. Most customers were also shocked that they could not just walk out the door with their purchase and had to come back after we called them with the results of the check. One lady actually started crying because she could not protect herself with the first gun she was buying.

And with our indoor range and training classes closed due to social distancing, we could not offer any assistance to safe gun handling or use of the firearm at the gun counter since we, in some cases, were four-guns deep at the counter and all sales assistances were helping customers as fast as they could.

At the end of the day, I sometime question if I made the correct decision on selling someone a gun. I do have the right to deny a sale if I suspect a straw sale, drugs, alcohol or mental issues — but this is different. If I denied a sale, they would just go to another store and buy the gun. We do not work on commission, so I have no drive to make gun sales, but I do have the desire to help customers and try to guide them to what suits their needs.

This is a trying time and I hope that we get out of it quickly and maybe back to normal (although I doubt it). I hope these times help the gun haters smarten up and realize that you just can’t get a gun that easy.

Larry Barnes

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