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Not Protected By The Second Amendment

February 9, 2025 by 2 Comments

In a decision issued this past Thursday, a panel on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said that suppressors were not weapons protected by the Second Amendment. The case involved firearms dealer George Patterson of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The BATFE was investigating him for certain reporting violations and had obtained a search warrant of his premises. During their search, they found a suppressor made from a kit that was neither serialized nor registered in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841, 5861(d), and 5871. A grand jury indicted him on that charge and Patterson moved to have the indictment dismissed. He argued that the National Firearms Act’s registration requirements violated the Second Amendment. The US District Court for Eastern Louisiana dismissed his motion and he appealed to the 5th Circuit.

The opinion of the court was by Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod who is a George W. Bush appointee. Interestingly, she also wrote the opinion for the en banc decision in Cargill v. Garland that found that bump stocks were not machine guns.

After examining a number of decisions in other circuits that had concluded that suppressors were not weapons, Elrod wrote:

A suppressor, by itself, is not a weapon. Without being attached to a firearm, it would not be of much use for self-defense. And unless a suppressor itself is thrown (which, of course, is not how firearms work), it cannot do any casting or striking.3 See United States v. Hasson, No. GJH-19-96, 2019 WL 4573424, at *4 n.5 (D. Md. Sept. 20, 2019) (noting that a suppressor “could be thrown at someone like a shoe or a baseball, which, most would agree, are not arms protected by the Second Amendment”). While a suppressor might prove useful to one casting or striking at another, that usefulness does not transform a gas dissipater into a bullet caster…And while possession of firearms themselves is covered by the plain text of the Second Amendment, possession of firearm accessories is not. Id. Accordingly, Peterson has not shown that the NFA’s registration scheme burdens a constitutionally protected right.

She also dismissed his argument that a suppressor should be considered a “‘‘proper accoutrements’ that render the firearm useful and functional'” per US v Miller noting that a firearm can still be fired absent a suppressor. His other argument pointed to Ezell v. Chicago but again Chief Judge Elrod dismissed that argument saying that the use of a suppressor is not necessary to the use of a firearm. Thus, she dismissed his appeal of the motion to dismiss from the District Court.

So this leads to the obvious question, if a suppressor is not considered a weapon and merely an accessory, then why is it regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934? The obvious answer is that it should not be.

There are currently bills in both houses of Congress that would remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act. The first to be introduced was HR 404/ S364 – Hearing Protection Act. This bill introduced by Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-WY) would remove suppressors from the NFA, eliminate the $200 tax, prohibit states from imposing any taxes on their purchase other than normal sales taxes, and allow their sale with a simple background check. This bill is supported a number of organizations including  American Suppressor Association (ASA), the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the National Rifle Association (NRA), the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA). 

A second bill, the Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing (SHUSH) Act, has been introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) in the Senate and by Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) in the House. The SHUSH Act is supported by National Association for Gun Rights, Gun Owners of America, the National Rifle Association, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It goes further than the Hearing Protection Act in that it removes suppressors entirely from Federal regulation.

From Sen. Lee’s press release:

The SHUSH Act aims to:

  • Eliminate federal regulation of suppressors as firearms under the National Firearms Act (NFA) and the Gun Control Act (GCA).
  • Remove existing taxes, fees, and registration requirements associated with suppressors.
  • Allow current or retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms with suppressors.
  • Preempt state regulations on the manufacture, transfer, transport, or possession of suppressors.
  • Strike provisions requiring mandatory minimum sentences for suppressor possession in certain cases.
  • Exempt suppressors from regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
  • Provide a provision for a refund of the $200 transfer tax for anyone who purchased a suppressor within two years prior to the enactment of the bill.
  • If passed, the SHUSH Act will work alongside the Hearing Protection Act to further deregulate suppressors and remove them from the Gun Control Act of 1968.

I would support passage of both laws but I must say I really like the SHUSH Act better. The question is, of course, getting either bill through the Senate.

Given that the courts are refusing to treat suppressors or silencers as protected by the Second Amendment and are considering them merely accessories, now is the time to treat them like they are in countries around the world. That is, an accessory sold over the counter without regulation that protects hearing, mitigates recoil, and reduces noise pollution.

H/T Marc E.

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Beware Of Trolls

February 7, 2025 by 2 Comments

Someone by the name of Seth Haan has been promoting the old guard or cabal ticket on a number of firearms forums. These include ArfCom, the 24 Hour Campfire Forum, and the Smith & Wesson Forum. He is usually a new member of the forum and no one seems to know who he is nor does he answer questions regarding his identity. His posts usually start off by reposting something NRA President Bob Barr wrote that appeared on Ammoland.com.

Seth or whoever he really is has been openly mocked as a troll on all of these forums. The usual response is “any list the has Bob Barr on it will never get my vote.” Many then go on to ask who Jeff Knox or Tim Knight has endorsed. Other responses to Seth will also suggest going to ElectANewNRA.com and voting for the reform slate.

It is one thing to be a troll supporting the cabal. However, it is another thing when that transforms into a diatribe about Jeff Knox who he characterizes as “a bitter old man.” The diatribe is below:

Jeff Knox frequently starts his attack on his fellow Board members with “This is not some sort of personal vendetta.” and launches on an attack full of ridiculous claims . Of course it is a personal vendetta. He’s been on a crusade to get revenge against NRA and certain board members ever since he and others were not elected to the NRA Board by the voters over 25 years ago.

Most of what Jeff Knox says is distorted, inaccurate, innuendo, speculative and in some cases even ridiculous. This is why the voters gave him and his cronies the boot in the late 90’s.

He claims that NRA has been a failure for the past 20 years. Where is the evidence? NRA spent over $60 million to help get Donald Trump elected in 2016 and now we have a pro-Second Amendment majority in the Supreme Court. Was that a failure? NRA helped elect numerous successful pro-gun candidates in federal, state and local elections over the past 20 years. NRA helped pass numerous pro-gun laws. Where is the failure?

Knox is acting like a democrat propagandist. He blames board members for nonexistant “failures over the past 20 years”. Its all just gaslighting, bloviating, fear mongering.

One of Knox’s more ridiculous statements was his suggestion that the NRA should have fired its attorneys right in the middle of the New York court case! Yes, during the actual negotiations to conclude the case against NRA, Jeff Knox supported firing NRA’s attorneys! What was his reason? To save NRA money in legal fees!!!

And what would have happened to the NRA if it had actually fired its attorneys? It would have had to hire new attorneys at a great cost to the NRA to have new attorneys come up to speed. Unless maybe Jeff was figuring that NRA should have gone into court nekkid as a jaybird, before God and everybody, without any attorney at all?

And now Jeff Knox has the temerity to post his ridiculous attack on board members who opposed firing NRA’s attorneys during the actual court proceedings. He actually expects you to not see through this nonsense.

Jeff Knox is just a bitter old man, desperately seeking revenge for events that happened a quarter century ago.

I’m going to be blunt. Seth Haan or whoever the troll really is can go fuck himself. Jeff has been a friend for many years. He has stood like an Old Testament prophet while being despised and scorned for telling the truth year after year. In 2019, he accurately foretold what would happen if the Board circled the wagons, defended Wayne, and tried to muddle through.

Jeff was absolutely correct that Bill Brewer should have been fired long ago. After Judge Cohen took dissolution off the table, it was time to seek a settlement. I sincerely doubt that any settlement reached at that stage would look much different that what was contained in the Final Order. The difference is the NRA would have saved much of the $200 million spent on Brewer and his colleagues. This is money that could have gone towards rebuilding the Training Department to educate all the new Covid-era gun owners. This is money that could have gone into 2A litigation. The list goes on.

I have gotten off topic a bit. My intent was to warn you about a nasty troll pushing the cabal. However, when this troll attacked Jeff, I could not let that pass without a response.

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I’ve Been Busy!

February 7, 2025 by

For a guy who doesn’t like the sound of his own voice on a recording, I’ve been busy. By my count, I’ve done five radio shows or podcasts in the last few weeks. They all were talking about my run for the NRA Board of Directors as well as the rest of the reform slate found at ElectANewNRA.com.

The first was a segment of Eye on the Target Radio with Rob and Amanda. In this case, it was just with Amanda. We recorded this before she left for the SHOT Show.

Next up in order of recording was with Weer’d Beard of the Assorted Calibers Podcast. Weerd and I go way back in the gun blogosphere. I think I first met Weerd in 2011 at the NRA Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh. His Weer’d World blog has been around even longer than mine. My interview about my run for the Board is found in Episode 330. We also did another short segment that appears on Episode 331 on the impact of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Cleanup is underway and full rebuilding will take years.

The next day attorney Alex Ooley and I recorded Episode 166 of his Forge of Freedom Podcast. We discussed a range of things including the upcoming Board election, the divide between the old guard and the reformers, the impact of the New York trial, and the need for transparency at the NRA.

The penultimate podcast I appeared on was The Firearm Trainers Podcast with Rob Beckman. Again, we discussed both my candidacy and the full reform slate of candidates. Rob always ask the question of all his guests on what you have changed your mind about or would have done differently. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to get my answer.

The final podcast was an interview with John Crump on his John Crump Live podcast. I will note that we had some audio difficulty as John’s regular producer was not available and we recorded the episode somewhat off the cuff. The first portion of the hour dealt with the NRA, its problems, and my run for the Board. The second portion had us discussing everything from hunting in Africa to a lawsuit in North Carolina against the sheriff of Mecklenburg County.

I want to thank all the hosts for having me as a guest and allowing me to discuss my candidacy for the NRA Board of Directors. Their efforts to get the word out should go a long way to helping us elect a “New NRA”.

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It Is Time To Vote

February 7, 2025 by 4 Comments

If you are a voting member of the NRA you should have received your ballot by now. If not, see my post on how to report a missing ballot and how to request it be replaced. Given the USPS, you still may want to give it a few more days.

In the meantime, here is a reminder.

Vote and encourage your friends who are voting members to vote. I can’t count how many people I’ve spoken with who are Life Members who have never voted.

The Complementary Spouse and I filled out our ballots today and they will be in tomorrow’s mail. Remember the deadline for receipt is April 6th. I thought it was the postmark date but the ballot specifically says receipt.

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NJ Ban On Hollow Point Ammo Challenged

February 5, 2025 by 2 Comments

A challenge to New Jersey’s prohibition on possession, transportation, and carrying of hollow point ammunition was filed yesterday in US District Court for the District of New Jersey. The lawsuit, Bergmann-Schoch et al v. Platkin et al, was filed on behalf of Heidi Bergmann-Schoch as the individual plaintiff along with institutional plaintiffs Coalition of New Jersey Firearms Owners (CNJFO), Gun Owners of America (GOA), and Gun Owners Foundation.

The suit alleges that New Jersey’s ban is “unconstitutional and ahistorical”. In particular, given Bruen and Heller decision held respectively the right to bear arms in public for self-defense and that the handgun is the most popular weapon “chosen by Americans for self-defense, to ban the most popular and effective self-defense ammo for a handgun is unconstitutional. Further, it is ahistorical in that there was never “an early American tradition of prohibiting the public carry of any type of ammunition, much less hollow point or self-defense ammunition.” New Jersey remains the only US state to ban hollow point ammunition for both handguns and rifles.

As we saw in the Brian Aitken case, New Jersey treats violations of the law regarding possession of hollow point ammunition very seriously. Aitken was sentenced to seven years in prison before having his sentence first commuted and then obtaining a pardon from then-NJ Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ).

The lawsuit notes:

Making it a criminal offense to carry ordinary ammunition in ordinary handguns for self-defense, the “central component” of the Second Amendment, New Jersey’s ban operates to largely “confine the right … to the home[,] … nullify[ing] half of the Second Amendment’s operative protections,” even though “[m]any Americans hazard greater danger outside the home than in it.” Bruen, 597 U.S. at 29, 32, 33.

Heidi Bergmann-Schoch holds a valid New Jersey Permit to Carry a Handgun, is a firearms trainer and range safety officer, Second Amendment activist, and a coordinator for a chapter of The Well Armed Woman. Heidi had a guest post on this blog regarding the The Well Armed Woman program in June 2020. She is also a member of both CNJFO and GOA.

The suit argues that bullets and ammunition are arms under the plain text of the Second Amendment and that hollow point ammunition is in common use as defined by the Heller decision. It goes on to note that even in US v. Miller (1939) the Supreme Court held that “the possession of arms also implied the possession of ammunition.” They then go into an extensive discussion of the efficacy of hollow point ammunition versus ball or full metal jacket ammunition. It is noted that hollow point bullets are less likely to penetrate the body armor worn by law enforcement than FMJ ammo thus negating any argument that hollow point bullets are more injurious to law enforcement.

Count One says the ban on hollow point ammunition violates both the Second and Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and “conflicts with Bruen’s clear teachings.” Based on this, the court is asked to find N.J.S.A. § 2C:39-3(f)(1) unenforceable and unconstitutional. A permanent injunction enjoining the NJ Attorney General, the head of the State Police, and all other officials responsible for enforcing the ban on possession, transportation, and carrying of hollow point ammunition is sought along with attorney fees and court costs.

Representing the plaintiffs are Steven J. Harfenist of Lake Success, NY and noted 2A attorney Stephen Stamboulieh of Olive Branch, MS.

Bergmann-Schoch v Platkin gov.uscourts.njd.562412.1.0Download

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Mailing A Free Magazine Saves NRA Members Over $100,000

February 3, 2025 by

If you are a voting member of the NRA and get your magazine in the mail, you know that the February issue contained your official ballot to vote for the Board of Directors. However, if you normally subscribe to a digital edition on one of the official NRA magazines, you may have expected to receive your ballot by First Class Mail.

Not this year!

All voting members who subscribe to a digital version of the official NRA magazines will receive or have already received a paper copy of the February magazine. Don’t toss it aside as just another magazine that came in the mail as it contains your official ballot to vote for the Board of Directors!

NRA Publications staff did an analysis on the cost of sending ballots given the rise in USPS First Class postage. The cost of sending a 1 ounce letter has gone from 68 cents in February 2024 to the current 73 cents. This was a 7.3% increase from 2024. NRA staff found that by switching to mailing the ballot in a complimentary printed copy of the magazine that they would save over $100,000.

Kudos to the Publications staff for doing this analysis and saving members this significant amount of money. It is my hope that all other departments within the NRA are adopting this budget conscious approach to expenses. The more they save, the sooner the organization will be back on a sound financial footing.

To reiterate: all official ballots this year will come in a paper copy of the official NRA magazine regardless of how your normally subscribe to the magazine.

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Some Lawyers Are Just Scum

January 30, 2025 by 2 Comments

Last night there was a mid-air collision between a US Army Blackhawk helicopter with three crewman onboard and an American Airlines commuter jet with 60 passengers and 4 crew onboard. It happened as the commuter jet flying from Wichita, KS was on final approach to Reagan DC National Airport. A number of the passengers on the commuter jet were figure skaters, their coaches, and family returning from a development camp following the US Figure Skating Nationals. The DC Fire and EMS Chief has said he didn’t believe there were any survivors for either aircraft.

This is a tragedy any way one looks at it. It is a time for prayer for the victims and their families and a time to begin the investigation so mishaps like this don’t happen again. As of now, we don’t know why one collided with the other but just that they did.

With this as background, you will understand my anger and disgust at receiving an email at 10:39PM yesterday from a public relations flack for a Chicago personal injury law firm. The email asked whether I wanted to interview or request a further statement from attorney Robert Clifford, a supposed aviation attorney, of the Clifford Law Firm. Clifford is identified as the lead counsel in pending litigation against Boeing concerning a crash from six years ago that left 157 dead. His bio states, “Mr. Clifford has represented those injured or killed in every major commercial airline crash in the U.S. in the last four decades.”

The firm’s website says the firm and its attorneys are “Recognized leaders in personal injury and wrongful death case litigation in medical malpractice, train, bus, construction, transportation, aviation litigation, and other matters.”

The email, other than stating the obvious that the NTSB will be involved, is a thinly veiled attempt to get in front of the victims’ families and sign them up as clients.

This is disgusting. I have heard of ambulance chasing but this takes it to another level. At 10:39PM last night, we were still holding out hope that rescuers might have found some passengers or crew alive.

As I said in the headline, some lawyers are just scum. They can pretty it up by saying how they do this or that for charity or the legal profession but that is just window dressing.

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Endorsed By Tony Simon

January 29, 2025 by 2 Comments

I am honored to be endorsed for the NRA Board of Directors by my friend Tony Simon. He is one of the leaders in the 2A movement in New Jersey. His 2A4E Diversity Shoots bring new people into the fold and that is what is needed especially in a state like New Jersey.

I want to thank Tony for the endorsement!

Ballots have started to arrive in mailboxes around the country. I have heard from friends in Texas, Alabama, and New Jersey who have received their ballots. The Complementary Spouse and I are still waiting on our magazines with the attached ballots.

If you are a voting member of the NRA, vote! We cannot change the NRA from its old ways unless enough people who are eligible vote. In most years, the percentage of eligible voters is less than 5%. Even municipal elections for dogcatchers and coroners do better than that!

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Vote YES On NRA Incorporation Amendment

January 29, 2025 by 1 Comment

A number of questions have been asked about the vote to amend the NRA’s incorporation to specify that it is a “non-charitable organization.” This has led to some confusion on what is the proper vote.

Sec. 201 of the New York Not-for-Profit Corporation Law defines a non-profit either as a charitable corporation or a non-charitable corporation. New York revised the law in 2014 and all previously incorporated non-profits were deemed charitable corporations. They previously had defined them as Type A, B, C, and D depending upon the purposes of the corporation. The NRA was considered a Type B non-profit as a social welfare organization. Under the Internal Revenue Code, the NRA is a 501(c)(4) organization which allows them to engage in political lobbying and other political activities. By contrast, a true charity is a 501(c)(3) organization and is forbidden to engage in those activities.

The Board of Directors voted to recommend the amendment as it brings the NRA federal and New York State statuses into agreement. Moreover, while not stated within the Board’s resolution, it also exempts the NRA from the requirement to have certain transactions including amendment of corporate purposes approved by the New York Attorney General or a New York court.

All things considered, a YES vote is called for in this case.

The Board’s resolution which gives more detail is below:

2024-05-15 Resolution recommending amendment of NRA’s Certificate of Incorporation cleanDownload

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What To Do If You Don’t Receive Your NRA Ballot

January 28, 2025 by 3 Comments

Ballots for the 2025 NRA Board of Directors election should be arriving this week in the official journals (Am Hunter, Am Rifleman, Shooting Illustrated, and America’s First Freedom). For those who take the magazine in digital format, you should be receiving your ballot in the mail.

However, what should you do if neither the magazine or the ballot arrives? I asked NRA Secretary John Frazer this question and here is his answer.

Any issues involving damaged or potentially lost ballots should be reported to the regular Membership phone number at 1-800-672-3888. One of the staff there will take a full report so that we can assess each situation individually.

As you correctly note, especially early in the process, people should wait a couple of weeks before reporting their ballots as lost. The mail does get backed up from time to time. If the current run of weather continues, we can probably expect more delays.

The one thing to remember is that you can only vote for 28 candidates. This includes the two write-in candidates – Charles Brown and Paul Babaz. Any votes over that amount will spoil your ballot and cause it to not be counted.

We are encouraging voting members to vote the entire slate found at ElectANewNRA.com. The rationale has changed from bullet voting as has been urged in the past. The new rationale of voting a full ticket of 28 reformers is to close any opportunity for one of the old guard aka Friends of Wayne aka the cabal to slip back into office. If your conscience doesn’t allow you to vote for any one particular candidate on the reform slate, I might suggest Mark Shuell as an alternative candidate. I have spoken with Mark and his heart seems in the right place. He is not part of the cabal’s list of endorsed candidates.