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An Example Of Everytown’s Campaign Against McAuliffe’s Compromise

February 5, 2016 by 5 Comments

Everytown Moms for Illegal Mayors is royally PO’ed that a governor that they thought they owned lock, stock, and barrel has now come to an agreement with pro-gun legislators and forces. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) is, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, the focus of a social media campaign by Everytown in an effort to stop his agreement to reinstate and expand concealed carry reciprocity.

Gun rights activists and supporters in Virginia need to keep up the pressure on both McAuliffe and their legislators to reinstate existing reciprocity agreements as well as to expand to universal reciprocity recognition.

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A Win In The 4th Circuit (Updated)

February 5, 2016 by 4 Comments

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has not been too good for gun rights in the past few years. However, a case involving Maryland make signal a change. Kolbe v. Hogan (formerly Kolbe v. O’Malley) challenged Maryland’s ban on certain semi-auto firearms and standard capacity on Second Amendment and Equal Protection Clause grounds. The District Court for Maryland agreed with the state’s arguments and found the bans were constitutional using intermediate scrutiny.

Today, the 4th Circuit overturned that decision in part and remanded it back to the District Court to be reconsidered using strict scrutiny. The court affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of the Equal Protection claims involving retired law enforcement and the vagueness claims that “copies” of certain firearms were not specific enough.

From the synopsis of the decision:

TRAXLER, Chief Judge, wrote the opinion for the court as to
Parts I, II, and III, in which Judge Agee joined.

In April 2013, Maryland passed the Firearm Safety Act
(“FSA”), which, among other things, bans law-abiding citizens,
with the exception of retired law enforcement officers, from
possessing the vast majority of semi-automatic rifles commonly
kept by several million American citizens for defending their
families and homes and other lawful purposes. Plaintiffs raise
a number of challenges to the FSA, contending that the “assault
weapons” ban trenches upon the core Second Amendment right to
keep firearms in defense of hearth and home, that the FSA’s ban
of certain larger-capacity detachable magazines (“LCMs”)
likewise violates the Second Amendment, that the exception to
the ban for retired officers violates the Equal Protection
Clause, and that the FSA is void for vagueness to the extent
that it prohibits possession of “copies” of the specifically
identified semi-automatic rifles banned by the FSA. The
district court rejected Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment challenges,
concluding that the “assault weapons” and larger-capacity
magazine bans passed constitutional muster under intermediate
scrutiny review. The district court also denied Plaintiffs’
equal protection and vagueness claims.

In our view, Maryland law implicates the core protection of
the Second Amendment—“the right of law-abiding responsible

citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home,” District of
Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 635 (2008), and we are
compelled by Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S.
742 (2010), as well as our own precedent in the wake of these
decisions, to conclude that the burden is substantial and strict
scrutiny is the applicable standard of review for Plaintiffs’
Second Amendment claim. Thus, the panel vacates the district
court’s denial of Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment claims and
remands for the district court to apply strict scrutiny. The
panel affirms the district court’s denial of Plaintiffs’ Equal
Protection challenge to the statutory exception allowing retired
law enforcement officers to possess prohibited semi-automatic
rifles. And, the panel affirms the district court’s conclusion
that the term “copies” as used by the FSA is not
unconstitutionally vague.

 The decision from the 4th Circuit was not unanimous and contains dissents, concurrences, and multiple parts. Indeed, the full decision is 90 pages long. Needless to say, it will take some time to read and digest this decision. That said, having the case sent back to the District Court to apply strict scrutiny to the Second Amendment claims is a definite win.

It will be interesting to see what legal legerdemain that Judge Catherine C. Blake will employ to assert that Maryland can still ban the most popular firearm in common use in America today even if strict scrutiny is applied.

UPDATE: Sebastian has more on this case at Shall Not Be Questioned. He is correct in saying that the ban on semi-auto rifles and standard capacity magazines still remains in place. The 4th Circuit didn’t find the law unconstitutional. It merely said that it needs to be reheard using the correct level of scrutiny. This is a win but not a complete win.

UPDATE II: Attorney Andrew Branca (Law of Self Defense) has his take on the case here.

UPDATE III: Gun rights scholar and attorney David Kopel examines the case in detail in the Washington Post’s Volokh Conspiracy blog. As he notes, the Second Amendment protections should extend to gun parts (magazines) and that strict scrutiny is appropriate in this case.

UPDATE IV: Dave Hardy weighs in on Kolbe. He makes note of the dissent and the response from Judge Traxler to it.

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Maryland AG Reacts As Expected

February 5, 2016 by 4 Comments

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D-MD) served a combined 28 years in the Maryland House and Senate before being elected Attorney General. He says in his bio that, “He shepherded landmark legislation on gun safety”, through the Maryland Senate. That legislation was the Maryland Firearm Safety Act which banned the sale of ARs. AKs, their clones, and standard capacity magazines.

Given that background, it is no surprise that he is not happy with the judges of the 4th Circuit after yesterday’s ruling in Kolbe v. Hogan. As he states in the press release below, he intends to request an en banc review of the case or, failing to get that, he will appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

Baltimore, MD (Feb. 4, 2016) –Attorney General Brian E. Frosh issued the following statement on today’s ruling by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on the Maryland Firearm Safety Act:

“The Maryland Firearm Safety Act is a common-sense law designed to reduce gun violence and make our communities safer. It remains the law in Maryland.

The 2-1 decision handed down today by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals returns the case to the district court for further proceedings, and it also conflicts sharply with rulings of other federal appellate courts.

Those courts have uniformly upheld assault weapons bans and limits on large capacity magazines. Those courts have not imposed the standard of review adopted by the 2-judge majority today, but instead follow a standard that gives greater deference to the public safety and health concerns that led the legislature to enact this law. As a dissent by Judge King notes: ‘There is sound reason to conclude that the Second Amendment affords no protection whatsoever to the assault rifles and shotguns, copycat weapons, and large-capacity detachable magazines that are banned by the State of Maryland.’

As Attorney General, I remain fully committed to defending Maryland’s law, and to defending the courageous votes taken by the Maryland General Assembly so that we can continue to protect public safety and reduce the risk of deadly gun violence.

Rest assured, the Office of the Attorney General will seek further review of the majority decision, either by the full Fourth Circuit sitting en banc, or by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Those other circuits to whom he refers are the notoriously anti-gun 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. As a resident of the 4th Circuit I have been consistently disappointed in its rulings on the Second Amendment. I have long wished that they would start ruling more like the 7th Circuit but my wishes have not been granted. Starting with US v Masciandaro (2011) and continuing with their overturning of the District Court win in Woollard v. Gallagher (2013), the 4th Circuit has not sure much due respect for Second Amendment rights.

Of note is that dissent in Kolbe came from Judge Robert King, a Clinton appointee, who wrote the opinion in the Woollard case. You’d have thought a born, bred, and educated West (by God!) Virginian would have had more respect for the Second Amendment. Sadly, that is not the case.

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NSSF Responds To The 4th Circuit Ruling

February 4, 2016 by

The National Shooting Sports Foundation was an organizational plaintiff in Kolbe v. Hogan. As you can imagine they are very pleased with the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that the District Court erred in going with intermediate scrutiny and not strict scrutiny.

Appeals Court Remands Decision for ‘Strict Scrutiny’ of Second Amendment

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today overturned a federal district court decision that had upheld the 2013 State of Maryland Firearm Safety Act as constitutional under intermediate scrutiny review.

Writing for the three-judge appellate court panel that heard the case, Kolbe v. Maryland, Chief Judge William B. Traxler wrote: “In our view, Maryland law implicates the core protection of the Second Amendment — ‘the right of law-abiding responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home, District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570,635 (2008), and we are compelled by Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), as well as our own precedent in the wake of these decisions to conclude that the burden is substantial and strict scrutiny is the applicable standard or review for Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment claim.”

The court vacated the district court’s denial of the plaintiffs’ claims and remanded the case to the lower court, ordering that it apply the appropriate strict standard of review.

“We are greatly heartened by the Fourth Circuit panel’s ruling today,” said Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), one of the lead plaintiffs in this case. “As this important case goes forward, NSSF will continue to work with our co-plaintiffs to ensure that our citizens’ Second Amendment rights are protected and that the lawful commerce in firearms is restored in support of this constitutional protection.”

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The NRA Responds To Today’s 4th Circuit Decision

February 4, 2016 by 1 Comment

The NRA is very pleased with the 2-1 ruling in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Kolbe v. Hogan.

National Rifle Association Statement on 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling in Kolbe v. Maryland

Fairfax, Va.— Chris W. Cox, the executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, issued the following statement in reaction to today’s ruling by the federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Kolbe v. Maryland case. The case challenges the legality of Maryland’s 2013 ban on so-called assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The 2-1 decision sends the gun-control law back to a lower court for review because it “implicates the core protection of the Second Amendment.”

“The Fourth Circuit’s ruling is an important victory for the Second Amendment. Maryland’s ban on commonly owned firearms and magazines clearly violates our fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. The highest level of judicial scrutiny should apply when governments try to restrict our Second Amendment freedoms.” – Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action

You can find my earlier post on the case here.

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An Update On Virginia Reciprocity From VCDL

February 4, 2016 by 2 Comments

Grass Roots North Carolina received the following from Philip Van Cleave of the Virginia Citizens Defense League regarding the negotiations between Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) and gun rights supporters to restore concealed carry reciprocity.

BREAKING NEWS:  *** February 1 cutoff date for dropping recognition of 25 states has been extended to March 1
***


THE
“DEAL”


As
you’ve undoubtedly
heard from the media, there is a package deal in the works between
Governor McAuliffe and the Republicans in the General Assembly dealing
with 1)
concealed handgun permit (CHP) reciprocity, 2) voluntary background
checks at gunshows, and 3) those subject to a permanent domestic
violence
protection order.


To
many CHP holders, CHP
reciprocity is a HUGE deal, especially if they travel out-of-state
regularly and want to be able to carry discretely.  For example, there
is no
solution to carrying in South Carolina if we don’t have an agreement
between our two states.

There is a
lot of misinformation from the media and elsewhere and a lot of people
are
coming to the wrong conclusions about what the deal does and doesn’t do.
 Rumors are flying that gun owners only get back the reciprocity
that was taken away by Herring and the State Police – that is FALSE.  We
have gained important ground!

THE DEAL IS
STILL IN THE WORKS.  Things could still go south as the key bills that
make up the deal work their way through the legislature and onto the
Governor’s desk.  SO, FOR NOW, NOTHING HAS CHANGED.  THERE IS NO
ABSOLUTE GUARANTEE THIS WILL BECOME LAW, BUT A REASONABLY GOOD CHANCE IT
WILL.  If it fails, we may not be able to fix the reciprocity situation
for another two-long-years.


VCDL has been privy to the deal for several days, as was a
national group.  VCDL monitored progress of this potentially
groundbreaking
advancement of our liberty from its genesis, and provided counsel and
discussion points during its evolution.

The final product was given the nod by VCDL, however we will be watching like a hawk for
any changes that negatively affect gun owners.

IMPORTANT DETAILS ON THE “DEAL”

There are three components that make up the deal, each component represented by matching bills in the House and in the
Senate.


#1 – Reciprocity details –
gun owners gain ground!


*
Virginia will honor the carry permits from ALL states!  This is
considerably better than current law and something VCDL has been trying
to get
for at least seven years now.  


*
Because Virginia will honor all other states, Virginia CHPs will be
recognized by all the states we have lost AND we will gain some new
states:
 New Hampshire, Georgia, and Colorado!

*
The State Police and the Attorney General will have NO say in the new
law.  If another state requires a formal
agreement to honor Virginia CHPs, the new law requires the Attorney
General to enter into any such agreement.  If he fails to do this, item
#3,
below, does not go into effect.


*
One other change on the reciprocity law:  If your Virginia CHP is
revoked for cause, you won’t be able to carry on a non-resident permit
from another state.  Not a deal breaker.

NOTE:
 Just because we are honoring all other states, doesn’t mean we can
carry in all those states.  Someone
from New York will be able to carry here, but we won’t be able to carry
in New York unless New York is willing to enter into a reciprocal
agreement with Virginia, for example. 

As more and more states start honoring out-of-state permits, the prospects of our permit being honored by even more states
down the road is bright!


#2 –
Voluntary gun show background checks


*
Background checks for a private sale are COMPLETELY voluntary.

* The State Police shall be at every gun show in Virginia, by law.  (Some gun owners were thinking this was some kind of
a trick – that if the State Police don’t show up, the gun show would be cancelled.  This should put that worry to rest.)


*
The gun show promoter shall notify the State Police of
the location and times of the gun show at least 30 days in advance,
shall provide a free location for the police to set up, and shall have
signs
letting attendees know of the voluntary background checks at the State
Police booth.  (I checked with one of Virginia’s largest gun show
promoters on this to see if any of it was objectionable and was told,
“no.”)

* The State Police may charge a reasonable fee.  (If they charge more than you want to pay, you can
just walk away and do the transaction without the background check.)

*
NO information on the make, model, or serial number of the gun being
sold will be provided to the State Police – i.e. no
federal Form 4473!  The purchaser will have to fill out the Virginia
form, which asks a few questions and has the buyer’s name, address, and
signature.  (If you don’t want to fill out that form, you can just walk
away and do the transaction without the background
check.)


*
There is a carrot: if a
background check is run, the seller receives some special legal
protections that are currently not available for private sales.  If a
background
check is not run, you don’t have any more or any less legal protections
than under current law.

Yes, down
the road inevitably there will be some bills introduced that attempt to
make
the background check mandatory.  We get bills on mandatory background
checks for private sales every year.  We will have to fight and defeat
those bills in the future, just as we fight and defeat similar bills
today.

For those gun owners who
would feel safer selling a gun to someone who has had a background
check, this
provides a new option in addition to the current option of either asking
if the person has a CHP or going through the more laborious and
expensive
route of letting an FFL do the transfer.  It also has no effect on
private sales conducted anywhere outside of gun shows, where this
voluntary
option is not provided.


#3 –
Persons subject to a PERMANENT domestic violence protection order cannot possess firearms until the order expires

* The ONLY permanent protection order this restriction applies to is one for domestic
violence and NOTHING else.


*
The subject of the protection order must have had his day in court along
with any legal counsel.  Temporary protection orders do NOT affect
possession of firearms.


*
If the judge, after hearing the defense, decides to issue a permanent
protection order anyhow, the subject of the protection order will lose
his gun
rights for the duration of the order (MAXIMUM of two years), and
automatically get those gun rights back when the permanent protection
order expires.
 Note:  a new permanent protection order could potentially be issued
when the perament protection order expires if the judge thinks a danger
still exists.


*
The subject of the
permanent protection order will have 24 hours to turn his guns over to a
person of his choice, as long as that person can legally possess
firearms.


*
The above is basically
federal law already, and state law already prohibits a person with such a
permanent protection order from purchasing  or transporting a
firearm.


WHAT’S
NEXT?


* VCDL will be monitoring the deal’s
progress, watching for changes that negatively affect gun owners. 

* If a negative issue arises and is not fixed quickly, I will advise all of you immediately via an Urgent Legislative Action
Alert.  


* I will also be providing
links to the three bills described above as soon as the final language is available online.  That way you can read them for
yourself.


* For now just standby on
this, as I keep you advised of the progress of the deal.

* If you don’t have any absolutely urgent questions, please hold on to them for now as it would be easy to overwhelm me
with emails (I’m already getting over 200 a day as is).

 We interviewed Phil for The Polite Society Podcast yesterday evening. I will put up a link to that interview as soon as it is published. However, in the meantime, Phil said that an appropriations bill had been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly that would restore reciprocity to the way it was before Attorney General Mark Herring (D-VA) went full-Bloomberg. Given it is an appropriations bill, Gov. McAuliffe must either approve it in full or veto the entire bill. There is no line-item veto on appropriations bills.

Needless to say, the gun prohibitionists are having a hissy fit over the compromise between McAuliffe and gun rights supporters. A few days ago the Washington Post reported this:

“Governor McAuliffe should reconsider this dangerous gift to the gun lobby,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, which in the fall poured more than $2 million into two state Senate races at McAuliffe’s request.

Late last night the Post reported that Everytown Moms for Illegal Mayors has now started a social media campaign against McAuliffe.

On Wednesday, Everytown launched a social media campaign against McAuliffe, who last week stunned gun-safety advocates by announcing that he had struck a gun deal with Republican legislators and the National Rifle Association. It shows side-by-side photos of McAuliffe and the National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre.

“What do VA Gov. Terry McAuliffe and NRA head Wayne LaPierre have in common?” one version reads. “Both Gov McAuliffe and NRA Head Wayne LaPierre support allowing dangerous people to carry hidden loaded weapons in Virginia.”

While clearly a lower-budget affair than last fall’s TV blitz, Everytown’s social media campaign against McAuliffe was a stunner, given how closely he worked with gun-safety groups since his 2013 campaign for governor. He narrowly won the race while bragging about his “F” rating from the NRA.

If I were a Virginia politician, I’d look at what Everytown is doing and realize just how fickle they are in their support. Alternatively, you could say that they just want their bought and paid for politicians to stay bought.

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Prayers For Jeff (Updated)

February 4, 2016 by 1 Comment

I received the following this morning from a reader who is an old friend of Jeff and Boge Quinn of Gunblast.com. Yesterday, I posted three of their videos regarding items at the SHOT Show.

Jeff is in a Nashville’s St.Thomas hospital ICU with severe pneumonia. He passed out and the impact from the fall caused a brain bleed.

 This is terrible news. Please keep Jeff and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

UPDATE: I received an update on Jeff’s condition and the news is good – or at least better.

Jeff is still in ICU at St. Thomas but should be moving to a regular room tomorrow as his vitals are now in the typical range.
3 days ago, he wanted to go over a list of pall bearers today he was talking about what guns he needs to shoot and do articles/videos on.


The brain bleed as the result of the blow to his head that he suffered when he fell did not result in a stroke, and there is no reason for concern at this time.
He is off of oxygen, and off the constant IV antibiotics. His kidneys have also suffered no further damage from the antibiotics or from working to draw-off excess fluids – no worse and no better, but stable is a good thing.


He still feels awful, but his condition is improving.

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FAL Meets AR Meets God Knows What

February 3, 2016 by 5 Comments

I was looking over an auction site when I stumbled across this really funky looking carbine.

It is listed as a Masterpiece Arms MPA971x1A 9mm carbine. It comes with a 71 round drum magazines and the Bushnell HoloSight.

A closer look at the lower, pistol grip, and butt stock make it look like it was stolen off a FAL. In the picture below, look at the safety, the locking lever, and the rear sight dovetail where the rear sight should be.

Doing a search on this, it appears that it is indeed a FN FAL lower. The upper is derived from the MAC 11 and the drum is from a Finnish Suomi SMG. According to this old post in The Firing Line, the carbine weighs almost 17 lbs! The original poster said he put 600 rounds through it without a single malfunction. It may be ugly but it does sound reliable.

Prices I’ve found are about $560 from an auction in 2004 and someone trying to sell one on Armslist for $1000 back in 2012 saying it is very rare. I would agree with the last part about it being rare but worth $1000 is another story.

I may bid on it just for the heck of it. If I won it, I’d have the satisfaction of knowing no one had a similar carbine in a three state area. Heck, make it a four state area if I pick the states correctly.

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Joining Forces In Illinois

February 1, 2016 by 5 Comments

One of the guiding principles of war is the concentration of forces.

To achieve success in war, it is essential to concentrate superior force, moral or material, to that of the enemy at the decisive time and place. Concentration does not necessarily imply a massing of forces, but rather having them so disposed as to be able to unite to deliver the decisive blow when and where required, or to counter the enemy’s threats. Concentration is a matter more of time than of space.

Having fought determined enemies of gun rights for a long time, the Illinois State Rifle Association has learned a thing or two about both strategy and tactics. Thus when I read the release below from ISRA, I shook my head in approval at the wisdom of it.

ISRA and Illinois Carry are joining forces in lobbying the Illinois General Assembly. Dr. Valinda Rowe and her husband Mike Rowe will be the Springfield coordinators for both ISRA and Illinois Carry. This concentration of forces to lobby for gun rights in Illinois will bring a greater focus to both the opportunities and threats facing Illinois gun owners.

Illinois State Rifle Association and IllinoisCarry.com Join Forces!


When the General Assembly returned to session this week, there were two new faces joining the Illinois State Rifle Association team. Valinda Rowe and husband Mike will serve as Springfield Coordinators and lobbyists for both the ISRA and IllinoisCarry.com. It was almost inevitable that the top two Second Amendment organizations in the state should team up to form an even more effective presence in Springfield. The national award winning ISRA and the national award winning grassroots group, IllinoisCarry.com, are joining forces for an even stronger front in the battle for Second Amendment rights for Illinois citizens. The two organizations represent nearly 40,000 gun owners in the State of Illinois.


ISRA President Don Moran, “We have worked closely with Valinda and Mike over the past decade, our parallel cases, IC / SAF’s Moore v Madigan and NRA / ISRA’s Sheppard v Madigan being the straw that broke the camel’s back in moving CCL forward in Illinois. It’s been a partnership for some time and our codifying it has been long overdue. The ISRA welcomes Valinda and Mike on board and we look forward to continuing to fight together for firearms rights in Illinois for years to come.” ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson, “I am pleased that the ISRA and IllinoisCarry are working together. The gun owners of this state will be well represented by this partnership.”


Valinda, spokesperson for IllinoisCarry and her husband, Mike, are excited about their new role in Springfield, “We believe this partnership will benefit both organizations and help each one to be better, stronger, and more efficient in many ways. We have always enjoyed working alongside our friends in the ISRA and we are excited to see that relationship expand. It is our hope to not only strengthen the ISRA’s presence in Springfield but to also increase the overall presence of all Second Amendment supporters.”

Correction: I incorrectly referred to Valinda Rowe as Dr. Valinda Rowe. I mixed Valinda’s credentials up with those of another stalwart in the fight for concealed carry in Illinois – Dr. Paula Bratich DVM.

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2016 SHOT Show Day Three: Gunblast.com

February 1, 2016 by 3 Comments

Hybrid AKs which incorporate many of the features of the AR-15 seem to be growing in number. On Day Three of the SHOT Show, Jeff Quinn features two of them. The KF-47 comes from Palmetto State Armory and the M10X Elite Hybrid 7.62×39 is available from MM-Industries.

Alexander Arms is coming out with a 180 grain bullet specifically designed for the .300 Blackout. It will be be available in their subsonic cartridges. Many of the heavier bullets up until now have been .300 Mag bullets used in the .300 Blackout cartridge.

I’m glad to see that XS Sights is coming out with suppressor sights for 1911s with a Novak cut. They currently have them for Glocks.

More on other things that Jeff found on Day Three of the SHOT Show are in the video below.