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May 2011
Mexico and guns
Glad to see it hitting the media, even if Fox News is the only one talking about it.
Briefs in Peruta v. San Diego
Challenge to California's combination of "may issue" for CCW and its ban on open carry while gun is loaded.
CORE amicus brief, by Steve Halbrook;
NRA's amicus brief by Paul Clement.
Permalink · Chicago aftermath · Comments (3)
Local SWAT raid
Good article here. Official version is that the man they killed (who'd served two tours in Iraq and had a clean record threw down on them with a rifle and said something to the effect that he had something for them. Now it develops the rifle was on "safe," hardly the mark of a suspect ready to go down shooting. And I suspect the statement he supposedly made is going to be either (1) not something he said, my main bet, or (2) he was under the impression that the people who'd smashed down his door and stormed in were robbers.
CORE amicus brief
Steve Halbrook has filed an amicus brief for the Congress of Racial Equality, in Peruta v. San Diego.
Permalink · Chicago aftermath · Comments (1)
Privately funding relief from disabilities
Joshua Prince has thoughts on the subject. Federal relief from disabilities was, until 1986, the relief for persons with a conviction for nonviolent offenses, or quite old ones. But for a decade, thanks to a PR campaign by Violence Policy Center, budget riders have forbidden the ATF from granting such relief.
Another interesting issue is that the riders DO allow relief if the applicant is a corporation, but not if the applicant is a human. Given that corporate criminal liability generally requires the the illegal act be directly approved by high-ranking individuals in the corporation, that seems a questionable distinction to me.
Interesting procedural case
Camreta v. Greene, decided today. A party which won in the Court of Appeals may still seek certiorari to review the ruling. The case was a 1983 suit over an alleged Fourth Amendment violation. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the conduct had violated the Fourth Amendment, but that the defendants were protected by qualified immunity (the violation wasn't already clearly established as a matter of law). Defendants asked the Court to review the finding that the conduct violated the Fourth Amendment, even though they had won on immunity grounds. The Court holds that it can take such review, but that the issue is now moot, and concludes by vacating the Ninth Circuit's ruling rather than just dismissing the appeal and leaving the ruling stand.
Permalink · General con law · Comments (0)
No surprise here
Jared Loughner, the Tucson killer, is ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial. A friend remarked that you didn't need a psychiatric evaluation to know that -- just a look at his photo.
Guns tracing to Mexico
Colby Goodman, of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has an interesting study. A few excerpts:
"While ATF has some information on firearms recovered in Mexico, a total of 69,808 firearms as of May 2010, ATF agents say they can use only about eight percent of Mexico’s firearm trace requests to initiate investigations, in part because many of the trace requests lack basic identification data and were purchased in the United States more than five years ago. The U.S. government also faces substantial challenges, particularly in identifying firearms traffickers and persuading U.S. Attorneys to accept more criminal cases related to firearms trafficking to Mexico. Perhaps the most worrying from the Mexican government’s point of view, however, is ATF’s Fast and Furious Operation based out of Phoenix, Arizona, which reportedly allowed hundreds of firearms to be sold to potentially known traffickers as a way to build more attractive cases for U.S. Attorneys and ATF did not notify Mexican authorities."
"According to new statistics provided by the U.S. and Mexican governments, Mexico has submitted a total of 78,194 firearm trace requests to the United States from FY 2007 to FY 2010.34 During approximately the same time frame, President Calderon said Mexico had seized about 90,000 arms.35 Looking at these numbers, it may appear Mexico is providing ATF with information on a large number of the firearms it has seized since the start of the Calderon Administration, but ATF now reports that tens of thousands of the trace requests are duplicates.36 In some cases, ATF has received information on the same firearm up to five times as Mexican police, a crime lab, the military, and the Attorney General’s office all write down information on the same firearm, and the individual in the Attorney General’s office in Mexico City submits trace requests on all of them."
"According to a detailed U.S. DOJ Inspector General report released in November 2010, about 26 percent of Mexico’s trace requests to the U.S. government for FY 2009 were untraceable because of serial number errors."
" In addition, according to the same Inspector General’s report, 75 percent of the firearms ATF was able to trace to the first purchaser in the United States were purchased more than five years ago. The report further says that only about 18 percent of the firearms were purchased less than three years ago."
"For example, ATF agents frequently use the act of illegally buying a firearm for someone else, otherwise known as straw purchasing, in seeking to stop firearms trafficking to Mexico, but the overwhelming majority of the defendants convicted of this crime have received less than one year in prison.48 The average prison sentences for two other crimes ATF most often uses to stop firearms trafficking – knowingly making a false statement and willfully engaging in a firearms business without a license – were also just over a one year.49 By comparison, drug conspiracy charges averaged 10 year sentences. As a result, ATF officials have said there is often an unwritten, minimum threshold of 10 to 20 illegal trafficked firearms and one firearm used in a crime before a U.S. Attorney will accept the case, which appears to have led to the problems with ATF’s Fast and Furious Operation.50 U.S. Attorneys also stated that they decided to reject ATF referred cases related to Project Gunrunner because the cases sometimes lacked evidence of criminal intent or had insufficient evidence"
"Lastly, although ATF could increase the penalties firearms traffickers face by engaging in joint investigations with ICE on criminal cases related to smuggling and arms export controls, it has continued to largely avoid working with ICE, which has the most experience on these types of violations.58 For example, the DOJ Inspector General found that charges related to smuggling on average resulted in five year prison sentences, which are much longer than the crimes ATF often pursues.59 However, the Inspector General found that from “FY 2004 through FY 2009, only seven defendants in Project Gunrunner cases were convicted of smuggling.”"
May 22
My annual memorial post for my wife, Frances Avery Hardy, who died on this day in 2003, age 52. Cancer got her. She died in the same hospital where our son was born, 18 years and four days before.
Today in 2009, I had the major cancer surgery which kept me offline for two days.
Permalink · Personal · Comments (5)
A trip in the time machine...
LA Times headline from 20 years ago: "Ranks of NRA Gun for Leaders : Dissent: The group's top officers are blamed for declining membership and legislative losses to gun-control forces."
Declining membership, legislative losses ... as Mark Twain said, reports of his death were greatly exaggerated.
Permalink · NRA · Comments (0)
More on "Project Gunwalker"
CBS News: DEA and ATF in tug of war after DEA seizes guns "walked" by ATF.
David Codrea has a post on new revelations in the case, with video interview of a a BATF informant (i.e., not an agent) here. He has some interesting insights. Agencies don't need more money, they need less turf fighting and human intel. He was ordered to give info to one agency only, and not to communicate with others. He was informed by contacts in Mexico that full auto guns were coming in with approval of US government agencies. The smugglers had both American and Mexican LEOs paid off. Corruption is on both sides of the border, probably worse here. He also talks of military weapons being smuggled from Mexico into the US. He knows of one agent who gets a down payment, with final payment made after delivery.
Weapons coming in northward include a lot of US made weapons sold to Latin American governments, which now turn them for a profit in Mexico.
When ATF debriefed him... they sought info on where guns were being obtained, who was smuggling them, etc., but the purpose seemed to be to ensure nobody got caught with egg on the face. When he brought up the gun that killed Agent Terry, where he had reported the identity of the killer, he was told to forget about it, someone else was investigating that. He doesn't believe local LEOs are corrupted; they wouldn't have a role in moving guns or drugs, the cartels want to corrupt Federal agents. Local LEOs have no power over a port of entry.
Evidence indicates tunnels are being driven near Douglas AZ, from the Mexican side. Met with a contact involved in the tunnel, he said it would cost $100-200K, but since you can move tons of cocaine thru it, that's pocket change.
Worked with many, many agencies, Federal and State. Pay can be percent of drugs seized, but lately is low. Initial work was driven by concerns about terrorism and bio weapons. Then was in it for the money, now talking in hopes someone will see info and act. Drug war, terror war, claims that they are being fought successfully is a lie. Programs are failures. Drug war ... the amount of drugs coming in, not being interdicted, drug use steadily increasing. Heart of problem is in senior management, dismantling operations that are effective. Disillusioned, because been on ground, saw drugs and guns, reported it, watched cases dropped or dismissed, or agents say can't do it because his boss doesn't want to get involved in a field operation.
Permalink · BATFE · Comments (0)
Waiting for the end of the world
Conclusive proof that the end times are upon us: Obama pardons a violator of the National Firearms Act. That is a far greater portent that the Center for Disease Control issuing advice on surviving a zombie apocalypse. (CDC predictably left firearms off the list of survival equipment, as if we were expected to tackle the undead with our bare hands).
Oregon: medicinal marihuana users can receive CCW permit
Pdf opinion here. The problem is that medicinal marihuana use may be legal under State law, but it's still forbidden by Federal law, and GCA 68 bans firearm possession by illegal users of marihuana. The court holds that the Federal restriction does not override the Oregon statutory scheme. Note that this means that the Oregon permits are not now valid as an alternative to the Federal background check, as the court notes.
Permalink · prohibitted persons · Comments (5)
Puerto Rican case recognized right to carry arms
Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Eugene Volokh has a translation and a commentary.
Permalink · Chicago aftermath · Comments (0)
Judge rules there is no fundamental right to "bear" or carry arms
The case is Richards v. County of Yolo, and the pdf opinion is here. Josh Blackman has posted excellent discussion of the ruling.
On a very quick read, the court argues that Heller and McDonald only related to keeping in the home, and as to everything else.... the court essentially engages in circular reasoning.
Permalink · Chicago aftermath · Comments (7)
Latest on Project Gunwalker
The Sipsey Street Irregulars post the latest analysis of ATF documents, and a link to a pdf of one September 2010 plan.
I found much interesting on pp. 12-13 (of pdf pagination):
"Historically, ATF has placed much emphasis on the roles of the straw purchaser and the Federal firearms licensee in identifying and disrupting firearms trafficking schemes. However, straw purchasers by definition lack serious criminal records and therefore are frequently viewed as undesirable targets for criminal prosecution."
"FFLs remain both an important source of firearms (often unwittingly) to firearms traffickers and an investigative source of information. On occasion, FFLs become targets of criminal investigation and prosecution. When criminal wrongdoing by FFLs is suspected they will be aggressively investigated and recommended for prosecution. Corrupt FFLs constitute high-value targets due to the damage they cause and the special responsibility they hold to ensure that firearms are not illegally diverted from lawful commerce."
"Additionally, we must not overlook the fact that firearms traffickers and other violent criminals also obtain firearms from secondary sources... Analysis of source location trace data for specific market areas, when adjusted for time-to-crime, may not only reveal actionable investigative leads, but also that secondary sources (e.g.,gun shows, thefts and private sales) are a greater source of trafficked crime guns than licensed dealers."
"This strategy will present certain challenges as some of the persons we seek to investigate, indict, and apprehend will reside outside the United States and/or may be priority targets of other U.S. law enforcement agencies. When appropriate, this strategy envisions that ATF will refer information and actionable intelligence to the Government of Mexico and/or other U.S. law enforcement agencies."
Hmmm.... straw man purchasers are uninteresting targets. The cartels themselves are out of our reach. That seems to leave FFLs and gunshows.
And the responsibility for the agency-sponsored gun running seems to go right to the top. P. 18 is devoted to HQ monitoring of operations. "The monitoring and coordinating of Southwest border investigations will be the responsibility of the recently established Firearms Operations Division."
P. 19: "The controlled movement of firearms, ammunition, explosives, explosives devices, and/or components or non-functional “props” of such items across the U.S.-Mexico border from the United States shall be coordinated with and approved in advance by Bureau headquarters and the MCO [Mexico Country Office, of ATF]"
Permalink · BATFE · Comments (1)
"That bunch has a real corner on stupid,."
Story here.
Permalink · BATFE · Comments (0)
Yet another challenge
Just in ... SAF is challenging Illinois' ban on carrying, in Moore v. Madigan, filed yesterday. Attorneys are David Sigale, who has appeared in at least one other challenge, and David Jensen, from NYC.
UPDATE: Dave Workman has the details.
FURTHER UPDATE: NRA has filed one, too..
Permalink · Chicago aftermath · Comments (3)
Robbery goes awry
Thanks to an armed employee.
More on the DC challenge to ban on interstate sales
Josh Blackman has details, including a link to the complaint.
I'd think it marks a tactical transition. Up to Chicago, things had to be a bit cautious. Heller and McDonald were by no means risk-free, but they were carefully focused and calculated, since a loss would have been very damaging. Now, the pro-2A side is free to roll the dice, since it's on the offensive and moving on many fronts. If this, or another challenge, does not succeed, it's not a major loss, and likely there will be a breaththru elsewhere.
Permalink · Chicago aftermath · Comments (1)
More on the DC challenge to ban on interstate sales
Josh Blackman has details, including a link to the complaint.
I'd think it marks a tactical transition. Up to Chicago, things had to be a bit cautious. Heller and McDonald were by no means risk-free, but they were carefully focused and calculated, since a loss would have been very damaging. Now, the pro-2A side is free to roll the dice, since it's on the offensive and moving on many fronts. If this, or another challenge, does not succeed, it's not a major loss, and likely there will be a breaththru elsewhere.
One complicating feature will be that the real reason for the ban on interstate sales to non-FFLs was a bit of history that its proponents couldn't afford to admit. It originated as a move by domestic gun manufacturers to eliminate their major rivals, the mail order houses. Pre-1968, a firearm was like most goods, something you could by locally, or by mail from out of State. Big mail order houses, mostly based in Chicago, were importing and selling military bolt action rifles that could be converted into good deer rifles. Mauser 98s went for about $25, Springfield '03s for about $40. Buyers would shorten the stock, improve the sights, and have a nice hunting arm for half what a factory rifle cost (then $100-150).
GCA 68 originated in a gun manufacturers' bill that would (1) outlaw interstate sales, (2) require the buyer to purchase in person from a licensed dealer and (3) ban surplus imports (the last was somewhat relaxed about twenty years ago). The combination killed off the mail order houses and channeled new sales thru the manufacturers' networks.
Permalink · Chicago aftermath · Comments (2)
Seal Team Six rifles
Article here. The gun used to send Osama to a warmer clime was an H&K HK416, a short-stroke gas piston action that fits a standard M4 lower.
Permalink · shooting · Comments (6)
Military testing new 5.56 projectile
Story here. The new projectile replaces the lead core with copper. (Heckuva situation when soldiers training for kill or be killed are expected to be environmentally conscious in the process).
I'm a bit skeptical, in that the article doesn't give any ballistics data. With a longer bullet, but needing to keep the same overall cartridge length, there will be less room for powder. A smaller charge and a faster burn would suggest that muzzle energy will fall.
Permalink · shooting · Comments (7)
Yet another legal challenge
Just in: an email from Second Amendment Foundation stating that they are challenging the ban on sales to nonresidents in the context of a DC resident who wants a handgun, but with the last dealer closing shop in DC, cannot legally obtain one. Attorney is Alan Gura. Considering the incredible number of post-Heller and post-McDonald challenges he's handling, I only wish I could find out where he gets his energy.
Permalink · Chicago aftermath · Comments (6)
Push for open carry in Texas
Description and contact data here. The legislature must act by May 12, or nothing can happen until 2013, since it only meets every other years.
Interview on Pajamas Media
Right here. Got to stop slouching so much.
Permalink · Personal · Comments (5)
Austin residents respond to gun "buy back"
Austin held a gun "buy back," $100 gift card for every gun turned in. A group of local activists responded by waiting outside, and offering to buy suitable guns for cold cash. They estimate they bought about half the guns that were brought to the site. Where else could you buy the "pick of the litter" for $100?
When Tucson had such a program years ago, a few local collectors did the same, but without organization.
Brady Campaign grades are out
Press release here, with Brady giving zero to Alaska, Utah, and Arizona for not having "a single common sense gun law on their books," and giving its highest marks to California, which is a "model of sensible gun laws."
And looking at 2009 homicide rates, per 100,000 population, we find:
Alaska 3.1
Arizona 5.4
Utah 1.3
Nat'l average 5.0
California 5.3
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (2)
Project Gunwalker getting bigger
FoxNews is reporting:
"n a second, equally explosive disclosure, a law enforcement source tells Fox News, that ATF undercover agents were acting as the straw buyers and purchasing guns using government-issued false identifications and then providing those guns to cartel traffickers to gain credibility in their undercover roles. In that capacity, the ATF "provided 2, 50 cal. machine guns to traffickers that are loose in Mexico and unaccounted for," the source said."
While opinions may vary, I've always thought that undercover operations should stop short of committing acts of war.
Permalink · BATFE · Comments (7)
More on crime at the NRA convention
The antler thieves turn out to be workers for an exhibit service company, so it really shouldn't count. And Marooned in Massachusetts reports a mugging that didn't happen. Despite strenuous debates over 1911 vs. Glock, and .45 vs. .40 and 9mm, and piston-actuation vs. direct impingement, with the police department unable to give protection since all the officers were inside the exhibit hall, the gutters did not run with blood.
Permalink · NRA · Comments (0)
Brady Campaign has trouble thinking thru its position
Paul Helmke has a post at HuffingtonPost. Quite interesting. On the one hand, he criticizes NRA for arguing the "slippery slope" to more and more gun controls. On the other, he claims that the number of households with guns is declining, and that
"This is very good news for public health and safety. Research shows that a high rate of household gun ownership is associated with higher rates of accidental gun deaths, higher rates of suicide and gun suicide, and higher rates of homicide and gun homicide. The continuing national decline in gun ownership is unquestionably a lifesaving trend."
Without bothering to debate the accuracy of those claims -- if Brady's position is that fewer guns means fewer homicide and suicides, how can it take a principled position that "we want modest controls, and not to confiscate guns or make gun ownership difficult for the sake of making it difficult"? It can be consistent only by arguing "we want to reduce gun ownership as far as we can, and if we stop it's only because more burdens are not feasible just now."
Permalink · antigun groups · Comments (1)
British gun control and women
PJ Tattle has a few thoughts.
Permalink · militia · Comments (1)
NRA convention no longer a crime-free zone
70,000 gunnies, many allowed to carry concealed, converge on a city. The gutters don't run with blood, but somebody did get caught trying to swipe some elk antlers.
Permalink · NRA · Comments (4)
AG Holder to testify tomorrow on Project Gunwalker
David Codrea has the story.
Permalink · BATFE · Comments (1)
Nordyke is decided
Pdf opinion here On a quick read, it looks as if the majority analogizes the right to arms to abortion rights, and holds that a "substantial burden" or "undue burden" is subject to strict scrutiny, and lesser burdens to intermediate review. It remands for the trial court to apply intermediate review (which means the Methusala of gun rights cases will live yet longer). It will likely be a useful ruling -- which the majority didn't go with strict scrutiny, they went with the next best thing.
Permalink · Nordyke v. King · Comments (4)
Something I'd never hoped to see in WashPo
Not the theme of the article, "The National Rifle Association is vying to remain relevant in the 2012 presidential election...", but its content -- that guns rights have become so well-established, and the gun rights movement so powerful, that gun owners aren't worrying about it. I can remember back in the 1970s when the paper's theme was that NRA was a declining fringe group that would soon vanish.
Permalink · media · Comments (0)
Virginia ruling on a "Terry" stop
Commonwealth v. Smith. In a split decision, a majority upholds a frisk based on a traffic stop where police knew that the driver had fairly recently been arrested for drug distribution and for felon-in-possession, but did not observe signs that he was then armed.
Hat tip to reader Dennis Hannick...
Only FFL in DC shuts down
Story here. Though I've got to wonder why losing an office lease would result in complete shutdown. An FFL who stocks a modest inventory of handgun samples doesn't have elaborate office needs. I suspect it might be more a matter of the new regulations reducing demand to where it can't support even a single FFL, at DC office rental prices.The ever-prescient Alan Gura mentioned this risk to me over a year ago.
There are actually several FFLs in DC, as I recall, but most are for research (necessary for interstate shipment of firearms) or other non-retail purposes.
Hat tip to reader Clayton Cramer...