GUNS: Does the Bill of Rights apply to the States?

Saturday, April 19, 2025

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2025/04/11/2a-advocates-notch-a-win-in-fight-against-maines-waiting-period-for-gun-sales-n1228286

2A Advocates Notch a Win in Fight Against Maine’s Waiting Period for Gun Sales
By Cam Edwards | 1:01 PM | April 11, 2025

*** begin quote ***

The attorney general also cited the Supreme Court’s language in Heller that “imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms” are “presumptively lawful regulatory measures,” but there’s a big difference between presuming something is lawful and actually looking at the historical record (or lack thereof) when it comes to delaying the lawful transfer of a firearm just because the state believes buyers need a cooling off period. There is nothing in the text of the Second Amendment or the national tradition of gun ownership that suggests arbitrary waiting periods preventing people from exercising their right to possess a firearm were the norm or even the exception in 1791 or 1868. Waiting periods are a modern invention, and a fair hearing under the Bruen test should lead the federal courts to establish that these artificial delays are a violation of our fundamental right to keep and bear arms. 

*** end quote ***

All this “Sturm und Drang” relies on “incorporation” that the Bill OF Rights (BoR) applies to the States as well as the Federal Gooferment.

In the modern age of Linconialism, after the “War of Northern Aggression” aka the “the (un) Civil War, everything became “national”.  

In the world of originalism, before the Fourteenth Amendment, the States created the Federal union; not the other way around.  The Dead Old White Guys would have never approved the Constitution  —  and some historians call it a coop  —  if the States were subservient to the Federal Gooferment.

The proper question is the RKBA enshrined in the various State Constitutions?  And, if not, why not?

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GUNS: If conceled carry is not reciprocated, then why should drivers’ licenses be?

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2025/01/19/what-comes-next-after-constitutional-carry-n1227407

For Red States, What Comes Next After Constitutional Carry?

By Cam Edwards | 12:30 PM | January 19, 2025

*** begin quote ***

The bigger question is what pro-2A bills will garner enough support for passage. Campus carry, for instance, has been introduced for the past several years, but so far opposition from higher education and some business leaders has stymied its passage. Hopefully this will be the year it can finally become law, but it will take some effort from gun owners and Second Amendment advocates to get it across the finish line. 

*** end quote ***

If a “gun control” State doesn’t recognize the reciprocity of other States “Constitutional Carry”, then maybe drivers’ licenses should have reciprocity either.

Maybe a New Jersey driver’s license should be allowed in Texas without a “road test”?  I’ve seen Jersey drivers and I’d understand Texas’ concerns.  Maybe you have to pass a written test (i.e., identify a stop sign), an eye exam, and short road test?  At every “border crossing”!

Laugh!

Only partially humorous.

Maybe it could only apply to New Jersey politicians and bureaucrats when they visit a “Constitutional Carry” State.  The eye test could be reading a series of RKBA memes!

Maybe this will inspire some action.

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GUNS: A “restraining order” doesn’t “restrain”; an armed citizen is a good “first responder”

Sunday, November 3, 2024

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2024/10/26/north-carolina-woman-wont-face-charges-after-shooting-ex-as-he-broke-into-her-home-n1226690

North Carolina Woman Won’t Face Charges After Shooting Ex As He Broke Into Her Home
By Cam Edwards | 8:30 AM | October 26, 202

*** begin quote ***

The local sheriff says Bush had previously violated a protective order on two separate occasions and pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of breaking and entering as well as violating a domestic violence protective order in April of this year. It’s unclear if Bush was sentenced to any jail time after his guilty plea or was instead placed immediately on probation, but he was back in court in August on another charge of violating a protective order. 

That case was dismissed by a judge when the victim failed to appear in court to testify, despite the objections of local prosecutors. If the local courts had cut Bush a break after his first arrest, I can understand why the woman might have been reluctant to go through the ordeal of testifying against him once more, but without her testimony it might have been impossible for prosecutors to produce any evidence that Bush had committed a crime. 

When the victim failed to appear in court, the judge dropped the domestic violence restraining order against Bush, but the woman successfully applied for a new protective order last month; one that was still active when Bush attempted to break into her home.

This incident not only highlights the importance of domestic abuse victims being able to protect and defend themselves, but also the struggles they face to find justice in the courts. Under North Carolina law, violating a domestic violence protective order is a misdemeanor offense punishable by, at most, 150 days in the local jail. With time off for good credit, that five-month sentence can be cut down to four months behind bars, which means that even if Bush had received the maximum sentence allowed he would have been released from custody long before he showed up at his ex’s home earlier this month. 

*** end quote ***

Good thing for that judge who let him out and about, despite several demonstrations of his “respect” for the “LAW”.

As I’ve blogged before:

“Restraining orders don’t restrain squat!  Give the girl a gun and warn the guy if he gets shot no charges against her will be filed.” https://bit.ly/3Ups95v

And, if she needs a gun, then the sheriff should give her one, “loan” her some bullets, and take her to the range for a short course in safe shooting.

“Victim disarmament is the view that it is somehow better to see a woman raped in an alley and strangled with her own pantyhose, than see her with a gun in her hand.” — T.D. Melrose

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GUNS:The unsubstantiated word of any politician, in this case Kamala Harris, is worse than hearsay

Monday, September 23, 2024

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2024/09/21/what-we-dont-know-about-kamalas-gun-ownership-n1226305

What We Don’t Know About Kamala’s Gun Ownership
By Cam Edwards | 4:30 PM | September 21, 2024

*** begin quote ***

So, we still don’t know much about Harris’ handgun, if it actually exists. Even if she doesn’t want to give free advertising to a particular gun company, there are still plenty of things she could tell us about her gun ownership, including:

  • How often does she go to the range to practice and train with her gun? 
  • Is her pistol available to all gun-buyers in California, or is it an “off roster” gun available only to law enforcement? 
  • What’s the magazine capacity of the pistol? 
  • Why did she choose to purchase a firearm? Was there a specific incident that caused her to become a gun owner, or just a general need to protect herself? 
  • Why does she continue to own a gun now that she has Secret Service protection? 
  • What factors did she consider when purchasing a gun? 
  • Did she try out multiple guns before making her purchase?

 None of these are “gotcha” questions. If Harris really is a gun owner, they should all be easy to answer. 

*** end quote ***

Sorry, but the unsubstantiated word of any politician and | or bureaucrat is one step below “hearsay evidence”.  Inadmissable,  in my “court of public opinion”.  We all know that politicians and bureaucrats say all sorts of things.  Fact checked or not, I want proof.  Especially about this “gun claim”.

Argh!

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GUNS: Armed citizen stops attack on pregnant woman

Monday, October 31, 2022

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2022/10/26/armed-citizen-stops-attack-on-pregnant-woman-outside-florida-grocery-store-n63656

Armed citizen stops attack on pregnant woman outside Florida grocery store
By Cam Edwards | 11:30 AM on October 26, 2022

*** begin quote ***

A bystander drew his gun on a man accused of beating and stomping on his pregnant girlfriend outside a Publix super market, ending the “brutal” attack, Florida deputies say. The incident occurred around 5:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, in the parking lot of the Largo grocery store, according to an arrest affidavit. The woman told Pinellas County deputies that her boyfriend, Cole Danisment, 27, got angry and punched her in the face repeatedly. She fell to the ground, and Danisment is then accused of stomping on her head and upper body.

The woman told deputies that Danisment knew she was 14 weeks pregnant with his unborn child. A man who witnessed the attack said he feared for the woman’s life, prompting him to intervene. Danisment didn’t stop brutalizing the woman until the witness pulled a gun on him, according to the affidavit.

According to police, Danisment had a no-contact order issued just last week after another domestic violence arrest that prohibited him from being anywhere near the woman he allegedly assaulted. That court order didn’t stop him from allegedly carrying out the brutal assault of his girlfriend, obviously. It took a stranger who was lawfully carrying concealed to bring the attack to a close without it escalating any further.

*** end quote ***

Court orders don’t protect victims.  A gun gives them a fighting chance.

The court order should come with a loaner gun and quick training session from the local sheriff or deputy.

And, if the domestic violence suspect comes close enough to be shot, then that is a de facto “good shooting”.

“God made men and women; Sam Colt made them equal.” — Unknown

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GUNS: Retired Chicago Firefighter 1, armed robber 0 — permanently

Saturday, November 13, 2021

https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2021/11/08/retired-chicago-firefighter-fatally-shoots-would-be-armed-robber-n51826

Retired Chicago Firefighter Fatally Shoots Would-Be Armed Robber
By Cam Edwards | Nov 08, 2021 9:30 AM ET

*** begin quote ***

According to the Chicago Tribune, a 77-year old retired Chicago Fire Department captain was working in an open garage on Saturday afternoon when a vehicle pulled up on the alleyway fronting the garage.

An assailant got out of the vehicle, pulled out a gun and demanded the man’s property.

The 77-year-old took out his own gun and shot at the would-be robber, hitting him in the head and chest, police said. The robber, whose identity was not released, died at the scene, police said.

The 77-year-old man was not injured.

Both guns were found at the scene, police said. The 77-year-old man, who retired from the department about 15 years ago, has a valid firearm owners identification card and conceal carry license.

The man didn’t need a concealed carry license to possess a firearm in his garage, and it would have been nice for the Tribune to point that fact out to its readers, but at least we know the would-be victim was a legal gun owner. And the fact that the Tribune didn’t mention anything about the would-be robber having a FOID card or a concealed carry license in his possession is an indication that, just like the vast majority of Chicago’s violent crimes, this latest attack was carried out by someone who’s not legally possessing their gun.

As for the fact that the retired firefighter was attacked in broad daylight in his garage, the truth is that carjackers and armed robbers aren’t waiting for the sun to go down before they hit the streets. The website CWB Chicago says police are investigating several carjacking crews that have no qualms about committing their crimes while the sun is still shining.

*** end quote ***

I’m a pro-life little L libertarian.  But the right of self-defense is so basic.  Seems like Chicago is closer to the Law of the Jungle than it should be.  But I’m glad that there’s one criminal less to plague the good guys.

Seems like Chicago should be encouraging concealed carry to even the sides between the citizens and criminals.

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