So Now for a Bit of Good News!
The daily barrage of bad news for the 2nd Amendment has been interrupted – and even though we have a long way to go – especially here in California – we’re going to at least pop some moderately priced champagne…
In a 2-1 decision, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the case of Kolbe v. Maryland that the lower, federal district court used an inappropriate level of scrutiny with regard to the banning of assault weapons. This is good news.
GOC believes that there are actually 4 levels of judicial reasoning or standards of review that the courts should consider when hearing Constitutional cases, [including rational basis (the lowest level – which means “anything goes” as long as you can come up with any form of justification), intermediate scrutiny (obvious-balancing government interests against the violation of the Constitutional right), strict scrutiny (in most cases the highest level of examination, signifying whether it burdens a core right) and the fourth (and one that is very rarely used) is adherence to Constitutional text (hmmm, applying the actual text of the Constitution without balancing tests)], the 4th Circuit Court ruled that this case should have been considered by the lower court under strict scrutiny. The Court’s reasoning was sound for the majority of the opinion. We do, however, disagree with their interpretation based on 14th Amendment “equal protection” issues but that does not diminish that this is a favorable ruling that could have wide implications for California’s laws in the future. And to reiterate: we still have a long way to go but we will take a win every day of the week and twice on Sundays!
The Maryland Attorney General is deciding whether to call for an en banc review of the case (and we know how long that could take) or challenge it to SCOTUS.
Read the 4th Circuit’s ruling here.
When is the GOC and the NRA going to start pushing pro-gun bills for the anti-gunners to fight to keep them busy?
There will be several pro-gun bills introduced in the Legislature this year. Because the anti-gunners run the show, every good bill will die in the first policy committee. That is just a fact that will not change until we elect more pro-gunners. Help us elect more good guys!
The level of scrutiny needs to be challenged. What kind of BS is that? The text of the constitution means what it states and any level of scrutiny that is lower than that is just an excuse to make violate the facts.
If the constitution and specifically the second amendment was interpreted honestly then all gun laws infringe and must be voided and if you don’t like it then change the constitution. But, without a fight going on, their would be no need for those fighting for the 2nd amendment.
The GOA (gun owners of america) is a corrupt establishment organization. I received an email from them about Cruz and only Cruz as if he is the only republican candidate for the second amendment. Here is my reply. WTF – I got your email about Cruz. I’m blown away that you are talking about Cruz and how he will protect the 2nd amendment. For the record – My vote is for the 2nd amendment first and then the country. The first issue I have and the reason I will no longer be a member of GOA is that Cruz is owned by the establishment. I can’t Fn believe that you support him and only him unless you are owned by the RNC and establishment elite. I am really pissed that I sent you money. Trump is for the 2nd amendment and carrys. Does Cruz carry? I doubt it. All the other republican candidates are for the 2nd amendment also. Even though you are all hyper over the Heller case which is an improvement the argument should be a simple one. The 2nd amendment is clear – the right to bear arms shall not be infringed – it is as clear as can be. All the BS that the court and Cruz piles confuses with is nonsense as it does not matter. According to the second amendment I should be able to strap on my gun and go anywhere in the USA. I think you guys just chip away at the 2nd amendment laws because if the court told the truth and adhered to the constitution then you would be out of jobs. Cruz is a sell out to the special interests and for you to support 1 republican candidate over all others shows that you are a sellout also. GOA is a lobby for the establishment – don’t make the mistake of sending them money as I did.
Dear debd, we appreciate your comments but they are woefully uninformed. Lets just start with our belief in the Second Amendment. if you were to honestly take the time to search for the truth (you can google GOA and GOF Amicus Briefs to any federal court) you will find that WE ARE THE ONLY ORGANIZATION who consistently encourages to the court, be it District, Appellate or Supreme, to us the only correct measure for interpreting the Second Amendment, that being a a literal textual reading of the words in the amendment…shall not be infringed! No other level of scrutiny is necessary or even constitutional be it “rational basis, intermediate scrutiny or strict scrutiny” to interpret what the Second Amendment means…PERIOD! That has been our consistent position and we have been joined by no other pro-gun group out there.
With regards to Ted Cruz, GOA has been in the trenches fighting for the Second Amendment for 41 years. We have learned a few things in that time. Number one, if politicians won’t give you written specifics on what they believe and what they will do then they are either hiding something or they don’t want to be held accountable for their actions. Number two, every candidate for President was asked, many times, to answer our detailed questionnaire…only Ted Cruz answered and returned our questionnaire and he was 100% perfect in his answers and in his votes while in the U.S. Senate. Trump will not give any specifics except to say that he is the best and we will love what he does. If you are willing to bank the future of this country and the free world to him based on those assurances you have a greater faith than us. And, finally, Ted Cruz enjoys firing full-autos (and does so with skills), he is a shooter and a hunter…you can ask Phil Robertson about that because he has first hand experience with that. In closing, the fact that Donald Trump has a CCW puts him in the same company as Senator Diane Feinstein the most anti-gun member of the U.S. Senate… We only support those who are with us 100% and are willing to put that in writing…