The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal this week from the NRA, refusing to strike down San Francisco’s draconian gun laws. At the heart of the case is the requirement of the law to keep the gun locked away and disassembled. This requirement forces gun owners to hide their gun away, lock it, and keep it a collection of metal parts, which makes it rather useless for self-defense purposes. This flies in the face of the DC vs. Heller case, and could eviscerate the Heller decision. The Supreme Court did not hear Jackson v. San Francisco, which also means that hollow point bullets are still banned in the city. Justices Thomas and Scalia offered a scathing dissent, explaining that the law, and thus Court is in “serious tension” with Heller.
In other news regarding anti-gun stupidity, Congressional Democrats have introduced a bill that would require all gun owners to be licensed. Not to carry guns, but to own them. Which is ridiculous. They also have included in the bill a clause that sets up this licensing through grants from the justice department to states. Clever, but still dangerous for our rights. Democrats have also introduced legislation that would ban plastic guns, requiring all guns to have at least one metal part integral to the design. This is a reaction to the TSA’s startling inability to find guns at the airport.
Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has issued a pardon for Steffon Josey-Davis. Davis, a former security guard, was facing 10 years in prison for having his legally registered firearm in the glove compartment of his car. He did notify the police officers that pulled him over for a traffic stop that he did have the gun in the glove compartment. The police confiscated his weapon and let him go. However, when he went to claim his firearm at the station, he was arrested for unlawful possession. The NAACP refused to take up his case, as it conflicts with their agenda, so he wrote to Christie, who pardoned him for the technicality. Unfortunately, this young man’s life may permanently be derailed by this silly law, but he will no longer face prison time.
Police HQ in Dallas this week took open fire from an armored van this weekend, resulting in a standoff in the suburb of Hutchins. The local SWAT team eventually disabled the van with a .50 caliber rifle, and several pipe bombs were disarmed as well, though one did explode. Police have suspects, but it is unclear if anyone has been apprehended. This should serve as a reminder to everyone that criminals don’t play by the rules when it comes to violence.
Finally this week, Texas will be a campus carry and an open carry state. Governor Abbott has signed the bills into law. Open carry will go into effect on January 1st, 2016. You must have a Handgun License to open carry. Texas also cleaned up some laws regarding guns in this state, most of which were common sense. There was even a bill to allow children to chew pop-tarts into guns. That seems ridiculous, but given that it protects a right, rather than takes away from it, it’s probably a good thing. Be sure to attend a Texas Law Shield – Gun Law Work Shop and also purchase the Texas Gun Law Armed and Educated book from Texas Law Shield as well,,, so you can read up on the laws and how they affect you so that you know your rights in this great state of ours.