Second Amendment Foundation
SCOTUS Moots NY Gun Case, but Pending Cases Could Provide 2A Protection
While the U.S. Supreme Court has mooted the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association’s challenge of a now-defunct handgun law in the City of New York, there is a possibility for an important Second Amendment ruling coming from one of four cases now pending before the high court, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.
The hint came in a concurrence on the court’s decision from Justice Brett Kavanaugh. While he shares concerns voiced by Associate Justice Samuel Alito that some state and federal courts may not be properly applying the principles of the Heller and McDonald rulings.
“The court should address that issue soon,” Justice Kavanaugh observed, “perhaps in one of the several Second Amendment cases with petitions for certiorari now pending before the Court.”
While SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb was disappointed, but not surprised by the high court’s action on the New York Case, he is encouraged that one of SAF’s four cases now up for consideration by the Supreme Court may be granted a hearing. Continue reading
Supreme Court Dismisses Challenge to New York Gun Law
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a challenge to a New York City law restricting the rights of handgun owners to carry their weapons outside the home.
The 6-3 decision sends the case back to the lower courts — a move that pleases gun control advocates who were afraid that the conservative-majority court would rule against them.
The case centered on the New York City gun licenses that let handgun owners carry their locked and unloaded weapons only from their homes to several shooting ranges within city limits.
Attorneys for the city argued that the law was a matter of public safety and did not infringe on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
A group of gun owners, backed by Trump administration lawyers, challenged the law, arguing that it was too restrictive.
But after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, New York amended the law to allow people to carry their guns to places outside the city, including second homes, gun clubs, target shooting ranges and where hunting is allowed.
The court decided not to hear the case Monday, saying the changes to the law makes the challenge moot, and sent it back to the lower court for any further challenges and arguments.
Three conservative justices — Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas — dissented.
“Petitioners got most, but not all, of the prospective relief they wanted,” Alito wrote, saying gun owners can still seek damages.
Gun control advocates are pleased the court decided not to rule on the case.
“Today’s decision rejects the NRA’s invitation to use a moot case to enact its extreme agenda aimed at gutting gun safety laws supported by a majority of Americans,” said Hannah Shearer, litigation director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
But the National Rifle Association, the country’s premier gun rights group, said the court Monday accepted what the NRA calls New York City’s “surrender” and admission of wrongdoing. It calls on the city to reimburse the plaintiffs’ legal fees.
Shooting for Shaw
The 20th Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms hosted the inaugural M9 pistol Excellence in Competition shooting event at the Combat Arms training range complex at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, Nov. 4-8.
The event is a U.S. Air Force Sports Branch sanctioned event open to all Department of Defense components over the course of five days that encourages warrior ethos and contributes to Airman readiness to support wartime operations downrange.
“We wanted to increase morale and cohesion while giving an opportunity to practice with their service pistols outside of the parameters of a standard Air Force qualification course,” said Staff Sgt. Troy Maycock, 20th SFS combat arms instructor.
Members from the U.S. Army and Air Force active duty, South Carolina Air National Guard and reservists from five installations throughout Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina attended the event.
The course was broken down into five elements: classroom instruction, a practice round and three phases of firing.
In class, each participant received a 20-minute safety brief, followed by 20 minutes of mechanical review and competition requirements. The event consisted of 40 rounds of live fire from the 9mm pistol. Continue reading
Modern Weapons: Newly Fielded M17s Used at Ranges
Eager Soldiers shared looks of excitement and awe under the watch of the immense New Mexico golden mesas as they awaited their opportunity to finally fire the newly fielded M17 pistol.
Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division fired the M17 pistol for the first time during a qualification range, October 10. Within 1AD, 3ABCT is the first brigade to field and fire the new weapons system.
“The M17 pistol is an adaptable weapons system. It feels a lot smoother and a lot lighter than the M9,” said 2nd Lt. Michael Preston, an armor officer assigned to 1-67 AR. “I feel like the transition to the M17 will benefit us greatly in combat. Just from being out here today I was able to shoot well and notice that it felt lighter.”
The M17 is a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, which offers a lighter weight than the previous M9 pistol, weighing 30.8 ounces. It has an improved ergonomic design and a more modern internal striker firing mechanism, rather than an external hammer firing mechanism, to reduce trigger pull and improve accuracy and lethality.
The striker design of the M17 is less likely to snag on clothing or tactical gear when firing than an external hammer and furthermore, the M17 has a capacity of 17 rounds, two more than the M9.
The M17 pistol is the full-sized variant of the Modular Handgun System which also includes the compact M18 pistol, designed to replace the M9 and M11 pistols.
Soldiers using the new M17 pistol will potentially have greater maneuverability and operational flexibility while in combat, due to the reduced weight and improved design compared to the M9 pistol.
“When we climb out of our tanks, less weight is good,” said 1st Lt. Shannon Martin, an armor officer assigned to 1-67 AR and native of Scituate, Massachusetts. “Every ounce that you shave off the equipment is less weight for Soldiers to carry. So for those infantrymen who are rucking miles at a time, it is good for them to have less weight that they’re carrying so that they can focus on staying fit for the fight and being ready to go.” Continue reading
Gun Control Takes Center Stage in 2020 Democratic Presidential Race
U.S. Senator Cory Booker on Monday released a sweeping plan to curb gun violence by creating a national licensing program and repealing a law that gives gun manufacturers legal immunity, becoming the latest Democrat in the 2020 presidential race to make gun control measures a feature of their campaign.
In the past, Democrats have feared that supporting gun restrictions could cost them the backing of working-class, swing voters – the group widely credited with tipping the 2016 presidential contest to Republican Donald Trump.
After dozens of mass shootings in recent years, however, including at schools like the February 2018 massacre in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead, curbing gun violence has become a component of the Democratic policy platform embraced by congressional and presidential candidates.
“In my community, kids fear fireworks on the Fourth of July because they sound like gunshots,” Booker said of his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, in a news release. “In communities across the country, from Newark to Charlotte, from San Diego to Chicago, and everywhere in between, Americans are being killed and families are being torn apart. We must do better. We need to do better.”
Booker’s plan would also ban assault weapons; allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to regulate gun manufacturers; require microstamping technology be incorporated into new models of semi-automatic handguns; calls for universal background checks for gun sales; and close the “boyfriend loophole” that allows dating partners to purchase firearms after being convicted of abuse or under a restraining order. Current and former spouses convicted of abuse or under a restraining order are prohibited from purchasing a firearm.
Most but not all components of Booker’s plan would require approval of the U.S. Congress. Democrats currently control the House of Representatives and Republicans the Senate, where gun safety legislation would likely meet intense pushback. Continue reading
Parkland Report Recommends Arming Teachers
A report released by a special safety commission in Parkland, FL recommends arming teachers to secure schools.
On Feb. 14, 2018, an armed attacker killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) High School in Parkland. While the murders reignited a national debate on gun control in the United States, it also prompted a months-long investigation into how and why the event happened, and how similar events may be prevented in the future.
The MSD High School Public Safety Commission released over 400 pages covering details of the shooting, identifying security problems and making recommendations.
Among the recommendations was the expansion of a program that allows teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to defend students in the event of an active shooter.
“School districts and charter schools should permit the most expansive use of the Guardian Program under existing law to allow personnel — who volunteer, are properly selected, thoroughly screened and extensively trained — to carry concealed firearms on campuses for self-protection and the protection of other staff and students,” the report read.
The current Guardian Program, signed into law by outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Scott shortly after the shooting last year, currently only allows administrators or non-teaching staff to receive firearm training. According to USA Today, the program requires 80 hours of firearms instruction, 16 hours of instruction in precision pistol shooting, 8 hours of shooting instruction using state-of-the-art simulators, and 8 hours of instruction in active-shooter or assailant scenarios.
In April 2018, the Broward County School Board voted against adopting the program, which would have given Broward County schools over $67 million to train and arm teachers, according to the Eagle Eye, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s newspaper.
Speaking about the need for such a program, Polk County sheriff Grady Judd said “911 does not work when there is an active shooter,” noting that the average response time for an active shooter is five minutes while the Parkland incident was over in three.
This week’s report also recommended a full internal investigation of the Broward County sheriff’s office, which responded first to the shooting, to “address all of the actions or inactions of personnel on February 14th, 2018.”
The committee, which includes sheriffs, state politicians and parents of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas victims, among others, first met in April 2018, setting January 2019 as its deadline to submit a preliminary report. During the second half of 2018, the commission held monthly meetings interviewing witnesses and reviewing “a massive amount of evidence,” according to the report.
View the full report here.
