Trump Administration Throws its Hat into Supreme Court Gun Case
By now we all know about New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. City of New York, and Wednesday was the due date for amicus briefs in that case. The plaintiffs got a lot of support from amici, “friends of the court,” who write to help guide courts to a fully informed decision in the case.
This time, though, the Trump Administration joined the fray, filing a brief in support of New York’s Rifle and Pistol Association. Their arguments didn’t break any new ground, but it’s nice to see the administration supporting gun rights given its troubled history with the subject.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the gun law world . . .
New Zealand Doesn’t Get Us
It’s getting tiring writing about this tiny Pacific island country, but bringing you the news is my cross to bear. In an interview with CNN, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she doesn’t understand why the United States has “failed” to change its gun laws in the wake of mass shootings.
The interview made headlines on Wednesday, as the kiwis have tended to do whenever they talk about guns as of late. As I’ve said before, New Zealand’s confusion makes sense. Their legal infrastructure has no entrenched framework of rights beyond the reach of parliament, unlike ours. Gridlock is a gift from our founding generation.
Kamala Wants to Ban AR-15 Imports
In a particularly daft display of a lust for executive power, 2020 presidential hopeful Kamala Harris vowed to ban the importation “of AR-15-style assault weapons” if she were to be elected president. If this comes to pass, it will be a crippling blow to both foreign AR-15 manufacturers. Whoever they are.
The joke is twofold: one, almost all AR’s are made in-country. Obviously. Two: George Bush Sr. already did what Harris vows to do decades ago. This is why you’re hard pressed to find a new AK or otherwise with a foreign made receiver. The American gun market is boring enough. Let’s not bodge it up with still more executive decisions to drive up the price of neato foreign made guns.
South Dakota Sets Municipalities Straight
Earlier this year, Governor Kristi Noem signed a package of bills into law, lifting restrictions on firearm possession. The laws aim to make state gun law more uniform, preventing cities from restricting gun possession, as well as relaxing carry restrictions. City governments met this week to get ahead of the reform and relax local gun restrictions.
