Of Arms & the Law

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By: David Hardy

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David Hardy

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I’ve not posted in a while, just thought to mention the reason. My elder son, Mark William Hardy, was hospitalized on Nov. 3, and died on Dec. 3. I spent that time sitting in one or another ICU and was too distracted to blog. I still am.
Continue Reading My silence

Barnett v. Raoul, S. D. Ill. The beginning is unusual, and the end is wonderful:

“Most importantly, considering all of the evidence presented, the Court holds that the provisions of PICA criminalizing the knowing possession of specific semiautomatic rifles, shotguns, magazines, and attachments are unconstitutional under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution as applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. Therefore, the Plaintiffs’ request for a permanent injunction is GRANTED. The State of Illinois is hereby ENJOINED
from the enforcement of PICA’s criminal penalties in accordance with 720 ILL. COMP. STAT. §§ 5/24-1(a)(14)-(16) (bump stocks and…
Continue Reading A good decision from the Southern District of Illinois

The Supreme Court is keeping busy on gun matters! It just granted S&W’s petition for certiorari. The government of Mexico had sued a large group of gun companies over guns being smuggled in, the companies pled the Lawful Commerce etc. Act, but the First Circuit upheld the suit on the grounds that the Act doesn’t protect aiding and abetting of crimes.

The companies point out that aiding and abetting requires more than selling a product that some buyers will misuse; a beer manufacturer does not aid and abet a drunk driver or an underage drinker.
Continue Reading Cert granted in Mexico vs. S&W case

The case is Garland v. VanDerStok, No. 23-852. Here’s the transcript of argument. The government’s argument was brief and not interrupted by questions. Then came a lot of questions, and only Gorsuch seemed to be doubting the government position (see pp. 20-30), though Jackson raised some interesting questions (see pp. 53-56).

A good summary is at SCOTUSblog. The author thinks the regulation will be upheld.
Continue Reading Oral argument in gun kit — "ghost guns" — Supreme Court case

An interesting article by Tom Knighton.

Related, since the discussion is of the “well-regulated militia” clause, my article in the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy. I contend that the right to arms clause and the militia clause had different origins and different constituencies, and were not joined together until very late in the constitution-drafting game. One does not govern the other, anymore than that freedom to petition the government proves that freedom of speech and press are limited to critiques of government policy.
Continue Reading "How facts get misrepresented to push an anti-gun narrative"

John Lott’s research suggests it’s a lot more often than either government or the media want you to think.

“The FBI dataset is missing so many defensive gun uses that it’s hard to believe it isn’t intentional and the fact that they never correct mistakes that are brought to their attention is even more damning. All the while, the news media unquestioningly reports the FBI’s numbers, actively distorting the truth regarding the pivotal rule responsible gun owners have played in preventing crime and limiting casualties during mass public shootings.”
Continue Reading How often does "a good guy with a gun stop a bad guy with a gun"

Story here. How his people even mounted the scope backwards, let alone giving it to their commander, let alone him shooting it and not noticing, is beyond me.

The Navy has come a long ways since the days of Admiral Willis Lee, who won five gold medals for shooting events in the 1920 Olympics, and in 1942 blew a Japanese battleship to bits using radar-aided gunnery. I can’t find the source just now, but he went ashore at Vera Cruz in 1914 and swapped fire with some opponents. In later years he was up for promotion but some…
Continue Reading Navy relieves ship commander who was photographed firing M-4 with scope mounted backwards

I haven’t made an entry in weeks due to health issues (my own and my older son), but just now feeling enough energy for a few.

Here is a preliminary report by the House Bipartisan Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of former President Donald Trump. It seems very thorough. I like:

“The 9th shot fired on J13 was from a Butler SWAT operator from the ground about 100 yards away from the AGR building. Shot 9 hit Crooks’ rifle stock and fragged his face/neck/right shoulder area from the stock breaking up. The SWAT operator who took this shot was…
Continue Reading Report on Trump sniper incident