Free Republic

On July 25, 2022, Todd Yuktake and Justin Solomon filed a federal lawsuit against the Attorney General of Hawaii, Holly T. Shikada, for infringement of the right to keep and bear arms, specifically against the state of Hawaii’s ban on “billies” or “batons” outside the home. Billies were likely chosen, in part, because no procedure exists in Hawaii to allow the carry of short clubs outside the home. Over the course of the case, the AG changed from Shikada to Lopez. From the complaint: 6. The State of Hawai‘i generally bans the possession of “deadly or dangerous weapons” outside the...

On March 15, 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island found the Rhode Island ban on the possession of stun guns was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The decision is expected. Several other courts have found a complete ban on stun guns to be unconstitutional. The foundational decision was made in the United States Supreme Court in its unanimous decision about a stun gun ban in Massachusetts, Caetano v. Massachusetts.In the Rhode Island opinion, written by District Judge William E. Smith, there are several interesting observations. Judge Smith observes it is the burden of the...

Tacoma Washington is likely to do away with its ban on electric weapons. The Supreme Court decision in Caetano PER CURIAM decision (pdf) is the reason why.  From Caetano: The Court has held that “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding,” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570, 582 (2008), and that this “Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States,” McDonald v.Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 750 (2010). Caetano was directly about electronic weapons.  Lawsuits against...

Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)-The last direct action by the United States Supreme Court on the Second Amendment was the decision of  Caetano v. Massachusetts. The case was decided in 2016. The Court unanimously held, in the Caetano PER CURIAM decision (pdf), that: The Court has held that “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding,” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570, 582 (2008), and that this “Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States,” McDonald v.Chicago, 561 U. S....

The unanimous Supreme Court decision in the New Jersey Caetano case is now being used against New York State's ban on stun guns. In the Caetano PER CURIAM decision (pdf), the Court held that: The Court has held that “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding,” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570, 582 (2008), and that this “Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States,” McDonald v.Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 750 (2010). A few days...

On 21 March of 2016, the Supreme Court issued a remarkable and, apparently to the Court, non-controversial decision.  In the Caetano PER CURIAM decision (pdf), the Court held that: The Court has held that “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding,” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570, 582 (2008), and that this “Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States,” McDonald v.Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 750 (2010). While the decision, which was unanimous, has far...

Image from eluniversal.com.mx On Wednesday, 16 November, 2016, John Lott testified before the Mexican legislature about the benefits of an armed population. He was invited by Senator Jorge Luis Preciado.  A reform of the Mexican gun control laws is getting a serious consideration.  On October 6, Senator Preciado published a policy recommendation to emulate the U.S. Second Amendment. This would not be simple legislation, but a change in the Mexican constitution. From John Lott: The last few days have been very exciting with me testifying before the Mexican Senate and House Constitution Committees as they consider changing the Mexican...

When Justice Antonin Scalia died, court-watchers on the left and right assumed that, once a new liberal took his seat, the court would move quickly to reverse or limit Scalia’s most important decision—District of Columbia v. Heller, which reinterpreted the Second Amendment to provide an individual right to bear arms. On Monday, however, the Supreme Court issued a brief, unsigned opinion simultaneously reaffirming Heller—and, arguably, even expanding it. Most surprisingly, the decision noted no dissents, meaning the liberal justices presumably endorsed it. This silence from the left doesn’t necessarily mean that the court’s progressive bloc is now embracing an absolutist...