Yep, it should be a helluvalot more of them. 8^)
Posted on 07/20/2006 10:11:10 AM PDT by Liberty Ship
Barr sues Bloomberg on behalf of gun dealer
The Associated Press Published on: 07/20/06
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr filed a lawsuit against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday, claiming his attempt to crack down on gun dealers was "careless, willful and clearly illegal."
The legal action, filed in Cobb County Superior Court, is in response to a federal lawsuit filed by Bloomberg in May alleging that 15 firearm brokers in five states, including Georgia, were "rogue gun dealers."
Barr said his client, Smyrna gun dealer Adventure Outdoors, was deceived and defamed by Bloomberg's lawsuit. His lawsuit seeks $400 million in damages.
"We didn't start this fight. They did," Barr told a cheering crowd in Marietta's city square. "But we intend to finish it and win."
Bloomberg's lawsuit claims that the dealer sold 21 guns over a seven-year period that were used in New York crimes. The shop's owner, Jay Wallace, said his name has been "trashed in the public eye of the nation."
"I've run my business with honesty and integrity, and I take pride in being part of the firearm industry," he said.
The announcement took on a patriotic tune as flag-waving supporters cheered the news of the lawsuit and danced.
"We will fight to prove the Constitution of the United States is still intact, and that Mr. Bloomberg's fight to abolish the Second Amendment must and will fail," said Edwin Marger, a Jasper lawyer who filed the lawsuit with Barr.
If you get into court, you will want every argument you can get your hands on.
It would be malpractice to not argue a promising line of defense.
The odd thing is most firearms regulations are enacted under the Interstate Commerce Clause, even if the weapon or component in question has never been sold, never moved across a state line.
Recently a commerce clause decision on medical marijuana in CA causes the overturning of an acquittal on appeal for Mr Stewart, the former vendor of Maddi-Griffin .50 BMG rifle kits. (The rifle so made is now available from Serbu in Florida).
I am not sure there is such a thing as a typical privateer.
A letter would have to name an individual.
I'm thinking of the Ninth Circuit Court opinion (didn't see that coming) that a firearm, particularly an NFA weapon, that never crosses state lines cannot come under the perusal of the ICC.
If upheld (dreaming), you could manufacture your own weapons (including MGs and SBRs) as long as they remained intra-state.
But, didn't the USSC reject the medical marijuana case and reaffirm federal powers over restricted substances? Or, am I thinking of another case?
I remember the Maddi-Griffin case. Many were surprised at his arrest and the seizure of his stock.
I agree that you'd be fool not to howl at the moon if it would advance your case in court, but the interpretation that the first clause of The Second Amendment is anything more than a declaratory statement, or that it places conditions (membership in a militia) upon a person's rights (as in, "the right of the people") to bear arms is a slippery slope. We've seen how The Left has tried to redefine the "militia" as the National Guard. If we agree that membership in such a militia is prerequisite, then we are subject to varying definitions of "militia".
Meanwhile, the definition of "the people" remains immutable and objective (notwithstanding our founding father's erroneous reasoning of "three-fifths").
"Chief Justice Roberts, Honorable Justices, I am here to appeal a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court. But I have other reasons to overturn."
My view is that the Interstate Commerce Clause has been wrongly decided since FDR's second term.
Just as the First Amendment restricts government prior restraint of speech, the Interstate Commerce Clause(ICC) should not permit prior restraint of activity that may, or may not end up in interstate commerce.
Justice Scalia in a recent descent suggested that a frog "who for reasons of its own, never leaves the state of California" should not be held to be in interstate commerce. ICC has been used to justify regulation of Medical Marijuana, Endangered Species, and even the wages of window washers in NYC (who improved the view, hence were involved in Interstate commerce).
As I said, I think it has been wrongly decided, over and over again. If ICC means what current stare decisis holds, then the powers enumerated elsewhere mean nothing.
A case should be made up that pits the ICC against a very strong constitutional provision, like the 13th or 14th Amendment. That is the only way that ICC will get cut back to its correct function.
ping
Important to bear in mind that the 3/5ths was to reduce the representation and hence political power of the slave owners. Without that clause, the wealthy slave owners would have been able to vote for their property.
Thank goodness for the Northwest Ordinance.
Yep, it should be a helluvalot more of them. 8^)
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