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Minnesota court rules BB gun is a firearm
St. Paul Pioneer Press ^ | SHANNON PRATHER

Posted on 12/15/2006 11:50:17 PM PST by neverdem

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To: robertpaulsen
The Minnesota legislature, duly elected by the citizens of Minnesota, defined "firearm" -- not some activist judge.

How far should judges allow legislatures to go in defining words? For example, while there would not be anything unconstitutional with forbidding felons from posessing alcohol, would it be proper for a legislature to extend the definition of firearm to include "any container of any size or description containing a potable liquid containing more than 0.5% ethanol, if the total quantity of ethanol exceeds more than 0.05oz"?

61 posted on 12/16/2006 9:16:08 AM PST by supercat (Sony delenda est.)
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To: neverdem

"a firearm is "any gun from which a shot or a projectile is discharged by means of explosive, gas or compressed air."

-- --

Idiotic ruling. This includes nail guns.

Is this guy, and the rest of the state, now banned from using nail guns without a permit?


62 posted on 12/16/2006 9:18:56 AM PST by HighWheeler (A true liberal today is a combination of socialist, fascist, hypocrite, and anti-American.)
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To: sig226
A couple of other states classify air guns as firearms. I can't remember which ones did it. Safe guesses: Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Illinois.

Illinois does not require any licensing for 0.177 caliber weapons up to 700fps. Acquiring airguns above that requires a Firearm Owner's ID card ($5 for five years) but does not require any 4473 nonsense.

63 posted on 12/16/2006 9:19:26 AM PST by supercat (Sony delenda est.)
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To: supercat
If it's not unconstitutional, why would the legislature bother to do it that way? If the legislature defines a gun as alcohol, they have to answer to the people who elected them as to why they did that.

But to answer your question, if there is abuse, it is by the judges who are interpreting the words of legislature the way they want.

64 posted on 12/16/2006 9:55:53 AM PST by robertpaulsen
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To: Cobra64

bump


65 posted on 12/16/2006 10:04:15 AM PST by Centurion2000 (If the Romans had nukes, Carthage would still be glowing.)
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To: Porterville
An unopened can of soda/food can crack a skull wide open!

Hillary calls for three day waiting period on all canned goods.

66 posted on 12/16/2006 10:17:20 AM PST by rawcatslyentist (When true genius appears, know him by this sign: all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.)
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To: neverdem
The appellate court reinstated the charge against Fleming, finding that a firearm is "any gun from which a shot or a projectile is discharged by means of explosive, gas or compressed air."

It would seem that a wad of paper discharged through a straw, propelled by air compressed in a young person's lungs and mouth would fit this criteria.

67 posted on 12/16/2006 10:22:57 AM PST by RJL
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To: robertpaulsen
Then the legislature is corrupt and wrong, not the judge.

Their definition of the term "firearm" is still wrong, and for the wrong reasons.

68 posted on 12/16/2006 10:58:52 AM PST by Joe Brower (The Constitution defines Conservatism. *NRA*)
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To: Joe Brower
"Then the legislature is corrupt and wrong, not the judge."

If the citizens of the State of Minnesota, through their constitutionally elected state legislature, wish to define "firearms" this way, are you saying they cannot?

Not a big believer in federalism, are you?

69 posted on 12/16/2006 11:10:29 AM PST by robertpaulsen
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To: sourcery
If a BB gun is a firearm under the law, that has far-reaching consequences beyond just this case. The courts should think long and hard about that, since it's totally bogus and unfair to have "firearm" mean different things in different situations.
The courts aren't responsible for this lunacy, the legislature is. According to Minn. Stat. 97A.015, subd. 19, a firearm is "a gun that discharges shot or a projectile by means of an explosive, a gas, or compressed air."
70 posted on 12/16/2006 11:28:09 AM PST by jdege
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To: neverdem

You just can't make this crap up.


71 posted on 12/16/2006 11:35:07 AM PST by hattend (Carpe Macaca)
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To: robertpaulsen; Joe Brower
Not a big believer in federalism, are you?

He didn't say they didn't have jurisdiction to regulate it, but that they should do so using words according to their dictionary definitions. Remember, Big Brother redefined common words too.

72 posted on 12/16/2006 12:36:51 PM PST by Still Thinking (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
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To: HighWheeler
Idiotic ruling. This includes nail guns.

Bad news for felons seeking work in the construction industry.

73 posted on 12/16/2006 12:50:22 PM PST by Myrddin
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To: Myrddin

It may include water pistols...

There goes a job as a clown.


74 posted on 12/16/2006 1:00:32 PM PST by Prost1 (Fair and Unbiased as always!)
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To: KenmcG414

There are plenty of us out here in the hinterlands that are normal, everyday, 2nd Amendment-loving people. The problem is that we have half of the state's population living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. If we could just get rid of that chunk of land, we'd be okay.

I've lived in Minnesota all my life, and I have never met anyone who is antigun. They're obviously around, but I've never spoken to one.


75 posted on 12/16/2006 1:02:54 PM PST by NorthWoody (A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user. - Theodore Roosevelt)
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To: Joe Brower

How about a potato gun ~ there's "fire" exploding hairspray, etc. I like starting fluid (ether) it gives a bigger bang.>:-}


76 posted on 12/16/2006 1:46:08 PM PST by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)
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To: neverdem

This just means that you will need to get permission to buy a bb gun now.


77 posted on 12/16/2006 2:00:15 PM PST by looscnnn ("Olestra (Olean) applications causes memory leaks" PC Confusious)
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To: neverdem
"any gun from which a shot or a projectile is discharged by means of explosive, gas or compressed air."

"This is my rifle, this is my gun

One is for fighting, one is for fun"

78 posted on 12/16/2006 2:04:10 PM PST by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopechne is walking around free)
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To: Still Thinking; robertpaulsen
All of this reminds me of Samuel Adams when he stated,"How strangely will the tyrant pervert the plain meaning of words!"
79 posted on 12/16/2006 2:12:36 PM PST by Joe Brower (The Constitution defines Conservatism. *NRA*)
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To: robertpaulsen
If it's not unconstitutional, why would the legislature bother to do it that way?

Because legislatures often don't want to come out and admit to what they're doing, so they try to obfuscate it.

My question remains: if the legislature's definition of "firearm" included alcoholic beverages, should a judge allow someone to be prosecuted for unlawful possession of a "firearm" because he possessed a six-pack of beer? Or should a judge rule that regardless of what a legislature may decree, there is no way that a six-pack of beer can be so construed?

80 posted on 12/16/2006 4:25:12 PM PST by supercat (Sony delenda est.)
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