Posted on 03/30/2009 4:43:20 AM PDT by marktwain
After a police officer's 12-year-old son got access to the officer's handgun, the officer was prosecuted for violating Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 140, § 131L:
It shall be unlawful to store or keep any firearm, rifle or shotgun ... in any place unless such weapon is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such weapon inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. For purposes of this section, such weapon shall not be deemed stored or kept if carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user.
Last month, the court held the statute was unconstitutional (Commonwealth v. Bolduc), and dismissed the prosecution. I only just now managed to get a copy of the opinion, and here's the relevant discussion:
The locking mechanisms [required by the statute] are the functional equivalent of those enumerated in the D.C. statute struck down in Heller.
In Heller, the Court held that the Second Amendment not only protects an individual's right to possess firearms but that the right requires that the firearms be available for "the purpose of immediate self-defense." The Massachusetts statute mandating lock boxes or similar devices would frustrate an owner's ability to immediately access an operable weapon.
Although the statute exempts firearms that are "carried" or "under the control of the owner" from the requirement that they be locked, the statute applies to the lawful owner of a firearm even when he is at home. People can be subject to prosecution whether they are home or not. The term "under the control of the owner" is a question of fact and subject to interpretation. Any ambiguity in the statute as applied to a person lawfully keeping a firearm in the home must be resolved in favor of the holder of the right. Legislation requiring an owner to store firearms in a place inaccessible to children or unauthorized persons would satisfy the Supreme Court's holding in Heller and protect the safety of others.
In light of the foregoing, the Court finds that, based on the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, G.L.c. 140, sec. 131L is unconstitutional.
According to a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article notes that Massachusetts courts seem split on this. It also reports that the prosecutor "agreed with [Judge] Lynch's analysis and decided not to appeal. 'I've read the Heller case,' he says. 'Judge Lynch read the Heller case, and the Heller case seems to say very clearly that these kinds of blanket restrictions are unconstitutional.'"
Interestingly, the court seemed to assume that the Second Amendment applies to state laws -- what lawyers call the "incorporation" issue -- which is something Heller pointedly declined to resolve.
So they did'nt toss it out on the 2A "keeping" clause, just on "ambiguity".
http://www.goal.org/templates/bolduccase.htm
” GOAL would like to caution our members that while we celebrate this is step in the right direction, keep in mind this was a district court decision, and it does not necessarily change the storage laws here throughout Massachusetts. Therefore, we would recommend that all gun owners continue to adhere to the Massachusetts firearms storage laws for the time being. GOAL is attempting to secure a copy of the decision and will alert our members as we find more information about it.”
I guess the .357 under the mattress is a “secure” spot !
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Yep, and the very first place a burglar looks.
Ping!
I would hope that the first place a burglar looks after breaking into a home would be down the barrel of that .357. And if that was the last place the criminal looked, that would be even better.
These blanket restrictions could also be applied to the pending EBR bans !
It’s just black and has a pistol grip, high capacity magazine......etc !
....clearly discriminates against people like Eaker who can’t reload fast enough !
Lucky for him he can shoot accurately for the first 10 rounds the Clintonista Magazines allow !
A key point in this case that was highlighted in the Volokh “Comments” section is that the judge basically conceded 14A incorporation of 2A. It will be interesting to watch the caroms off of this case.
If Massachusetts had truly good and adequate gun control laws then the OUTLAW GUN WIELDERS who gathered at Concord and Lexington would not have been able to injure and/or kill those poor British soldiers. Peace would have reigned and our long history of gun ownership would have ended on the spot. PLEASE NOTE: This refers ONLY to LEGAL GUN OWNERSHIP.
Illegal gun ownership will, of course, continue.
I understand the Boston area had a VERY busy weekend in the gunshot area of the news.
It used to be the job of ALL judges, officers of the court, and jury to judge the law as well as the crime.
Remove the stocks, all metal trim......easy off oven cleaner, give it time to work , repeat as needed till the wood is blond and stain an seal with your choice of products. !
To remove the US or Sino Soviet / Chicom era cosmoline or variants of use a big bucket and .......simple green !
After degreasing and drying properly apply yer favorite panther piss PL product and press on !!
Interestingly, the court seemed to assume that the Second Amendment applies to state laws -- what lawyers call the "incorporation" issue -- which is something Heller pointedly declined to resolve.The day after the Heller decision, Morton Grove, IL - the first city (Village actually) in the USA to Ban Handguns, REPEALED their 'no handgun law'. They didn't need any constitutional expert or another SCOTUS case determining "incorporation". They knew they were screwed and acted appropriately(1).
(1) In a 'news presser' the Mayor admitted they'd prolly lose and didn't want to waste the town's money. So they repealed the law pdq before any case could be filed.
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most burglaries happen when nobody's home. The first place the look is between the mattress and the box spring of the bed in the master bedroom. Why? Because that's where people hide their guns and finding a gun is like finding gold to a burglar.
Wow. This coupled with me meeting some hardcore right-wingers this weekend, from Staten Island no less. Good start to the week.
We used to clean our 40mm’s barrels , M79’s M203’s M148’s etc with pinesol !! Best powder cutter out there !
A gallon of simple green at the big box stores is a dollar !
Great degreaser.....dunk and brush dunk and brush ! Let set in dunk bucket and repeat !
Well, I'm not what anybody would call a gun-geek, but I was once in the business of restoring antique wood boats, which have to survive outrageous weather requirements.
The sheet held the water against the rifle, keeping it from running off and slowing the drying time. When the water gets to the wood the wood does what all wet wood does, the soft grain swells more than the hard grain, making it rough. Sometimes the effect is permanent if the manufacturers used kiln dried lumber, which they probably did. When the water gets in, the oil floats out. So, my guess is that it was an oil finish.
In any case where I was playing with the stock, I'd pull it, refinish it, and put it back on. That way, you'll get the coating on the entire stock, thus protecting the wood.
If the finish was dull, the classic antique coating is a mix of equal parts melted beeswax, turpentine, and linseed oil, applied hot so that it penetrates. I've never done it, but I'm sure somebody here has. I have no idea whether water gets through it, but if it does, it would probably ooze. They could have used all sorts of variants on this, but I'd pull the old finish out with lacquer thinner, sand it, and start over. Do not use steel wool (it rusts).
I doubt it was a varnish, (didn't turn white) it probably would not swell and ooze with water. You'd see the effects only wherever it was scratched.
If it was a shellac, it will cut very fast with methanol. If that's what it was, strip the stock with methanol, sand it, and apply bunches more in thin coats. DO NOT use WD-40 on shellac.
Probably the toughest dull finish would be a marine grade of teak oil, which would have a UV block additive. Go to the chandler, buy it, say "OUCH!!!," and put it on per the directions.
If the finish was originally had a dull sheen and it was a high-quality gun, my last guess is that it is a tung oil finish. It's VERY good for the wood, but needs occasional refreshing. Unfortunately (being an oil that comes from the nuts of a tree (in China)), tung oil is somewhat miscible with water. So, dry it thoroughly, sand it, get some tung oil, and follow the instructions. DO NOT use WD-40 on tung oil. It's great for keeping the water out, but it's also bad for letting oil back into the wood. If it is an oil finish, this is a matter of maintenance.
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