Voter-approved Oregon gun control law violates the state constitution, judge rules

ickplant@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 403 points –
Voter-approved Oregon gun control law violates the state constitution, judge rules
apnews.com

A voter-approved Oregon gun control law violates the state constitution, a judge ruled Tuesday, continuing to block it from taking effect and casting fresh doubt over the future of the embattled measure.

The law requires people to undergo a criminal background check and complete a gun safety training course in order to obtain a permit to buy a firearm. It also bans high-capacity magazines.

The plaintiffs in the federal case, which include the Oregon Firearms Federation, have appealed the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case could potentially go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

306

You are viewing a single comment

Arms. Not guns.

We've decided it's not okay for someone to have a Patriot missile, nuclear landmine, warships, and many other arms.

Not according to the Supreme Court, over and over again.

Heller - 2008:

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/554/570/

"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."

McDonald - 2010 (because Heller involved Washington D.C., a 2nd ruling showed that it also applies to states as well).

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/561/742/

"The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment extends the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms to the states, at least for traditional, lawful purposes such as self-defense."

Caetano - 2016 - This one is fascinating. I wish more people read it. Woman had an abusive ex, bought a taser to protect herself. MA went after her arguing "tasers didn't exist back then, 2nd Amendment doesn't apply." Supremes "um actually'd" them hard.

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/577/14-10078/

"The Second Amendment covers all weapons that may be defined as "bearable arms," even if they did not exist when the Bill of Rights was drafted and are not commonly used in warfare."

Bruen - 2022

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/597/20-843/

"The constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not “a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.” McDonald, 561 U. S., at 780 (plurality opinion). We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need. That is not how the First Amendment works when it comes to unpopular speech or the free exercise of religion. It is not how the Sixth Amendment works when it comes to a defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him. And it is not how the Second Amendment works when it comes to public carry for self-defense.

New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment in that it prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms. We therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

It is so ordered."

Sooo...

When you look at all 4 of these rulings together...

Washington D.C. can't ban an entire class of weapon, or require they be kept locked or disassembled. Militia membership is not required (Heller).

That same restriction applies to the States as well (McDonald).

The 2nd amendment applies to all bearable weapons, even those that did not exist at the time of writing (Caetano).

States cannot apply additional restrictions on gun ownership or possession (Bruen). Citizens only need to pass a criminal check.

Citizens only need to pass a criminal check.

But I thought it was a Right not a right*

Rights can be removed for criminal behavior. This is why we have prisons.

So you agree that even "absolute" rights should definitely have limits and be denied to certain people and we're just arguing about where that line should be then?

So does the Supreme Court, they just haven't found a restriction they approve of yet.

The next ones to watch would be the one on domestic abusers. Or the one on drug users.

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/07/1208501397/supreme-court-guns-domestic-abusers

https://apnews.com/article/gun-ban-drugs-federal-appeals-hunter-biden-f26f8b7488615785602003932efd881a

In the case of the former, I hope they uphold it.

In the case of the latter, I hope they make an exception for states where marijuana is legal.

But with this court, who knows what they'll do?

Citizens only need to pass a criminal check.

No they don't, at the pro-gun communities insistance.

They really do, and I say that as a gun owner. You are not free to skate on the criminal background check.

As a gun owner, I can sell you a gun tomorrow and you will not have to pass a background check. Private gun sales happen all over.

A clear majority of citizens support universal background checks, but all that matters is that the gun lobby doesn't.

Oh, I agree, and I'd like to go further by including things in the background check that aren't currently present but should be.

Did you know, if someone goes through an involuntary mental health hold that is not ordered by a judge, that does NOT appear on a background check? Seriously. That shit needs to get fixed.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Buffalo_shooting

"A teacher had asked him about his plans after the school year, and he responded, "I want to murder and commit suicide."[65] He was referred to a hospital for mental health evaluation and counseling but was released after being held for a day and a half.[20][64][66]

The New York State Police did not seek an order from a state court to remove guns from Gendron's possession.[67][68] The mental health evaluation was not an involuntary commitment, which would have prohibited him from buying guns under federal law.[67]"

Except that there are other restrictions and as has already been pointed out, you still can't own any weapon you want. This fact is something you should be admitting and grappling with. You can't simply ignore it, as you seem to want to do. It may be that there's an intellectually coherent way around it, but if so I have yet to see you or anyone else, let alone the SCOTUS, lay it out.

This intellectual inconsistency is, I would argue, a direct result of the fact that all of the decisions you mention above are based on a faulty reading of the 2nd.

You can own any weapon you want, provided you're a legal gun owner and you're willing to fill out the proper ATF forms and pay the (exorbitant) fees and taxes.

You want a machine gun? Here's how you get a machine gun:

https://rocketffl.com/who-can-own-a-full-auto-machine-gun/

You want a silencer? Here's how you get a silencer:

https://www.silencershop.com/how-to-buy-a-silencer

Clean record? The only limiter is money and how willing you are to do paperwork. ;)

I assume you agree with SCOTUS on Dredd Scott and ending Roe v. Wade since that's what makes things right.

It doesn't matter what I think about Supreme Court decisions, I am neither a lawyer nor a judge. They rule the way they rule, it's up to smarter people than me to work around that.

I could see, in the wake of Roe v. Wade, a modern underground railroad shuttling women from red states to get the proper care they need. Some states are already attempting to block that, but then that would run afoul of "freedom of movement."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_movement_under_United_States_law

Got it. "I am not a lawyer or a judge, so I can't say if Dredd Scott was a bad decision."

I think the rest of us can figure out that not letting slaves go free was a bad decision despite not being lawyers or judges.

Nope, I'm not a lawyer or a judge so my opinion on legal matters is 100% irrelevant. It would be nice if more people on the Internet could recognize that. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, and while yours may be very important to you, nobody else wants to see it.