Archive for category Law

Signal App Subpoenaed For User Data

From Open Whisper Systems:

In the “first half of 2016” (the most specific we’re permitted to be), we received a subpoena from the Eastern District of Virginia. The subpoena required us to provide information about two Signal users for a federal grand jury investigation.

This is the first subpoena that we’ve received. It originally included a broad gag order that would have prevented us from publishing this notice, but the ACLU represented us in quickly and successfully securing our ability to publish the transcripts below. We’re committed to treating any future requests the same way: working with effective and talented organizations like the ACLU, andpublishing transcripts of our responses to government requests here.

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More Proof Gun Control Is Unworkable

From Fox St. Louis:

Shortcomings at federal and state agencies allow sales of firearms to people prohibited from buying them, a Justice Department inspector general probe found.

But for the past 15 years, the FBI and ATF have disagreed over what is a “fugitive from justice,” which would disqualify a prospective buyer from legally obtaining a firearm, the inspector general report said. There were nearly 50,000 such purchases between 1999 and 2015 that the FBI sought to deny, but that the ATF didn’t agree required the agency to try to retrieve the gun.

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California Cops Against Prop. 63

From Guns.com:

The $3.5 million referendum will end grandfathering of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds, require relinquishment of weapons by those prohibited by the state from legal possession and mandatory reporting of lost or stolen guns. In addition, it would require background checks prior to all ammunition sales – a first for any state.

It is this latter facet that drew particular concern from the group of California’s municipal police chiefs, led by Ventura Police Chief Ken Corney.

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Blueprints Of Guns Not Allowed, Court Says

From Ars Technica:

In a 2-1 decision, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals was not persuaded that Defense Distributed’s right to free speech under the First Amendment outweighs national security concerns.

Ordinarily, of course, the protection of constitutional rights would be the highest public interest at issue in a case. That is not necessarily true here, however, because the State Department has asserted a very strong public interest in national defense and national security. Indeed, the State Department’s stated interest in preventing foreign nationals—including all manner of enemies of this country—from obtaining technical data on how to produce weapons and weapon parts is not merely tangentially related to national defense and national security; it lies squarely within that interest.

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NYT Continues Irrational Fear Of Guns

From The Federalist:

Nobody—not even the editorial board of The New York Times—is free from the moral responsibility to do a little research before commenting on a matter of public import. If you are going to talk about a contentious public issue, you should learn a little bit about it beforehand to avoid misleading others and making yourself look profoundly foolish.

Unfortunately the Times’s editorial board recently ignored this timeless advice and issued an editorial that was essentially a grand exercise in willful ignorance. According to the Times, Missouri’s recent passage of a “constitutional carry” gun law has transformed the Show-Me State into “the shoot-me state.” The Times says the law represents “a wholesale retreat from gun safety in the state.”

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MO Passes Constitutional Carry

From NRA-ILA:

Sponsored by state Senator Brian Munzlinger (R-18), and state Representative Eric Burlison (R-133) SB 656 would:

  • Recognize Missourians right to Constitutional/Permitless Carry where open carry is not prohibited
  • Expand Missouri’s current Stand your Ground laws
  • Expand Castle Doctrine protections for anyone legally allowed into your home, vehicle, business and property
  • Specify that except for credit card fees incurred, no additional fee beyond $100 may be charged to process concealed carry permits and allows military members extra time to renew their permits
  • Implement 10, 20 and 50 year options for non-reciprocity issued permits
  • Allow components of firearm training for RTC permits to be online

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Second Amendment Headed To Supremes In 2017

From Breitbart.com:

For the first time in U.S. history, a federal appeals court on Friday struck down a federal gun-control law for violating the Second Amendment, meaning that next year the Supreme Court will hear a case that includes the opportunity to abolish citizens’ right to bear arms by overruling the Court’s famous Heller precedent.

That means the Obama administration’s solicitor general will now petition the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari to review this case. Under these rare circumstances, it is virtually 100 percent certain that the justices will grant review and hear the case.

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Citizens Take Control Of Neighborhood When Police Won’t

From Sacramento Bee:

Asian residents of south Sacramento say they’ve formed their own armed patrols to respond to a wave of robberies that has terrorized the community, where business owners report a steep drop in customers because people are afraid to go out after dark.

Some Chinese community leaders have formed a task force to combat the issue themselves, frustrated by the slow response from civic leaders. The volunteers have launched armed patrols in south Sacramento and respond to calls for assistance from those using WeChat, a popular social media app that originated in China.

“There’s no difference between night and day,” he said of the requests for assistance. “We need to take security into our own hands. If not, who will protect us?”

This is why everyone should have the choice to defend themselves how they see fit. The police will not always be there and have no legal duty to protect anyone.

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Gun Crime On The Rise In Australia?

From The Age:

The facts are chilling and compelling. In as little as five years, gun crimes have more than doubled. Some very dangerous people are involved; in 2015 alone, more than 750 people with serious criminal convictions were caught carrying guns. That’s up a staggering five times since 2011. Shootings have literally become a weekly event. Crimes related to firearm possession have more than doubled in the past five years. The number of young criminals has rocketed; almost 1500 people aged between 20 and 34 committed a gun offence last year, more than twice the number five years ago. A culture of carrying, and using, guns is becoming worryingly entrenched in criminal circles.

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Katie Couric Sued For Defamation

From Bearing Arms:

Second Amendment rights advocacy organization the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), along with two of its members, today filed a $12 million defamation lawsuit against Katie Couric, director Stephanie Soechtig, Atlas Films, and Studio 3 Partners LLC d/b/a Epix for false and defamatory footage featured in the 2016 documentary film Under the Gun.

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CT Man Shoots Squirrel And Has Guns Confiscated

From New Haven Register 4/16/14:

James Toigo, 258 Housatonic Dr., was charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm, cruelty to an animal, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree breach of peace, failure to register an assault rifle and three counts of possessing large-capacity magazines, according to a police press release from Officer Jeffrey Nielsen.

“As the investigation progressed the officers seized several firearms from the home for safe keeping,” Nielsen said. “That included the assault rifle and the three high capacity magazine he did not have registered.”

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Julie Golob Responds To President On Guns

From America’s First Freedom:

How do you respond to President Barack Obama’s statement that failure to pass more gun control is the “most disappointing” aspect of his presidency? 

Gun control is a theory that appeases those who think words on paper will affect criminal intent to do violence. In truth, it robs Americans who wish to take responsibility for their personal protection and freedom of the right to do so. It’s a form of oppression cloaked in words like “reasonable” and “sensible.” It doesn’t attack the root of the problem, but exacerbates it.

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California Bill Could Create Gun “Poll Tax”

From Guns.com:

An Assembly bill that could hike the cost of gun permits in the state is now headed to California Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

McCarty, a Sacramento Democrat, argues his county had a $250,000 shortfall caused by its permitting program.

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EU Tries To Mess With Swiss Gun Laws

From Guns.com:

Switzerland and the European Union are at odds over efforts by the EU to curb the neutral country’s treasured gun culture and citizen-soldier tradition.

While not an EU-member, Switzerland has entered into a series of treaties over the years to adopt various laws in conjunction with the organization in order to trade freely with in the European Single Market. At the same time, the Alpine country, which has been more or less neutral since splitting from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499, has maintained a tradition of national service in their military while keeping some of the loosest gun laws in Europe if not the world.

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NRA Fights New ITAR Regulations

From NRA:

In July, we reported on an ill-advised attempt by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls of DOS (DDTC) to “clarify” who is a regulated firearms “manufacturer” for purposes of the Arms Export Control Act and its implementing rules, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

As we noted in that report, DDTC’s “guidance” document creates far more confusion than clarity and threatens to chill lawful behavior and put small commercial gunsmiths who cannot afford ITAR’s heavy compliance costs out of business.

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