Bad News on VT and CA magazine limitations.

[eagleclaw]

Not a good month for overturning magazine restrictions. In CA the ruling that overturned the state’s magazine limitation is now up for an en banc ruling.

The U.S. 9th Circuit on Thursday vacated an important Second Amendment legal victory which found California's magazine ban unconstitutional, setting the case up for a rehearing.

The court this week granted a rare en banc hearing petition filed by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in the case of Duncan v. Becerra. In doing so, it set aside a key ruling handed down last August by a three-judge panel of the same court that held California's ban on firearm mags capable of holding more than 10 rounds violates the Second Amendment.

A rehearing will involve 11 judges from the circuit who are not in senior status. Notably, 10 of the 29 circuit judges currently on the court's list were recently appointed by President Trump.

The California Rifle & Pistol Association is looking forward to another day in court on the case, having won first a lower court ruling in 2019 as well as that of the appeals court last year.
“We’re excited to have another opportunity to defend what Californians already know – law-abiding citizens’ ability to purchase, possess, and use standard-capacity magazines in California is a fundamental civil right and shall not be infringed," said Chuck Michel, CRPA's president and general counsel.

Meanwhile, anti-gun groups are eager for another swing at the ruling with what has traditionally been the country's most liberal circuit court.
"The Constitution, properly understood, should not entitle people to weapons of war, or prevent states from prohibiting military-style firearms or the large-capacity magazines they use," said Jonathan Lowy, Brady's chief counsel. "The Ninth Circuit was correct to review this incorrect decision, and hopefully begin to reinstate the authority of Californians to enact strong gun laws that protect them from gun violence."
Oral arguments are expected in mid-March with a decision to follow likely several months later. Either way, the case will likely end up at the Supreme Court.

https://www.guns.com/news/2021/02/26...s-to-rehearing

Also bad news out of Vermont where the Vermont State Supreme court upheld that state’s magazine restrictions. ( 10 for rifles, 15 for handguns) .

The Vermont Supreme Court last Friday upheld the state’s ban on standard capacity magazines.

The court found that the law, which restricts magazine capacity to 15 rounds for handguns and 10 rounds for long guns, is a “reasonable regulation of the right of the people to bear arms for self-defense.”

Signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott (R) in 2018, the mag ban was part of a larger, national anti-gun push in the wake of the mass killing at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Scott and the Democratically-controlled legislature also, at that time, criminalized private transfers, prohibited the possession of bump stocks, allowed for the seizure of firearms from anyone deemed an extreme risk, and outlawed the purchase of firearms for adults under the age of 21.
Max Misch, an Iraq war veteran, challenged the constitutionality of the magazine restriction after he was cited in 2019 for buying two 30-round rifle magazines in New Hampshire and bringing them back to Vermont.

In its 51-page ruling, the court examined Article 16 of the Vermont Constitution, the provision dealing with one’s right to keep and bear arms, concluding it “protects a limited right to individual self-defense” and is “subject to reasonable regulation.”
“Applying this standard,” the justices went on to say, “we conclude that (the law) satisfies the reasonable-regulation test because the statute has a valid purpose of reducing the lethality of mass shootings, the Legislature was within its authority in concluding that the regulation promotes this purpose, and the statute leaves ample means for Vermonters to exercise their right to bear arms in self-defense.”

Gov. Scott briefly commented Friday on the ruling.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” he told a reporter who had informed him of the decision. “We thought it was constitutional from the start.”
Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan, another supporter of the law, argued that it’s here to stay.

Along with Misch’s case challenging the ban, there was a civil case filed by various pro-gun organizations, including the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, Vermont State Rifle & Pistol Association, and Powderhorn Outdoor Sports.
The court said its ruling on the Misch case “effectively” puts an end to the civil lawsuit brought by those pro-2A groups.
VTFSC President Chris Bradley said he would not “speculate” as to what the organizations would do next.

George Caldwell, a local gun shop owners, was dismayed by the news.
“Today’s news of the Vermont Supreme Court upholding the standard capacity magazine ban is unfortunate,” the owner of 802Firearms told NBC5.
“This is another piece of legislation that weighs heavily on penalizing the law-abiding citizen while having very little evidence demonstrating its effectiveness,” he continued. “This type of feel-good virtue signal legislation demonstrates the core disconnect between gun-owners and lawmakers.”

https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/v...ity-magazines/

[Bang]

Goes along with the part of the Constitution that provides for *reasonable regulation of the right of the people to bear arms for self-defense.*

[win67]

Not that long ago, Verment had no gun laws whatsoever. Look at them now.

A year ago, Georgia was a red-state haven. Now it's solidly in the grasp of Democrats.

So much can change in so short a time, the fight is never over!

[Bang]

It's not a fight. They are cowards....regulating the ones who are not the problem....never confronting the law-breakers who are the problem.

[eagleclaw]

I was wondering how Max Misch got caught with the thirty round magazines he bought in New Hampshire. The Vermont law does grandfather magazines possessed before the ban was enacted. Reading how he got arrested and his background, the case was lost before it even got started. It is also interesting to know that someone could go to therapy and tell the therapist that they are afraid of your gun collection and that could lead to the therapist reporting you. Details below;

Max Misch Pleads Not Guilty to Possessing High-Capacity Magazines

Max Misch pleaded not guilty Thursday in Bennington to two charges of possessing illegal large-capacity magazines.

As a condition of his release, the 36-year-old Bennington man may not possess firearms, ammunition or gun accessories while the case is pending. He was also ordered not to contact former Bennington state representative Kiah Morris, her husband, or a third individual named in a police affidavit.

State police seized two 30-round magazines from Misch's residence Wednesday while executing a search warrant, according to the Vermont Attorney General's office.

A 2018 state law banned as of October 1, 2018, the acquisition and possession of magazines that contain more than 10 rounds for a long gun or 15 rounds for a handgun. (Magazines that were lawfully obtained prior to the new law are exempted.)

The two misdemeanor charges each carry a potential penalty of up to one year in jail and a $500 fine.

Attorney General T.J. Donovan, whose office is prosecuting the case, summarized the court's order to Seven Days. Donovan described contents of the state's affidavit for probable cause. Donovan said the AG's office received a tip the week of January 22 from a law enforcement source who alleged Misch had traveled to New Hampshire to buy banned magazines.

Barely a week earlier, Donovan had announced that he did not have grounds to charge Misch for his racist online harassment campaign against Morris. Misch, an avowed white nationalist, crashed the press conference the AG held at Congregation Beth El synagogue, where Morris was present.

While investigating the tip about Misch's magazine purchase, Vermont State Police learned that a therapist had called the Bennington Police Department in October to alert the department that a woman she was treating had stated concern about Misch's collection of guns and ammunition and his "predatory and intimidating behavior."

Donovan said Bennington police did not disclose the therapist's phone call to his office during its months-long investigation into the racial harassment of Morris.

Asked whether he thought the call should have been disclosed, Donovan replied, "Yes."
"Right now, we're focused on prosecuting this case," he added.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessa...city-magazines

[Defender]

Not that long ago, Verment had no gun laws whatsoever. Look at them now.

A year ago, Georgia was a red-state haven. Now it's solidly in the grasp of Democrats.

So much can change in so short a time, the fight is never over!

I'm surprised it took Vermont this long, New York and NJ liberals have lived in the state for decades.

[EFK]

VT has largely been swamped with Massholes and the Hudson Valley set. Wasn't so much of a problem when it was just ski homes or vacation homes in the 70s and 80s, but large numbers have moved there permanently. They weren't going to hold out forever.

[Defender]

Not a good month for overturning magazine restrictions. In CA the ruling that overturned the state’s magazine limitation is now up for an en banc ruling.

https://www.guns.com/news/2021/02/26...s-to-rehearing

Also bad news out of Vermont where the Vermont State Supreme court upheld that state’s magazine restrictions. ( 10 for rifles, 15 for handguns) .


https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/v...ity-magazines/

If I remember right, in Vermont the impetus for the law was an attempt by some high schooler to do a shoot-em-up, but he was stopped beforehand by an informant. These type of rulings only prove that in the end Constitutions are just words on paper that are easily gotten around.

[Defender]

VT has largely been swamped with Massholes and the Hudson Valley set. Wasn't so much of a problem when it was just ski homes or vacation homes in the 70s and 80s, but large numbers have moved there permanently. They weren't going to hold out forever.

Yeah, and they all live in the Western part of the state.

[eyecanshoot]

the AG's office received a tip the week of January 22 from a law enforcement source who alleged Misch had traveled to New Hampshire to buy banned magazines.

NSA