Kopel on the Brady smartgun lawsuit

He has an interesting analysis of the case, making the points that the Brady Center may not have standing to sue (the reports are not produced for them) and that there may be wiggle room in how reliable a particular firearm is judged to be.

He also reminds us that the lawsuit, if success, would ban all guns that are not smart guns from sale in New Jersey, and as such would represent a major step back towards the Brady Center's historical gun-banning roots:

The lawsuit represents the Brady Center’s return to its founding policies from the mid-1970s. At the time, the group called itself the National Council to Control Handguns. In 1976, the group supported and donated to the backers of a Massachusetts ballot initiative to confiscate all handguns. (The initiative was defeated 69%-31%, in part because of staunch opposition from police.) That same year, the group’s leader, Nelson “Pete” Shields explained his national strategy: “The first problem is to slow down the number of handguns being produced and sold in this country. The second problem is to get handguns registered. The final problem is to make possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition–except for the military, police, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors–totally illegal.” (Richard Harris, “A Reporter at Large: Handguns,” New Yorker, July 26, 1976, p. 58.)

Never let anyone get away with saying they don't want to take your guns.

This entry was published Wed May 28 13:49:24 CDT 2014 by TriggerFinger and last updated 2014-05-28 13:48:48.0. [Tweet]

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