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发帖数: 29846 | 1 In a huge victory for supporters of gun rights, the United States District
Court for the Northern District of Texas Fort Worth Division issued a ruling
Wednesday declaring the federal ban on interstate transfers of handguns
unconstitutional. The 28-page opinion in the case of Frederic Russell Mance,
Jr. against Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosive Director B. Todd Jones was signed by United States
District Judge Reed O’Connor.
Joined in the lawsuit by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and
Bear Arms, the judgment noted the Brady instant background check system was
not available when the prohibition on interstate transfers was enacted.
Because that capability now exists, Judge O’Connor noted, the government’s
“argument fails to take into account the current version of the 1968 Gun
Control Act, nor does it address how simply crossing state lines under the
modern regime can circumvent state law.”
“Based on the foregoing, the Court concludes that Defendants have not shown
that the federal interstate handgun transfer ban is narrowly tailored to be
the least restrictive means of achieving the Government’s goals under
current law,” O’Connor explained. “The federal interstate handgun
transfer ban is therefore unconstitutional on its face.”
“Accordingly, the Court DECLARES that 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(3), 18 U.S.C. §
922(b)(3), and27 C.F.R. § 478.99(a) are UNCONSTITUTIONAL, and Defendants
are ENJOINED from enforcing these provisions,” the opinion concluded.
Noting that the government’s arguments failed even under intermediate
scrutiny, any challenge to the ruling appears extremely problematic for
Holder and Jones.
“It is bizarre and irrational to destroy the national market for an item
that Americans have a fundamental right to purchase,” attorney Alan Gura
observed in a triumphant CCRKBA media advisory. “Americans would never
tolerate a ban on the interstate sale of books or contraceptives. And
Americans are free to buy rifles and shotguns outside their state of
residence, so long as the dealers respect the laws of the buyer’s home
state. We’re gratified that the Court agreed that handguns should be
treated no differently.” |
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