No, Judge Benitez, we do not need weapons of war for 'home defense'
A FEDERAL judges decision overturning Californias longtime ban on assault weapons has been rightly mocked for its ludicrous likening of an AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife. But the ruling is no laughing matter. While it will be appealed and hopefully overturned by jurists who understand the Second Amendment is not without limits the ruling is part of a sustained attack on gun safety laws that has been emboldened by the shift in balance of the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of the Southern District of California on Friday termed the states ban on assault weapons, implemented in 1989 and revised over the years, a failed experiment and ruled it unconstitutional. Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. Good for both home and battle, began the 94-page ruling that dripped with disdain for Californias efforts to confront gun violence and showed no concern for its victims. No amount of common sense gun control laws will prevent criminals from misusing guns, he wrote, comparing Californias efforts to Victor Hugos Inspector Javert relentlessly searching for Jean Valjean. Also disturbing was his argument that assault weapons are protected by the Second Amendment because they could be useful in a citizens militia, citing his birth country of Cuba and the revolution there. Just the suggestion the country needs after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The ruling runs counter to repeated decisions over the years in both state and federal courts upholding prohibitions against assault weapons on the grounds of the states compelling interest in protecting public safety. Among the states where bans of these weapons of war were ruled constitutional are Massachusetts, New York and Maryland. Californias own law was previously upheld by a federal district court of California and multiple state appellate courts. But those familiar with Judge Benitez, appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, were not surprised by his ruling. He once wrote the Second Amendment gets even less respect than Rodney Dangerfield, and he previously struck down a law passed by the states voters that would have banned possession of magazines holding more than 10 bullets, a decision now pending appeal before the Ninth Circuit. His court, the New York Times reported, has become a welcoming place for gun-rights advocates because of a rule that allows related cases to be funneled to one judge rather than randomly assigned.
When the Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the Second Amendment establishes an individual right to keep guns in the home for self-defense, it also made clear that the right is not absolute but is subject to government regulation. Assault weapons, more dangerous than other firearms, are disproportionately used in crimes and against law enforcement. They not Swiss Army knives are the weapon of choice of mass shooters because of their efficiency in killing as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. If they cant be banned, it is hard to see what reasonable gun regulations the government could impose to try to save lives.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/no-judge-benitez-we-do-not-need-weapons-of-war-for-home-defense/2021/06/08/c1639d56-c7d7-11eb-81b1-34796c7393af_story.html
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)when I was told that it was an almost guaranteed murder conviction if it went off on Girl Scouts, meter readers, or trick-or-treaters.
Even though conviction was questionable for political pollsters, 7th Day Adventists, and a few others, the risk was too great.
Straw Man
(6,624 posts)Disproportionately to what? Far more people are killed with handguns than with all rifles, of which assault weapons are only a subset.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5122525/table/Tab1/?report=objectonly
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8.xls
canuckledragger
(1,637 posts)Straw Man
(6,624 posts)I don't see any.
hlthe2b
(102,263 posts)disqualifying.
Once again, there needs to be oversight for these judicial lifetime appointed judges who repeatedly render opinions that ignore and in fact totally misrepresent both precedent and multiple undeniable facts and statistics.
hack89
(39,171 posts)assault weapons are not disproportionately used in crimes. Far from it. Nor are they the weapon of choice for mass shootings - 78% of mass shootings are by handguns.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/476409/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-weapon-types-used/
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,972 posts)hack89
(39,171 posts)In 2019 13,927 people were killed by 10,258 firearms, of which 6,368 were handgun, 364 were rifle and 200 were shotguns.
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-11.xls
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/table-20