There are times when the judiciary resembles a three-ring circus more than a serious American legal institution. That description is applicable to Caleb Reese v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of prohibiting 18-to 20-year-olds from transferring weapons through federal firearm licensees (FFLs). This blanket restriction is due to the FBI’s policy of not approving a criminal background check for any handgun purchaser under 21.
Freedom of association remains a constitutional right
Judge Robert Summerhays not only issued an order that defies logic and reason, but he also mandated that the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) hand over their membership rolls to the court.
That’s right.
Summerhays first ruled that the statute was constitutional, leading to an appeal before the Fifth Circuit. That panel struck down the lower court decision and remanded the case back to the judge to rule in the plaintiff’s favor.
Federal judges are also capable of child-like behavior when it suits them
It is glaringly apparent that Summerhays did not want to comply with the Fifth Circuit, so he wrote the order so narrowly as to affect virtually no one.
And even worse, he demanded to know gun rights supporters’ names.
SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut struck back at the ridiculous order while vowing to fight the court’s demand.
“The practical effect of this order is almost laughable if it wasn’t so frustrating and didn’t impact the Second Amendment rights of thousands of individuals,” Kraut declared. “What the court has done here is to say that this law is unconstitutional, but in order for an 18-year-old to avoid having their constitutional rights trounced by it today, they must live in one of only three states and have been a member of SAF at age 13.”
That’s right.
Only individuals who were SAF or FPC members on November 6, 2020 (when the lawsuit was filed) are covered by the ruling. That means the affected person was a 13-year-old member of a Second Amendment advocacy group.
Oh, and living in Texas, Mississippi, or Louisiana.
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