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The HOTTEST Ticket In Town:
The Supreme Court Hears The 2nd Amendment Arguments
by Andrew Molchan
(March 20th 2008) On March 18th, the hottest ticket in Washington D.C. was the Supreme Court 2nd Amendment oral arguments. Most
of the 100 seats open to the public had long since been spoken for by the
connected and powerful. Hundreds of banner waving (pro- and anti-gun) demonstrators were outside
of the Supreme Court building. Some had arrived the night before, and camped out, to get the few seats
reserved for the public, right before the hearings opened.
Tara Henigan, 42, from Falls Church, Virginia, was one of the many demonstrators. She had
a sign that said, "Gun's Don't Die, People Do." She said, "How can people think it's an
individual right. A ‘well-regulated militia' means military service."
After the hearing both pro- and anti-gun people said it was a victory for their
side.
As unbelievable as the facts are, the Supreme Court has not heard a 2nd
Amendment case in 69 years. The
last 2nd Amendment case was in 1939,The
United States v. Miller. Jack Miller was a bank robber, moonshiner and
all around crook. He
was convicted in Arkansas of having a sawed-off shotgun. He was
challenging his conviction on 2nd Amendment issues. Miller had no sincere interest in defending
Constitutional Rights. The
case was a stall for time, and to keep him out on bail. However, The Miller
Case briefs, put together by his attorney, contain several excellent historical
and legal references clarifying
that the "Militia" is not a formal
government army, but the "people."
Miller was not present in the Supreme Court
when his case was argued. Then, in April of 1939, after the oral arguments, and
one month before the Supreme Court issued their ruling in May of 1939, Miller was found dead with nine .38
caliber bullet wounds in his body. Miller's own .45, 1911 pistol, lay by his
side with four rounds expended. His killer(s) were never found.
Even though the historical references and
examples in the Miller case, as submitted, supported the fact that the
"Militia" is the "people," the Supreme Court Justices were both pissed-off and
embarrassed. The Justices
gave an unclear and ambiguous ruling that did not specifically support, but did
not specifically deny, Mr. Miller's appeal.
In 1939, the Supreme Court Justices
probably wanted the Miller case to fade into history. With the start of WWII in Europe only four months away, the Miller case was forgotten
until the 1960's. However, it's ambiguous ruling has, during the last 40 years, made
it a thorn in the side of both pro- and anti-gun groups.
The plaintiff in the current 2008 case is Mr.
Dick Heller, 66, a
federal building guard who carries a handgun at work, and wanted to keep the handgun at home, in Washington D.C. for self-protection. Washington D.C. law, (passed in 1976) bans handguns in homes, but
does allow shotguns and rifles if they are unloaded and in a locked
compartment. Mr.Alan Gura,
lead attorney for Mr. Heller said, "Self-defense is the heart of the Second Amendment right."
Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is often the swing vote on the Supreme
Court, said the 2nd Amendment confers, "A general right to bear arms quite without
reference to the militia either way."
The City of Washington D.C.'s attorneys, were arguing that the City law was,
"Eminently reasonable." Chief Justice John Roberts asked, "What is reasonable about a total
ban on possession?" Chief
Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito both questioned
whether a rifle or shotgun could effectively protect a person at home, given
the City's requirement that the firearms be kept unloaded and with trigger
locks. Justice Alito said,
"Even if you have a gun, under this code provision (Washington D. C.'s current restrictions) it doesn't seem as if you could
use it for the defense of your home."
Chief Justice John Roberts asked the city's lawyers, if a criminal is
climbing through the window, how long would the homeowner need to unlock the
trigger lock mandated by the city? The city's lawyers answered, about three seconds.
Justice Roberts went on to ask if that three seconds including first turning on the lights, and then
picking up your reading classes so you could see the numbers on the combination
lock? The gallery found that amusing.
Justice Scalia
also implied that the
Capital's laws prevent citizens from effectively using guns for self-defense by
saying, that when you hear somebody breaking into your house, you have to run
to your gun, and then unlock it, and then load it. The intruders had better be very slow otherwise the
homeowner is in trouble.
Justice Scalia's
point is well taken. I
went through all of Elementary and High School with a close friend, Bob Gallowitch. He married his High School sweetheart, Joan
Roma. They were the perfect couple. All three of us had gone through Elementary
and High School together. In those by-gone days, in Chicago, we had old-fashioned neighborhoods
were everyone knew everyone and
we all went to neighborhood schools. Bob, one of
those really popular people that everyone loved. When he turned 21, he became a Chicago Police Officer.
Late one night, when he was alone in his patrol car, he got into a firefight
with two scumbag robbers. In those days, the police had revolvers. Bob fired all six rounds from his
revolver, then the scumbags rushed Bob's position from two side, and before he
could reload, the scumbags shot him nine times. He was very strong and an excellent
athlete, and was still alive when the other patrol cars arrived, but he died
the next morning. The entire neighborhood was devastated. Justice Robert's and Justice Scalia's
well taken point is that if your gun isn't loaded, it's the same as not being armed. You could end up very dead, like my dear
friend, Bob.
Chief Justice Roberts also asked, "If it (the 2nd Amendment)
is limited to state militias, why would they (the framers of the Constitution)
say, ‘the right of the people?' In other words, why wouldn't they have said, ‘State militias have the
right to keep arms'?"
Typically, The Supreme Court issues their
ruling about two to three months after the oral arguments. That means around
June. I'm sure that the
Court will rule that unreasonable restrictions of rifles, shotguns and handguns
are unconstitutional. The
ruling will probably be narrow because Justice Roberts prefers narrow ruling
wherever possible. The NICS system, and 4473 forms, and most state gun-carry-permit systems
will stay in place as
part of what makes, "A well regulated militia." What will change is
that millions of
citizens who are currently restricted from buying handguns (or any firearms),
will come on-line as new customers.
However, it will be a historical win for
freedom and for the firearms industry. For years the anti-gun side has dreamed of a total ban
on civilian firearms ownership. The anti-freedom side considers every anti-gun law as only a stepping-stone to a total ban. Now, their dream of a Federal Law totally
banning civilian firearms ownership is on its way to Hell, where it always belonged.
Every good general for 3,000 years has known
that victory is always in exactly the same location. Victory is always in the minds of your
enemy. With the dream of a
total firearms ban destroyed, the minds of the anti-gun and anti-freedom forces will be devastated. This is going to be like the collapse of the USSR in 1991.All of a sudden, the evil empire of
Sara Brady and her gang, won't be there. It will be like the last part of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of
the King. The evil ring of fascist
dreams will be thrown back into the fires of Hell, and the great tower of Brady will fall to the ground.
Even though June is a little distant, I
already bought a bottle of Dom Perignon and have it
in the refrigerator.
For the remainder of 2008, and through 2009,
the general economy will be highly volatile, but overall continue to
deteriorate. However, starting in the summer of 2008, and going through all of
2009 and into 2010, sales will be a excellent for imaginative and
innovative companies in the firearms industry.
It will take several years for the courts and
politicians to adjust to the up-coming Supreme Court affirmation of the 2nd
Amendment. Other firearms issues will make it to the Supreme Court in the next
five years, and I'm sure most of them will be positive for our firearms
industry. In the meantime, our firearms industry will enjoy billions of dollars worth of free
exposure in the "news."
IS IT TIME
TO CONSIDER THE RATIONALIZATION OF THE
"WELL
REGULATED" PART OF THE 2ND AMENDMENT?
If every citizen who can pass a NICS
background check has a 2nd Amendment Right to buy
firearms. Regardless of where they live. Perhaps it's time to think about making
the firearms purchase regulations uniform for the entire country? If every citizen in the USA, who can pass
NICS (a national system), can buy a handgun, then why can't a resident of
California legally buy a handgun in Texas, Florida or New York, and bring it
back to California? If you were a California resident, you could buy a
new car, or boat, or airplane in Texas and bring it back to California. Why not firearms?
THE SOON
TO ARRIVE FIREARMS SALES BONANAZA
After June, and the Supreme Court's favorable
ruling, our industry will have millions of new customers. There are millions of Americans living
in cities with total bans on firearms, and/or in areas where firearms are
"unreasonably" restricted. Bottom line, even though the general economy will be bad in 2008
and 2009, our firearms industry is looking at a handgun and self-defense long
gun, sales boom. Do
NOT wait, start going after this soon-to-open market right now. DO NOT WAIT. This is going to be a
once-in-a-lifetime sales bonanza opportunity for manufacturers who move boldly, with imagination, and
fast.
After 39 years in the gun business, I know
that one of the biggest
contributors for failure is the, "I'm going to wait and see what
happens," mind set. By
the time it's 100% clear as to what's happening, the
sales trend is 50% to 80% over.
Our firearms industry, from late 2008 into
2010, will enjoy the nationwide opening of 1,000 brand new stocking gun dealer in areas where firearms stores could not previously
operate, like Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and so forth. American Firearms Industry (AFI) is the only "trade" that rotates
through the total FFL list, and rotates through the new FFL holders. AFI's advertisers will have exposure to all of
the brand new stocking-dealer gun stores, as they come-on line.
THE NSSF
TO GET A NEW PRESIDENT
The current NSSF president will have, in the
words of the official announcement from the NSSF board of directors, "A change of duties."
About ten years ago, there was also a change
of NSSF presidents. Due to what, in my opinion, where significant
improprieties connected to him. The then incoming new
president, the one who's now being kicked out of the president's job, turned
out (in my opinion) to be the same kind of Reed water boy as the old one.
It's time for some real change, not Washington D.C. like pretend change where people in the band have
different names but it's the same old music. The NSSF board should give the new president a list of
instructions:
1. Get rid of Reed.
2. Even if it's a little messy, get rid of
Reed.
3. Do NOT be Reed's Stepin' Fetchit.
4. Do NOT be Reed's apologist.
5. Do not be an active party in the financial
rape of American firearms companies so the British billionaires at Reed can become even
richer.
6. Start working for Americans rather than
the British.
7. Bring transparency to the SHOT Show finances.
Next year's SHOT Show will be in Orlando, Florida. Once again, Reed has the Show in two
separate buildings.
The reason why there is a police and military
section at the SHOT Show is because of the efforts of one person, Andrew Molchan (i.e. me.) Reed fought the idea for years because it offended
their senses. I forced the
Show to expand and change. I'm not bragging, but I'm not going to hide that achievement. The police/military section is there because
of only one person, me.
So, Reed turned my expansion of the Show into
more money for Reed. They are putting the police and military in a separate
building. That means if you have police/military and "sporting" items
you have to by TWO
booth locations.
If you'll remember the last SHOT Show in Orlando two years ago, the surfing convention was running at the same time. Well ladies and gentlemen,
, all the “hang ten,” scruffy, weed smokin'
surfer dudes are going to be there again. Same time and same place.
Only this time, the police and military at the 2009 SHOT Show will be over in
the building adjacent to the surfing convention. And some people say that Reed
doesn't have a sense of humor.
The last SHOT Show in Orlando, it was like a time warp with the surfers.
It was like steping back into the 1960's. They all
had their tie-dyed T-shirts, torn blue jeans, long hair, and sandals. I kept looking for John Belushi in his toga. Whenever a bigger crowd of the surfers would walk by,
there was the smell of weed. I'd bet all of them vote for Hillary, the goddess of 1960's communist
rot. The SHOT Show putting
the police/ military next to the surfer dudes. It's hard to find management of that quality.
For years I've been pointing out that even
though the SHOT Show has thousands of hot bodies, only about 5,000 people who have an FFL go to the
Show. A few exhibitors have
complained about exhibitors getting, like one thousand, (1,000) free badges. So, if an exhibitor wants to give out a
thousand badges to attend the SHOT Show, they can.
There are about 1,800 exhibitors at SHOT. So,
1,800 exhibitors times about 1,000 free badges per
exhibitor means there
are 1,800,000 free SHOT Show badges floating around for the taking.
The SHOT Show is a consumer disguised as a
firearms retailer show. Do you want proof? Do
you want hard evidence? No problem. Reed sells the attendance names to the SHOT Show. To find the complete breakdown of the
business groups of people who attend the SHOT Show, go to: www.REEDLIST.com. There are only 5,000 FFL holders listed.
That's from Reed's list,
from Reed's website, and about their SHOT Show.
The SHOT Show has 5,000 FFL's out of a total of 55,000 FFL holders. That's less than 10% of the FFL holders at
the SHOT Show. All of the other thousands and thousands of hot bodies wandering
around on the SHOT Show floor are something else. On the other hand, American Firearms Industry Magazine rotates its circulation through all 55,000 FFLs. At the SHOT Show you get 5,000 FFLs.
in AFI you get 55,000, and AFI costs a lot less than SHOT. It's a little
self serving, but I sincerely believe that a smart marketing move is to cut back on the SHOT Show
expenses, and move some of the
money to AFI, and thus
cover the 50,000 FFL holders who are NOT at any SHOT Show.
The SHOT Show after Orlando is, in part, in the basement of the Sand's Casino parking lot in Las Vegas. This puts the SHOT Show right on the "strip."
Hey, the casinos can call all of their high rollers, "Come to Vegas, we'll get you a
free badge to the SHOT Show. Get the wholesale prices on everything – it'll be
a ball!"
I'll tell you a secret that I've learned in
the last 39 years in the business. Real stocking gun dealers are NOT in the business of selling big
expensive show booths. Their
customers could give a rat's a#*! Real gun dealers are
selling shooting products. They want somebody to talk to (the down side of all
those ‘free" SHOT Show badges is that makes the show crowded), and real dealers
want to know what's in it for their profit margins.
KEEP THE BASICS IN MIND
The core relationship in our industry
is: the manufacturer-retailer-customer, and the reverse; customer-retailer-manufacturer. AFI has started an expanded data service were a
related corporation (NAFLFD Inc.) will keep and maintain databases of retailers,
for a standard fee. The service has several options depending on the client's
needs. All the information is the property of the client, remains proprietary
to the specific client, and will be STRICTLY proprietary to the client. AFI will be doing the information maintenance on
a specific client-by-client basis. Please call me, 954-467-9994, if you are
interested.
All the best,
Andrew Molchan
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