"Throughout American history, from the time Jamestown was settled in 1607, long guns—rifles and shotguns—were subjected to little or no regulation. After centuries of freedom, that changed in 1989, when California became the first state in American history to ban large numbers of firearms, primarily rifles, in the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 (AWCA). Rifles were initially banned by name and later banned by features, and the features keep expanding so that yesterday’s sporting rifle is today’s “assault weapon.” California’s incredibly shrinking Second Amendment shrank even more after and in spite of the Supreme Court’s Heller and McDonald decisions holding the right to arms to be fundamental."

To read more about California`s obsession to ban firearms, see chapter 12 of my book, America`s Rifle: The Case for the AR-15, p. 211.
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#californiagunlaws #californiagunlaw #AmericasRifleTheCaseForTheAR15 #assaultweapon #assaultrifle #assaultweapons #2ahistory #gunhistory #firearmhistory #2acase #2acase #firearmscases #firearmshistory #assaultriflehistory #assaultweaponban #assaultweaponsban #AssaultWeaponsControlAct #RobertiRoos #americangunban #2amendmentlife #rifleban #magazineban #individualrights #cagunlaw #cagunlaws #firearmsprohibition #guncontrolhistory ...

The U.S. Constitution was signed on this date in 1787 during the Philadelphia Convention. Thirty-nine of the founding fathers signed it. However, a number of delegates refused to, objecting to the lack of a bill of rights. " `I approve of most of the powers proposed to be given,` wrote Revolutionary War officer George Turner from Philadelphia to Winthrop Sargent of Boston on November 6, 1787. `But, as a friend to the natural rights of man, I must hold up my hand against others. There are certain great and unalienable rights . . . that should have been secured by a declaration or bill of rights.`

"The Constitution proposed by the Philadelphia convention would be considered for ratification by each of the states. Several of the smaller states ratified the document without demanding a bill of rights, but among the larger states a declaration of rights would be demanded initially by vocal dissenters and later by majorities of the state conventions. The right to keep and bear arms would be prominent in those demands."

From Halbrook, The Founders` Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, p. 191.

Painting: "Foundation of the American Government" by John Henry Hintermeister (1925).
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#usconstitutionday #usaconstitutionday #philadelphiaconvention #constitutionalconvention #1787 #2ahistory #ushistory #billofrights #constitutionalrights #thefounderssecondamendment #righttobeararms #americanfounders #colonialamerica #uspatriot #usconstitution #onthisday #onthisdate #naturalrightsofman #therighttokeepandbeararms #righttokeepandbeararms #Hintermeister ...

[ENGLISH BELOW] O líder da Resistência, Guillain de Bénouville, "descreveu como as armas de fogo eram essenciais para a segurança pessoal dos membros da Resistência no desempenho das suas funções: `Na França, precisávamos desesperadamente de pistolas. Um homem da clandestinidade que transportasse documentos secretos, ou cuja vida estivesse à mercê do silêncio corajoso de um camarada torturado pelos alemães, certamente deveria estar armado`."

"De Bénouville continuou: `A pena de morte acabava de ser decretada na França para quem portasse armas sem autorização especial. Até conseguirmos uma licença para fazer duplicatas para nossos homens, tivemos que tomar todas as precauções para esconder nossas armas. Mas, qualquer que fosse o risco, as armas eram necessárias. Pelo menos teríamos uma chance de escapar em caso de prisão, e era melhor atirar do que enfrentar a terrível tortura que certamente estaria reservada para alguns de nós caso fôssemos capturados. Além disso, era bom para os nossos camaradas saber que os seus chefesnão pretendiam ser capturados vivos`."

Halbrook, Desarmamento Na França Ocupada Pelos Nazistas: Tirania E Resistência, pág. 114. @videeditorial
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Resistance leader Guillain de Bénouville "described how firearms were essential for the personal security of members of the Resistance as they carried out their functions: `In France we were in sore need of pistols. A man in the underground who was carrying secret documents, or whose life was at the mercy of the courageous silence of a comrade being tortured by the Germans, should certainly be armed.`"

"De Bénouville continued: `The death penalty had just been decreed in France for anyone carrying arms without a special permit. Until we could get hold of a permit in order to make duplicates for our men, we had to take every precaution to conceal our arms. But whatever the risk, the arms were necessary. At least we would have a chance to escape in case of arrest, and it was better to shoot it out than to face the awful torture that would certainly be in store for some of us if captured. Besides, it was good for our comrades to know that their chiefs did not intend to be taken alive.`" ...

There is safety in numbers and this couple is a good example of that.  They`re both well-armed with their lever action rifles and holstered handguns.  He is wearing a hunting vest with cartridges in all the pockets.  Peeking out from under her jacket is a belt filled with cartridges.  Now that`s good fashion.
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#leveractionrifle #leveraction #leveractionhuntingrifle #armedandready #huntingvest #huntingvests #vintagehunting #cartridgebelt #oldgunphoto #coololdphoto #1800sphoto #1800sphotos #oldwestphoto #oldwestphotos #vintagephotos #vintagecouplephoto #armedcouple #armedcouples #thecouplethatshootstogether #thecouplethatshootstogetherstaystogether ...

"On April 19, 1769, a British impressment gang boarded the American brig Pitt Packet as she neared her home port of Marblehead, Massachusetts. In the course of attacking the seamen on board, a British officer fired his pistol at, but missed, Michael Corbet, the sailors` leader. Corbet harpooned the officer in the throat, killing him.

"Charged with murder, Corbet and three mates were defended by John Adams and James Otis, two of the colony`s ablest lawyers. Adams argued that the attempted impressment was illegal and that the crew had a right to defend themselves from attack: `Self Preservation is first Law of Nature .... This Right and Duty, are both confirmed by the municipal Laws of every civilised Society.`"

In the end, the court declared "the killing was justifiable homicide in self-defense."

Halbrook, The Founders` Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, p. 22.

Illustration: "British Sailors Boarding a Man of War" by John Augustus Atkinson (1815)
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#johnadams #johnadamsquote #johnadamsquotes #jamesotis #PittPacket #MichaelCorbet #RexvCorbet #2ahistory #foundingfathers #thefounderssecondamendment #2amendmentlife #righttobeararms #foundingfathersquote #americanfounders #colonialamerica #individualrights #greatmeninhistory #armedcitizen #keepandbeararms #selfdefense #selfdefence #selfpreservationisfirstlawofnature #firstlawofnature #firstlawofnatureisselfpreservation #rightandduty #justifiablehomicide #JohnAugustusAtkinson ...

"An essential starting point for understanding Switzerland`s politico-military stance during World War II is to see how it was analyzed by contemporary agents of the Third Reich. For this study, exhaustive searches were made in the German military archives for documents pertaining to Switzerland during the time of the Hitler regime. The military, diplomatic, and intelligence documents found reveal the intentions and attitudes of both the Germans and the Swiss during these years.

"German intelligence kept a close eye on Switzerland during the entire period of the Third Reich. The Nazi hierarchy saw Switzerland as a land in which the ideals of freedom and federalism posed a threat to their New Order. At various times, operations specialists from the German armed forces made detailed plans for blitzkrieg attacks against Switzerland. Administrators were likewise put to work preparing a new civil organization for the country once it had been overrun."

From Halbrook, The Swiss and The Nazis: How the Alpine Republic Survived in the Shadow of the Third Reich, p. 11.
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#Germanmilitaryarchives #3reich #nazihistory #wwiihistory #ww2documents #armedswiss #swissresistance #Switzerlandhistory #swissarmywwii #swissarmy #theswissandthenazis #armedneutrality #swissarmedneutrality #armeddefense #swissarmedforces #swissmilitia #swissconfederation #confoederatiohelvetica #confederatiohelvetica #alpinerepublic #ww2switzerland #freedomandfederalism #swissfederalism ...

“We cannot but pity the boy who has never fired a gun.” ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden. A good reminder to teach children how to safely shoot a gun.

This is a nice illustration but an example of how artists don`t always get it right. They are waterfowl hunting, but the boy has a .22 instead of a shotgun.
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#HenryDavidThoreau #henrydavidthoreauquote #waldenquote #waldenquotes #trainingkidstoshoot #boysshootingguns #firearmstraining #vintagephotos #2alife #2amendmentlife #righttobeararms #learntoshoot #gunsafety #huntinglife #gunsinliterature #gunsinbooks #joysofhunting #duckhuntingislife ...

"The Supreme Court has granted the Attorney General’s petition for a writ of certiorari in a case concerning agency authority to adopt regulations that expand the definitions found in the Gun Control Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq. (`the GCA`). In VanDerStok v. Garland, the Fifth Circuit decided that the regulations unlawfully expanded the reach of the GCA’s criminal provisions and exceeded the powers that Congress delegated to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (`the ATF`). The Supreme Court will review the Fifth Circuit’s decision during its 2024 Term."
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"The definition at issue in VanDerStok lies at the very heart of the GCA: what is a firearm? Numerous crimes are predicated on whether something is a “firearm.” Under the auspices of the Department of Justice, the ATF enforces the GCA. In 2022, the ATF promulgated a Final Rule that expanded the list of items that are considered a “firearm.” The VanDerStok challenge presents two questions. First, may the statutory definition of `firearm` be expanded by regulation to include `a weapon parts kit that is designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted` to fire a projectile? Second, may the longstanding regulatory definition of a firearm’s `frame or receiver` be expanded by a regulation to `include a partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frame or receiver` that may be readily converted into a frame or receiver?"

“Textualism, the Gun Control Act, and ATF’s Redefinition of ‘Firearm’,” Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy: Per Curiam No. 32, (Summer 2024).

The article link is on my website homepage (stephenhalbrook.com), under "Scholarly Articles."
Or copy and paste the direct link: https://journals.law.harvard.edu/jlpp/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/2024/08/Halbrook-Textualism-the-GCA-vf3.pdf

#VanDerStokvGarland #Textualism #guncontrolact #atf #batfe #SCOTUS #2acase #whatisafirearm #definitionoffirearm #firearmdefinition #firearmframe #firearmreceiver #frameorreceiver #atffinalrule #weaponspartskit #firearmslaw #bureauofalcoholtobaccofirearmsandexplosives #atfregulations #firearmownersprotectionact #federalfirearmsact #harvardjournaloflaw ...