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This jagoff has two, count 'em, two felony assault convictions -- what's he doing carrying around anything that even resembles a handgun?

And some on this thread are insisting that technically this really isn't a firearm, so this two-time ex-felon loser should be allowed to carry it around so he has it available to stick in someone's face during a rape or robbery.

Yeah, yeah, I know. If he does that, robertpaulsen, then we'll charge him at that time. Uh-huh. Just a little to late for the person who was raped or robbed. Whatever happened to "common sense"?

robertpaulsen,

What you state makes sense on its surface, and such is the manner in which our fundamental freedoms have slowly been legislated out of existence.

If the law wants to keep this miscreant from possessing anything that even faintly resembles a firearm, then it needs to rule appropriately. What we are seeing here is an overreaching and erroneous ruling that is simply another band-aid over a wound that refuses to heal. What is to keep this criminal from carving a handgun replica out of a peice of wood and painting it black? Would you be happy if that also was arbitrarily ruled a "firearm"?

What you are endorsing is some activist judge legislating from the bench, and in the process allowing criminals to dictate what "rights" are allowed the law-abiding. In doing so, you are advocating the punishment of millions of law-abiding citizens, in order to preempt the actions of a few criminals.

This guy needs to be put on a very short leash, but calling an airgun a "firearm" is not the way to accomplish that end.

Yeah, yeah, I know. If he does that, robertpaulsen, then we'll charge him at that time. Uh-huh. Just a little to late for the person who was raped or robbed. Whatever happened to "common sense"?

Common sense should be used by the legislature when writing the law. If the legislature doesn't want felons carrying around BB guns, put that in the law. The judicial branch has no place whatsoever in deliberately misinterpreting basic definitions in order to apply their own version of common sense.

Yeah, yeah, I know. If he does that, robertpaulsen, then we'll charge him at that time. Uh-huh. Just a little to late for the person who was raped or robbed. Whatever happened to "common sense"?

THAT line of "thinking" is (at best) a verrry slender short-hair away from being identical to the line of "thinking" put forth by HCI et alia. No law will prevent a criminal from commiting a crime. Your line of thinking does nothing save extend the power of government to interfere in the private lives and commerce of the People one further increment.

"Common sense" in political or legal contexts is far too often another name for "short-sighted feel-good election-fodder idiocy".