Free Republic

John Lott and Carlisle E. Moody have authored a paper examining the effect of the Lautenberg Amendment prohibition on the possession of firearms by people subject to a domestic violence restraining order. The relevant statute is 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). From the abstract: We find that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) has no statistically significant beneficial impact on domestic murder, domestic femicide, domestic gun murder, or domestic gun femicide. Lott and Moody’s paper shows no policy advantages gained from the federal ban on the possession of firearms by people under a domestic violence restraining order. The ban fails to accomplish its...

A federal district court in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, Central Division (at Lexington), has held a ban on the exercise of Second Amendment rights for a mere domestic restraining order 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8 is unconstitutional. On June 15, 2022, A Harrison County Family Court in Kentucky issued a Domestic Violence Order (DVO), a restraining order, against Sherman Kelvin Combs. In Kentucky, the DVO procedures do not require council (an attorney) to be appointed for respondents or a jury resolve factual issues.A few days later, it is alleged Combs purchased a .357 revolver from a...

On November 15, 2022, the United States Attorney in the Western District of Texas, Ashley C. Hoff, filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States District Court fro the Western District of Texas, Pecos Division in the case of USA v. Perez-Gallan. Previously, on November 10, 2022, Judge David Counts had issued a Memorandum Opinion dismissing the indictment to Litsson Antonio Perez-Gallan as invalid because it was unconstitutional under the United States Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSR&PA) v. Bruen decision, which restored the Second Amendment as a full-fledged member of the Bill...

Federal District Judge David Counts in the Western District of Texas has ruled the controversial federal law banning gun possession by a person who has been served with a restraining order for domestic violence is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The statute in question is 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). This statute makes it a crime to possess a firearm if the person is subject to a court issued restraining order about domestic violence. The maximum term of imprisonment for violation of the statue is up to 10 years in prison. The actual wording of 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(8) is this:(g) It...

The 10th Circuit has issued an opinion that convictions of municipal and local ordinances for domestic violence do not remove a person's rights under the Second Amendment. Current federal law makes a person who has been convicted of domestic violence under "Federal, State, or Tribal law" a prohibited possessor who may not legally purchase or possess firearms or ammunition. In this case, U.S.A. v. Pauler, the defendant, Alexander J. Pauler, had been convicted of violating a Wichita, Kansas municipal ordinance against domestic violence. From hutchnews.com: WICHITA – A Kansas man convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery under a city ordinance...

Clark Aposhian stands with his arm on his truck Clark Aposhian, an outspoken second amendment supporter, was arrested  on domestic violence charges on May 27th, 2013.   At the time, I thought it was likely a false accusation.  As a prominent constitutional rights activist who ran a business teaching concealed carry courses, in the middle of a divorce, Aposhian was clearly at risk of being hit with a domestic violence restraining order.  Such an order would take away his second amendment rights for an indeterminate period, and divert enormous time, resources and energy away from his political battles, right when...

Washington (AFP) - The US Supreme Court heard arguments as it struggles to determine whether domestic violence offenders could be barred from possessing a firearm even if they have only committed minor offenses. The high court's nine justices took up the case of James Castleman, who argues that his domestic assault conviction in Tennessee for intentionally or knowingly causing "bodily injury" to the mother of his child did not prohibit him under federal law from owning a gun. Investigators later learned that he was illegally trafficking guns, and Castleman was charged with violating a ban on gun possession for people...

Between the years of 1692 and 1693 more than 25 people were accused of being witches and were either executed or died in prison in the area around Salem Massachusetts. Nearly all of the accused and condemned had little more evidence against them than some other person pointing at them and yelling “WITCH!!” One might think that some 300 plus years down the line we might have evolved over such knee jerk reactions and rushes to judgment but when it comes to gun owners that is often not the case. In particular, a person can request a protective order in...

**SNIP** Lautenberg died in June after nearly three decades in the U.S. Senate. Many people would agree that he is owed a debt of gratitude but not everybody agrees that his widow Bonnie should receive $174,000, funded by taxpayers. Lautenberg was worth nearly $60-million. “I don’t think it’s right. I mean most us can’t afford death benefits like that. You know we would be happy to have a little bit saved just to bury ourselves,” Wayne resident Carol Dabaghian said. The payoff was buried in the government shutdown bill. It is a death benefit that is almost always approved and...

Lautenberg's net worth was estimated at $57 million in 2011 Lawmakers are under fire for awarding a $174,000 tax-free gift to the widow of late Senator Frank Lautenberg when the cash-strapped government can't even pay its own bills. The tax-free payment for the surviving relatives of members of Congress is a time-honored perk of public service in Washington. The gift is equal to the member's annual salary at their time of death, which in the New Jersey Democrat's case, was $174,000. The payment is written into the appropriations bill that has been approved by the House of Representatives. If the...

Buried inside the budget deal brokered by Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid: a payout to the millionaire widow of the late Democratic senator Frank Lautenberg. There is appropriated for payment to Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg, widow of Frank R. Lautenberg, late a Senator from New Jersey, $174,000.” Agreed to by the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate. Lautenberg’s networth $56.8 million last year

Buried inside the new stopgap spending bill are several pork project goodies, including nearly quadrupling the maximum price of a dam project on the Ohio River that is turning into a boondoggle — up to nearly $3 billion. The bill also includes $174,000 of taxpayer money being sent to the widow of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg. The death gratuity, which has been paid to widows of other lawmakers in the past, raised hackles since Mr. Lautenberg was a multimillionaire, while the government is $16.7 trillion in debt. But lawmakers did nix one provision that was in an early draft...

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear U.S. v. Castleman, a Tennessee case involving the Lautenberg amendment that deprives individuals of second amendment rights if convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. James Alvin Castleman plead guilty to a crime of domestic assault in 2001, then in 2008 he was found in possession of firearms and convicted of illegal possession of firearms under the Lautenberg amendment. A federal judge said that the Tennessee law did not meet the requirements of the federal law for domestic violence, and dismissed the charges.  The Sixth Circuit, on appeal, upheld the findings...

Three New Jersey Democrats running in a special U.S. Senate election got their first crack Monday night at the front runner, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, in the first debate among all four candidates in the abbreviated campaign. At times, they tried to gang up on Booker to show he’s less liberal than them on issues such as using public money to send children to private schools or revising health insurance laws even further. But largely, the four candidates found themselves in agreement and their differences were relatively nuanced. The four are running in a hastily scheduled Aug. 13 primary to...

The final World War II veteran to serve in the United States Senate died on the eve of the 71st anniversary of the Battle of Midway. Frank Lautenberg’s passing is significant, and every American should understand why. Fifty-two years ago, fellow World War II vet John F. Kennedy told America that “the torch has been passed to a new generation.” That torch is now burning out; an era has ended, and many wonder if America will ever see another like it. To try and understand, go back seven decades to the empty sea west of Hawaii in June 1942. Only...

Newark (NJ) Mayor Cory Booker will enter the race for US Senate, a campaign aide confirmed Friday.

Chris Christie has appointed New Jersey’s Attorney General Jeff Chiesa, a former federal prosecutor who worked for him as governor and as U.S. Attorney, as the interim senator replacing the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg. “I said on Monday I was going to select the person I thought was going to be the best person to represent New Jersey between now and Oct. 13,” Christie told reporters. “During the last few days as I’ve gotten to deliberate on this decision, it became clear to me that Attorney General Chiesa would be the best person to represent the people of New Jersey...

Chris Christie just announced that the NJ State Attorney General Jeff Chiesa will be appointed to the Senate pending the Special Election in October. Chiesa will not run

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Friends, family and hundreds of dignitaries gathered for a funeral service Wednesday to remember U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

Five-term Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey passed away Monday from viral pneumonia. Lautenberg, the last World War II veteran in the Senate, had retired from the upper chamber in 2000, only to be drafted at the last minute in 2002 to replace... --snip-- So he has a bit of a dilemma here. Legislative leaders have to stand for re-election this year, so appointing one of them could create a vacancy in a pair of bodies where Republicans are already outnumbered. There is also an ideological dilemma. He could appoint a conservative, but having to run with him or...