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Reflections Upon the U.S. Supreme Court's Rejection of Silveira by Peter J. Mancus California Attorney at Law pmancus@prodigy.net December 4, 2003 KeepAndBearArms.com — Approximately 30 days ago I received a long email from someone. At the end was a moderate length, beautifully phrased quotation, the core essence of which was this idea: a person who devotes his adult life to try to hold government accountable so citizens do not have to resort to force is noble and is devoted to one of life's most noble pursuits. When I read that I thought of people I know, who have stretched me...

Approximately 30 days ago I received a long email from someone. At the end was a moderate length, beautifully phrased quotation, the core essence of which was this idea: a person who devotes his adult life to try to hold government accountable so citizens do not have to resort to force is noble and is devoted to one of life’s most noble pursuits. When I read that I thought of people I know, who have stretched me to grow. Those who are engaged in that noble cause know who they are. Today, I am sad: The United States Supreme Court...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court disappointed gun owner groups Monday, refusing to consider whether the Constitution guarantees people a personal right to own a gun. The court has never said if the right to "keep and bear arms" applies to individuals. Although the Bush administration has endorsed individual gun-ownership rights, it did not encourage the justices to resolve the issue in this case involving a challenge of California laws banning high-powered weapons. Many other groups wanted the court to take the politically charged case, including the National Rifle Association, the Pink Pistols, a group of gay and lesbian gun owners;...

The Supreme Court disappointed gun rights groups Monday by refusing to consider whether the Constitution guarantees people a personal right to own a gun. The court has never said if the right to "keep and bear arms" applies to individuals. Although the Bush administration has endorsed individual gun-ownership rights, it did not encourage the justices to resolve the issue in this case, involving a challenge of California laws banning high-powered weapons. Many other groups wanted the court to take the politically charged case, including the National Rife Association, the Pink Pistols, a group of gay and lesbian gun owners; the...

Second Amendment Sisters just received a phone call from CBS news wanting our take on the fact that the Supreme Court will not hear Locklear V Silveria. Can anybody fill in here? I did a search, and don't see it yet posted on FR.

this is not good. http://www.supremecourtus.gov/orders/courtorders/120103pzor.pdf per the supremes any state can deny any right for whatever reason their leg can come up with so long 14th ammendment incorporatoin, so long bill of rights it was a noble and honorable but apparently failed experiment RIP US constution. further info as it developes, probaly badly At www.keepandbeararms.com r

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court disappointed gun owner groups Monday, refusing to consider whether the Constitution guarantees people a personal right to own a gun. The court has never said if the right to "keep and bear arms" applies to individuals. Although the Bush administration has endorsed individual gun-ownership rights, it did not encourage the justices to resolve the issue in this case involving a challenge of California laws banning high-powered weapons.

"Silveira v. Lockyer is currently on appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The Justices have a Conference on the case on November 26, 2003. We're hoping to hear on the following Monday that they will be hearing this lawsuit. If they do, it will be the first time in the history of this nation that a true Second Amendment case is argued and briefed on both sides by competent and informed counsel."

No. 03-051 ================================================================ In The Supreme Court of the United States ---------------------------------  --------------------------------- SEAN SILVEIRA, JACK SAFFORD, PATRICK OVERSTREET, DAVID K. MEHL, SGT. STEVEN FOCHT, SGT. DAVID BLALOCK, MARCUS DAVIS, VANCE BOYES, and KEN DEWALD, Petitioners, v. BILL LOCKYER, Attorney General, and GRAY DAVIS, Governor, State of California, Respondents. ---------------------------------  --------------------------------- On Petition For Writ Of Certiorari To The California Supreme Court ---------------------------------  --------------------------------- BRIEF IN OPPOSITION TO PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI ---------------------------------  --------------------------------- BILL LOCKYER Attorney General of the State of California MANUEL M. MEDEIROS State Solicitor ANDREA LYNN HOCH Chief Assistant Attorney General PAUL DOBSON Senior...

There are three possibilities here: 1: SCOTUS refuses to hear the case. It goes away, someone tries again. No actions on your part can improve this scenario. 2: SCOTUS rules against us. That seems to be the big fear here. “But what if we loooooooooose?” I hear people whine. Fact is, most District and lower courts are of the opinion that we don’t have a 2nd Amendment. Several of those judicial opinions are why this case exists, right? If you step into the arena, there’s a risk of losing. But if you refuse to fight, you have lost preemptively. And...

NRA Members' Councils of California Please Distribute Widely To All Gun Owners/Groups ----------------------------------- NRA MEMBERS' COUNCILS OF CALIFORNIA10/07/2003 ----------------------------------- Don B. Kates on Silveira v. Lockyer SILVEIRA: SECOND AMENDMENT SUICIDEBy Don B. Kates There is enormous controversy over the attempt to get the U.S. Supreme Court to review the disastrous Silveira case. (Silveira v. Lockyer, 328 F.3d 567; 9th Cir. 2003). I have very strong views on the subject which I shall have to state somewhat simplistically because of word limitations. The Unsophisticated View and the Wrong View There are two quite different ideas that are expressed by people...

Haas'GuidetoSmallArmsAmmunition An activist's views on Silveira v. Lockyer Occasionally I see internet email from the people promoting the Silveira v. Lockyer case - they ask for money to help move this case forward, reminding me that they are "down to the bottom of the barrel". Accordingly, I've tried to formulate an opinion of my own on this effort vying for USSC cert. The result? I could not. I quickly realized that I am not qualified to determine the merits (or lack thereof) of this case which may affect the firearms rights of all gun-owners now and in the future....

Another interesting turn of events has occurred in the Silveira v. Lockyer Second Amendment lawsuit. Our legal experts advise that this new development suggests that the Supreme Court will probably be granting certiorari in this case -- that they will most likely be hearing the case. On September 22, the Court issued a "Request for Response" to the Petition for a Supreme Court hearing of this true Second Amendment case -- a "request" that was sent to California attorney general Bill Lockyer and copied to lead Silveira attorney Gary Gorski. (See U.S. Supreme Court docket for Silveira v. Lockyer.) Why...

The Silveira Threat How long will the Second Amendment live? Silveira v. Lockyer is a Second Amendment lawsuit which has, according to Gun Week (Sept. 1) "gained almost cult status among gun owners." This status is mostly to the benefit of the gun-prohibition lobby, for Silveira has already seriously harmed Second Amendment rights, and the damage may not be over. The suit was filed in February 2000, to challenge the 1999 amendments to the 1989 California "assault-weapon" control act (AWCA). The complaint blew its credibility on at the very beginning, opening with a fabricated quote attributed to Hitler. The quote...

NRA lying about Silveira case AGAIN Press Release - Is the NRA Serious from Gary Gorski, attorney for Silveira Plaintiffs August 26, 2003 [filed here late due to site being down] [Additional analysis by Angel Shamaya below press release] The NRA issued the following press release: NRA Files Brief with the Supreme Court in Silveira v. Lockyer The National Rifle Association (NRA) has filed an amicus curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court, in the case of Silveira v. Lockyer, arguing that the Second Amendment is indeed an individual right, and a right that is applicable to the states...

The National Rifle Association has plenty of company in a major gun rights case that the Supreme Court is considering hearing. Among the organizations that have joined the case are the Pink Pistols, a group of gay and lesbian gun owners; the Second Amendment Sisters; and Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. They are asking the court to consider if the Constitution's Second Amendment guarantees the right to own a gun. At issue is an appeal filed this summer by some rugby teammates and friends who challenged California's assault weapons ban. They lost at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court...

Friend of the Court Brief filed in United States Supreme Court Contact: Maria Heil of Second Amendment Sisters, 877-797-4857 (press only) or email: press@2asisters.org AUSTIN, TX-August 8, 2003-A friend of the Court brief has been filed by the nation’s leading pro-self-defense women’s organization, Second Amendment Sisters, Inc.(SAS) In July, a Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed in the United States Supreme Court in the case of Silveira, et al. vs. Lockyer, et al. This week, Second Amendment Sisters filed an Amicus Curiae (or Friend of the Court) brief supporting the Petitioners and citing reasons for the Supreme Court to...

Silveira v. Lockyer lawsuit could settle decades of controversy FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 3, 2003 CONTACTS: Gary Gorski, Attorney for Plaintiffs Cell: (916) 276-8997 Office: (916) 965-6800 Fax: (916) 965-6801 Angel Shamaya, director, KeepAndBearArms.com Office: (928) 522-8833 A Second Amendment lawsuit was petitioned to the U.S. Supreme Court today -- just in time for Independence Day. The case Silveira v. Lockyer, which originated in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, was previously appealed to the U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, resulting in a deeply divided ruling. The lawsuit seeks to address at least two...

Silveira v. Lockyeris Going to the Supreme Court!May 6, 2003KeepAndBearArms.com -- Today is the day many of us have been waiting for. The 9th Circuit Court refused the request for an en banc (full court) rehearing of the Silveira v. Lockyer lawsuit. This was highly predictable. But the order denying the en banc hearing is far better than any of us predicted!SIX judges dissented -- and ALL OF THEM did so based on their correct interpretation of the Second Amendment as an INDIVIDUAL RIGHT!!  This is the liberal 9th Circuit Court. Furthermore, one of the dissenting judges (Kleinfeld) offered an...

The Ninth Circuit has issued an en banc denial for a rehearing in Silveira v. Lockyer. This was a challenge to the CA Assault Weapons ban. That the most liberal circuit court in the land would deny a hearing is no surprise. What is surprising is that 4 of the court's judges, including Judge Pregerson, whom Eugene Volokh calls "one of the most liberal judges on the Ninth Circuit -- and perhaps in the whole country", would issue such stinging dissents. The most thorough of the dissents is by Judge Kleinfeld. Kleinfeld writes... About twenty percent of the American population,...