Posted on 02/05/2018 4:31:18 AM PST by Simon Green
“[Yunsong] Zhao was arrested because he allegedly attached a 30-round magazine to a rifle,” richmond.com reports. “He was allowed to own both the gun and magazine, but when they were combined, the rifle qualified as an assault weapon prohibited to people with Zhao’s visa status.” Yes, you read that right . . . You can have as many 30-round rifle, handgun or shotgun ammunition magazines as you like in Virginia — as long as you don’t pop one into a gun.
Zhao’s defense attorney isn’t challenging the box of rocks stupid mag law. As Jason Wolfrey asked the court to allow bail for his client (denied), he told the court that Zhao never used his rifle with the 30-round magazine.
Zhao did own two 30-round magazines, but he traded them for a sling for his firearm, Wolfrey said.
When Zhao checked out his gun from the student gun lockers at the Virginia Tech Police Department and went to a firing range in the national forest with a friend, he had a legal 20-round magazine, Wolfrey said.
Wolfrey offered pictures of the gun with a 20-round magazine, saying this was what Zhao had used. A video from the firing range that shows the smaller magazine may eventually be offered as evidence as well, Wolfrey said.
Little replied that the Blacksburg police detective who watched the student at the firing range was positive that he had seen a 30-round magazine on the rifle.
Virginia Tech kicked Zhao out after the weapons charge, and added a bit about his failure to maintain a sufficient grade point average. Which invalidates his student visa.
Hence the bail denial. The great state of Virginia worries that the feds will scoop up the Chinese ex-student and send him home before they can make an example of him, both as a 30-round mag scofflaw and a gun nut.
A characterization that doesn’t make Mr. Zhao’s lawyer happy.
[Commonwealth’s Attorney Erin] Little said that authorities had taken a bayonet and more than 700 rounds of ammunition, along with other items, from Zhao’s dormitory room for safe-keeping, and that Zhao owned a former police car that he’d equipped with antennas and a push bar, though the latter was not actually attached to the vehicle, she said.
Wolfrey responded that these items had nothing to do with the charges against Zhao and noted police had not found a 30-round magazine. Three search warrants filed in the case said that police had taken nothing from Zhao’s dorm room and two vehicles, and they made no mention of the items Little listed, Wolfrey noted.
If Zhao had a high quantity of ammunition in his room, it was because he liked target shooting, Wolfrey said. “He was a regular user of the firing range. It’s not unusual for people to buy in bulk,” Wolfrey said.
Zhao had followed university rules about storing firearms at the police department, Wolfrey said.
“What he’s accused of comes down to whether he had a 30-round magazine or a 20-round magazine,” Wolfrey said.
How stupid is that? Especially considering . . .
Tech has issued multiple statements this week saying authorities never thought Zhao was a threat to anyone.
The same can’t be said for Virginia’s gun laws.
...Commonwealth’s Attorney Erin] Little said that authorities had taken a bayonet and more than 700 rounds of ammunition, along with other items, from Zhao’s dormitory room for safe-keeping..
Remember when New Orleans “authorities” seized guns for “safe keeping” during the hurricane and allowed them to rust up?
It's tough to tell the magazine's capacity based on external appearance - it could have a block inserted under the floor plate to limit "excess" capacity, as was commonly done during the Assault Weapons Ban. The detective would be on thin ice concerning Probable Cause in any sane jurisdiction.
No word on being foreigner and illegaly struting the stuff
The ATF enforces selectively
I’m not sure I’m too hot on the idea of letting citizens of potentially enemy states own guns and ammunition here...and I doubt too many other countries allow that either.
Virginia State law (with exceptions) has no limitation on magazine size
§ 18.2-287.4. Carrying loaded firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty.
It shall be unlawful for any person to carry a loaded (a) semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and is equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock or (b) shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered on or about his person on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way, or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public in the Cities of Alexandria, Chesapeake, Fairfax, Falls Church, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, or Virginia Beach or in the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Henrico, Loudoun, or Prince William.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to law-enforcement officers, licensed security guards, military personnel in the performance of their lawful duties, or any person having a valid concealed handgun permit or to any person actually engaged in lawful hunting or lawful recreational shooting activities at an established shooting range or shooting contest. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Blacksburg is not in any of these counties. I don’t understand how they can charge this kid with a violation of a law that doesn’t exist.
Meanwhile, deliberately and intentionally, they let violent criminals keep their guns.
This case will get dismissed with prejudice. Then the Dems in the Virginia State Legislature will have to “fix” this law.
It’s all I can think of.
The Second Ammendment does not apply to foreign nationals !
From what I saw, there is no law to fix where he lives. If there is, it’s a local jurisdiction and needs to either be widely publicized or eliminated.
Now you are getting it.
Based on the story and some comments from knowledgeable FReepers like yourself, the LEO actions seem egregious at least. And it wasn't just the bad opinion of LEO as the prosecutor and a judge have been a part of it. He has been kicked out of the college he was attending. Either we (FReepers) have something wrong here, or there is a whole handful of REALLY stupid government legal minds working this. Otherwise you would have to assume some conspiracy to give the democrats a reason to pass laws restricting gun rights.
Hmm.... When they arrested him, did they inform him of his 5th amendment rights? I'll bet they did. The local Democrats may oblige you, but I think you'd be on thin ice with that argument in higher court.
Exactly. 2nd amendment is for American citizens. The leftists are always conspiring to give constitutional rights to non US persons.
If a US citizen did that in China, they probably would be executed.
There seem to be a few people in this thread talking about a Chinese national having a firearm on US Soil during his visa stay here.
If I came from China, not only would I leave to be -surrounded- by guns, but I would make no plans on ever returning to China.
This guy looks like he could use our support as a refugee we should actually take in.
The BOR is designed to limit government power, not the actions of individuals. Foreign national have all kinds or rights here.
Not the reason. There is more to it.
Not enrolled in school, buying guns with 30-round magazines, bought a decal-ed former police car, searching for a bullet-proof vest.
I’ve heard of foreign nationals travelling to various african countries for hunting trips. Is it common for foreigners to travel here for hunting? As non citizens do they need any special permits in the various states?
Foreigners hunting in Alaska is very big business there.
They sometimes leave expensive firearms behind to avoid the hassles of taking them back to their home countries.
The BOR is designed to limit government power yes, but for US citizens.
The rights of foreign nationals are less than those of US citizens.
Don’t you think that the Dems want to give illegals and MS-13 all sorts of rights? Why? So that they gain more voters and create chaos justifying more government control.
If I were a Dem, I would support this Chinese national’s “constitutional” rights as a precedent for other cases.
If the police mirandized him and informed him of his 5th amendment right not to incriminate himself, how can they not assume that the 2nd, 1st and all the other amendments listed in the Bill of Rights dont apply to him as well?
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