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NRA Attorney:
YOUR HONOR, WE ARE HERE WANTING TO REGISTER HANDGUNS.
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KeepandBearArms.com
(original link: http://keepandbeararms.com/information/Item.asp?ID=3619)
10/13/03
NRA Attorney:
YOUR HONOR, WE ARE HERE WANTING TO REGISTER HANDGUNS.
by Angel Shamaya
October 13, 2003
KeepAndBearArms.com -- NRA attorney Stephen
Halbrook appears not only unprepared to effectively argue a Second
Amendment case, but ready to give up the farm to register
handguns and call it reasonable when he gets
his day in court. Read the annotated transcript of Mr. Halbrook's
oral arguments from court just last week:
D.C. SECOND AMENDMENT FEDERAL COURT HEARING
Annotated Transcript of NRA Case Proceedings
by Roy Lucas
http://KeepAndBearArms.com/Silveira/Halbrook.asp
Here is a short excerpt from Mr. Halbrook's
oral arguments last Wednesday, October 8, in a case the NRA calls
a Second Amendment lawsuit:
THE COURT: THE GOVERNMENT CAN PUT RESTRICTIONS
ON THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.
MR. HALBROOK: YOUR HONOR, WE ARE HERE WANTING TO REGISTER HANDGUNS.
WE ARE NOT HERE WANTING UNRESTRICTED ACCESS. WE'RE NOT HERE ASKING
TO CARRY THEM, OTHER THAN IN THE HOME.
THE COURT: YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE GOVERNMENT
CAN IMPOSE REASONABLE RESTRICTIONS?
MR. HALBROOK: YES, YOUR HONOR. YES, YOUR
HONOR.
[See: http://KeepAndBearArms.com/Silveira/Halbrook.asp
for the full transcript, with annotations.]
Sarah Brady wants to register handguns,
too. Maybe Mr. Halbrook should join her organization to help in
their efforts. When you read the full, annotated transcript, the
above will be one of many concerns raised.
Arguing a so-called Second Amendment
case while wanting to register handguns is working
directly against the rights of those who would never submit to such
restrictions under any circumstances. Stephen Halbrook is an NRA-paid
attorney, and he filed this lawsuit with their support.
Would Thomas Jefferson or James Madison
have gone to court to fight a Second Amendment case merely wanting
to register handguns in the home? Of course not. Would they have
argued for handgun registration in the middle of a court hearing
in which they eagerly agreed that the government can impose reasonable
restrictions? Not a chance. Doing so suggests that such an
overt infringement on our Second Amendment rights is reasonable,
when it most certainly is not. Treasonable, perhaps...
You do not have to register your Bible,
or your computer (First Amendment), so why should you register your
firearms (Second Amendment)? Answer: you shouldn't. But NRA Management
and their unprepared attorney obviously disagree and they
are using members' donations to do just that. Handgun registration
is NRA's idea of leading a Second Amendment court challenge. Yet
they've been in operation since the late 1800's and have raised
billions of dollars to protect the Second Amendment.
Americans must realize that NRA management's
defense of Second Amendment rights in court litigation
is destructive. Fortunately, the current Second Amendment lawsuit
most likely to be heard by the Supreme Court Silveira v.
Lockyer is beyond NRA management's control.
The Supreme Court is very likely to grant
a hearing in the Silveira case soon. And thanks to careful legal
research spanning the last year, the case is far better prepared
than any Second Amendment litigation the National Rifle Association
has ever brought in court with already-greater judicial success
for the Second Amendment than the NRA's well-paid lawyers have ever
managed.
Read the certiorari petition now being
considered by the U.S. Supreme Court in that case. The arguments
for strict scrutiny far surpass what NRA's attorney weakly suggested
to the judge last week: http://KeepAndBearArms.com/Silveira/cert.pdf
Mr. Halbrook should study the Silveira
petition. He could learn a thing or two and certainly improve his
arguments by doing so.
Three weeks ago, the Silveira lawsuit
was attacked (and misrepresented) by an NRA-funded writer on a well-trafficked
website. He told the world that NRA's Stephen Halbrook was the man
to send to the Supreme Court to win a Second Amendment victory.
Perhaps these gentlemen have a different idea of victory than we
do.
With the help of grassroots activists,
KeepAndBearArms.com is funding the necessary legal research and
writing being used in the Silveira lawsuit (and another Second Amendment
lawsuit, to be announced soon). More work is necessary, and it costs
money to get it done. We've publicly displayed our books on funds
raised and invested bolstering the case. If you'd like to help,
please do by clicking here.
Silveira v. Lockyer Status of Fundraising
http://KeepAndBearArms.com/Silveira/funds_status.asp
Silveira Second Amendment Case Needs Immediate
Financial Support, and Here's Why
http://KeepAndBearArms.com/Silveira/fundshelp.asp
Silveira v. Lockyer Home Page
http://KeepAndBearArms.com/Silveira/
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