Alabama Concealed Carry Permits After 08/01/2013 Exempt from NCIS

Joining a number of other states, the BATFE has ruled that Alabama permits to carry a concealed weapon issued after August 1, 2013, qualify as alternatives to the background check requirements of the Brady law for no more than 5 years from the date of issuance. The permit must be valid under State law in order to qualify as a Brady alternative.

The NRA covers the development here.

Gun Stores Are Protected Second Amendment Activity

In the case of Teixeira v. County of Alameda the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 that a prohibition on any gun stores within 500 feet of a residential zoned area, a K-12 school, a pre-school or day care center, another firearms sales business, or any establishment where alcohol is sold or served was unlawful.  This should not be subject to dispute for at least a couple reasons.

First, the court correctly noted “where a right depends on subsidiary activity, it would make little sense if the right did not extend, at least partly, to such activity as well.”  In other words, if you have a right to own a gun you have to be able to buy a gun.  The Ninth Circuit has already held that the Second Amendment protects ammunition because, of course, a firearm is no good without ammunition.  Jackson v. City & County of San Francisco (9th Cir. 2014).

Second, the Court properly rejected the absurd argument that all residential areas are “sensitive places.”  If everything is sensitive then nothing is.  I think the analogous military saying is “He who wants to protect everything, protects nothing,” – Adolf “Dolfo” Joseph Ferdinand Galland.

D.C. Loses Again; “Good Cause” Cannot Be Required to Exercise a Constitutional Right

Not only has D.C. lost yet another case, it has lost this case for a second time.  Issuing a preliminary injunction, the court held that a requirement “the applicant must show a “good reason to fear injury to his or her person or property” or “any other proper reason for carrying a pistol” is likely to fail because it imposes a substantial burden on the exercise of constitutional rights.