Extremism in Action

Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune

On Election Day, the voters of Louisiana approved a ballot initiative that may make it easier for criminals to challenge the state’s gun laws in court. That NRA-sponsored initiative – the first of its kind in the nation – amended the state constitution’s right to bear arms provision to force courts considering state constitutional challenges to gun laws to apply “strict scrutiny,” the highest judicial standard.

The new provision is outrageous because it will require courts to review laws under a certain standard, rather than letting them decide for themselves what standard to use, as they traditionally have done. Strict scrutiny is often described as “strict in theory, fatal in fact,” because the vast majority of laws subject to strict scrutiny are found to be unconstitutional. Even the Supreme Court has not advocated for the use of strict scrutiny in cases evaluating laws under the Second Amendment. Requiring such a high standard could jeopardize even modest laws to reduce gun violence in Louisiana. This is especially alarming in a state that, in 2010, had the second highest number of firearm deaths per capita.

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Crawford County Pennsylvania Courthouse

After the NRA helped defeat state legislation that would have required Pennsylvania gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement, dozens of cities statewide enacted the requirement themselves. The gun lobby responded by suing cities that had enacted the measure. When those suits failed, they began pushing bills through the legislature that would make it easier to sue local governments for enacting ordinances such as the lost or stolen reporting requirement.

One such bill has already passed the State Senate and would require cities to pay attorneys’ fees, expert witness fees, court costs and damages if a plaintiff succeeds in a lawsuit. Cities would be required to pay even if the city repealed the ordinance while the lawsuit was still pending. Another bill would require cities to pay triple the damages, fees and costs if a plaintiff were to prevail in court.

One Pennsylvania mayor whose city requires reporting of lost or stolen firearms predicted that if the measure is enacted into law, his city will “spend money fighting frivolous litigation instead of hiring police officers.” Another Pennsylvania mayor of a city with the reporting requirement said, “All we’re trying to do is protect our citizens. We were kind of shocked. The legislation is absolutely insane.”

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image from aroundcarson.com

A year ago today, four people were killed and seven more injured by a man with an assault weapon at an IHOP in Carson City, Nevada. Immediately, survivors and members of law enforcement issued calls for change. “I can’t imagine why we are even selling assault weapons to civilians,” said shooting survivor and National Guard Sergeant Caitlin Kelly. “There’s no reason for an AK-47 or an M-16 or an M-4 to be in a civilian’s home.” The sheriff of nearby Washoe County concurred, urging the public to “stand up and demand change.”

Heeding the call for action, an advisory commission tasked with reviewing the state’s criminal justice system scheduled a hearing to gather information about assault weapons. The commission invited one of our attorneys to participate, alongside representatives from the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association and the National Rifle Association. We accepted the invitation, pleased to have the opportunity to provide our expertise. That discussion was scheduled for last Tuesday. Unfortunately, it never happened.

In the weeks leading up to the scheduled hearing date, pro-gun supporters inundated the commission with e-mails, phone calls and letters. The NRA sent an alert to its members encouraging them to attend the hearing and voice their opposition to regulating assault weapons. The group, which didn’t want to talk about the devastation the Carson City victims and their families suffered in the aftermath of that tragedy, was now more than willing to talk about their real priority – keeping dangerous military-style firearms legal. After all, according to the Nevada State Rifle and Pistol Association, assault weapons are just plain “fun to shoot.”

At the hearing, with a crowd of pro-gun supporters watching, Judge David Barker, a commission member, questioned the authority of the commission to discuss assault weapons. Despite assurance from the commission’s legal counsel that the subject fit well within the body’s purview, the commission then voted, eight to five, to remove the issue from its agenda. It was a shocking, last-minute decision, and the commission’s counsel told us he had never seen anything like it.

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Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a measure on March 20, 2012 that allows the use of force to resist law enforcement entry into one’s home or car if a person reasonably believes entry would be unlawful. The new law even allows deadly force against law enforcement in some situations.  The bill is a response to a ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court which held that force may not be used to resist police entry into one’s home. Law enforcement in Indiana voiced strong opposition to the bill. Domestic violence advocates are especially concerned about the new law since police often need to enter homes where domestic violence has occurred to check on the safety of the victim.

Want to see more Extremism in Action? You can find them here.

Despite having more per capita gun deaths than any other state in 2009, Louisiana lawmakers have proposed amending the state constitution to provide the most extreme state right to bear arms provision in the country. If voters approve the proposed amendment in November, the state constitution will require any regulation of firearms to meet the highest possible judicial standard—strict scrutiny.   The United States Supreme Court does not require this standard, nor do any of the 44 states that provide a right to bear arms.

Want to see more Extremism in Action? You can find them here.

Sweeping legislation introduced in West Virginia this year would have allowed concealed carry without a permit almost everywhere in the state. The measure would have also made it a felony for a local government or university official to regulate firearms and would have provided prison time for those found to violate the restriction. In addition, a public agency or official found to have maintained a list of gun owners’ names could have be fined up to five million dollars.  The bill died when legislators failed to act on it prior to the adjournment of the session on March 12^th.

A new Indiana law makes it virtually impossible for local government entities to regulate firearms. Indiana already had strict laws preempting local authority to regulate firearms, but the new measure makes these laws even worse by expressly prohibiting political subdivisions — defined to include school corporations and public libraries – from restricting firearm possession. In addition, the law now prohibits local governments from restricting concealed weapon permit holders from carrying firearms in most government buildings.

A new Florida law interferes with one of the most important professional relationships in our society – the doctor/patient relationship. Florida now threatens health care practitioners with disciplinary action for making routine inquiries about guns in the homes of their patients. The original version of the bill was even more outrageous. In the version that was first introduced, health care practitioners who inquired into or recorded information about gun ownership were guilty of a felony and could be punished with up to five years in prison and a fine up to $5 million. The medical community is, understandably, outraged and has filed a lawsuit, along with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, to have the law struck down. Three other states, Alabama, Minnesota, and North Carolina, introduced similar measures this year.

With shocking disregard for the victims of the January shooting in Tucson, Arizona’s governor signed into law, on April 28th, a bill adding a state gun to the official state emblems.

The legislature of Oklahoma wasted state resources on a bill creating a frivolous new annual holiday to be known as “Second Amendment Day” commemorating the Supreme Court’s decision that individuals have the right to keep handguns in the home for self-defense.  The Oklahoma governor signed the bill into law on April 14th.