Judges who know the Constitution... - The Firearms Forum

armedandsafe · 11-14-2003, 01:14 PM

and the restrictions it puts on government. Amazing. Granted, the perp is a low-level ignoramus, but he did properly take the Feds to task.
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Bob Stewart: Appeals court overturns machine gun conviction
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court Thursday overturned a Mesa man's federal conviction of possessing five machine guns.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of San Francisco reversed the conviction, ruling that the congressional ban does not apply to homemade machine guns and their parts because they were never in the stream of commerce.

The court ruled that there was neither a transfer nor sale of the weapons or their parts, so Congress did not have the power under the Commerce Clause to regulate homemade guns crafted from scratch.

Robert Stewart was sentenced to five years imprisonment for being a felon in possession of firearms and of possessing illegal machine guns last year.

His attorney, Thomas Haney of Phoenix, said the decision doesn't mean much for his client or for the gun movement. Few people have the skills to build a weapon from scratch, as Stewart did, Haney said.

Haney said most states, including Arizona, also have state bans against rapidly firing machine guns that would withstand judicial scrutiny regardless of whether the weapon was homemade. "It might not be viable for anyone to think they can start making their own," Haney said.

Stewart, meanwhile, faces about a 20-year sentence next week after being convicted this summer of soliciting a fellow prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institution in Phoenix to kill U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver, the judge who last year sentenced him to five years on the weapons violations.

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http://sierratimes.com/03/11/14/ap_bobstewart.htm

1952Sniper · 11-14-2003, 01:17 PM

Finally! The Feds have been hiding behind the Interstate Commerce clause for too long.

I wonder how many fools are going to start building their own home-made machine guns now.

*ponders on a good design*

armedandsafe · 11-17-2003, 10:46 PM

Actually, I posted this as a sort of throw away, as I thought it was just a fluke. Particularly as it came from the 9th Circus Court.

However, it is starting to get play as a major decision, because the 9th earlier ruled in McCoy that the interstate commerce clause was not all inclusive there, either. Several of the comments I have seen lately have noted that the decision was not based on 2nd Amendment grounds, because the 9th has a binding precedent in an earlier ruling on that subject. However, this decision on interstate commerce looks to be one to be very important.

If I get time over the next few days, I'll gather a few study urls together and post them here. For now, go look at http://www.keepandbeararms.com/news/...p?d=11/15/2003

Basically, this reaffirms that one can build a weapon for personal use that is not under federal regulation as a weapon per se. Just don't transport it across state lines and don't try to sell it across state lines. I suspect the Feds would say don't sell it, period, but I think this decision shoots that out of the water, too. My next door neighbor and I each live over 100 miles from the nearest state border and my selling him a weapon I made constitutes a federal crime? Hmmmm... Marlin? Of course your State, County, City might have their own laws for you to watch, but that is another subject and battle.

Pops

11-14-2003, 01:14 PM	#1
armedandsafe Former Guest Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Moses Lake, WA Posts: 10,344	Judges who know the Constitution... and the restrictions it puts on government. Amazing. Granted, the perp is a low-level ignoramus, but he did properly take the Feds to task. ____________________________________ Bob Stewart: Appeals court overturns machine gun conviction Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court Thursday overturned a Mesa man's federal conviction of possessing five machine guns. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of San Francisco reversed the conviction, ruling that the congressional ban does not apply to homemade machine guns and their parts because they were never in the stream of commerce. The court ruled that there was neither a transfer nor sale of the weapons or their parts, so Congress did not have the power under the Commerce Clause to regulate homemade guns crafted from scratch. Robert Stewart was sentenced to five years imprisonment for being a felon in possession of firearms and of possessing illegal machine guns last year. His attorney, Thomas Haney of Phoenix, said the decision doesn't mean much for his client or for the gun movement. Few people have the skills to build a weapon from scratch, as Stewart did, Haney said. Haney said most states, including Arizona, also have state bans against rapidly firing machine guns that would withstand judicial scrutiny regardless of whether the weapon was homemade. "It might not be viable for anyone to think they can start making their own," Haney said. Stewart, meanwhile, faces about a 20-year sentence next week after being convicted this summer of soliciting a fellow prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institution in Phoenix to kill U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver, the judge who last year sentenced him to five years on the weapons violations. The Sierra Times maintains its operation only by our sponsors and our readers. As always, any contribution is desperately needed and always accepted. Thank you. Visa, Master Card, and Paypal Contributions accepted In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only. [Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Permission to reprint/republish granted, as long as you include the name of our site, the author, and our URL. www.SierraTimes.com All Sierra Times news reports, and all editorials are © 2003 SierraTimes.com (unless otherwise noted) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SierraTimes.com™ A Subsidiary of J.J. Johnson Enterprises, Inc. http://sierratimes.com/03/11/14/ap_bobstewart.htm -->

11-14-2003, 01:17 PM	#2
1952Sniper Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 5,138	Finally! The Feds have been hiding behind the Interstate Commerce clause for too long. I wonder how many fools are going to start building their own home-made machine guns now. ponders on a good design

11-17-2003, 10:46 PM	#3
armedandsafe Former Guest Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Moses Lake, WA Posts: 10,344	Actually, I posted this as a sort of throw away, as I thought it was just a fluke. Particularly as it came from the 9th Circus Court. However, it is starting to get play as a major decision, because the 9th earlier ruled in McCoy that the interstate commerce clause was not all inclusive there, either. Several of the comments I have seen lately have noted that the decision was not based on 2nd Amendment grounds, because the 9th has a binding precedent in an earlier ruling on that subject. However, this decision on interstate commerce looks to be one to be very important. If I get time over the next few days, I'll gather a few study urls together and post them here. For now, go look at http://www.keepandbeararms.com/news/...p?d=11/15/2003 Basically, this reaffirms that one can build a weapon for personal use that is not under federal regulation as a weapon per se. Just don't transport it across state lines and don't try to sell it across state lines. I suspect the Feds would say don't sell it, period, but I think this decision shoots that out of the water, too. My next door neighbor and I each live over 100 miles from the nearest state border and my selling him a weapon I made constitutes a federal crime? Hmmmm... Marlin? Of course your State, County, City might have their own laws for you to watch, but that is another subject and battle. Pops