Judge Shopping Isn't
New to The Gun Industry

Court watchers scratching their heads over the legal scrum concerning illegal immigration are learning what the firearm industry has known for years. There are judges who will engage in legal gymnastics to arrive at a preferred result.

Media have been reporting on the ongoing debate of whether federal district court judges can issue sweeping decisions that affect policy across the entire nation. Even U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has weighed in on the ongoing tensions surrounding the separation of powers between the three co-equal branches of government — the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Each is designed to hold the others in check, ensuring that the government isn't run by fiat from just one branch.

None of this is new to the firearm industry. For decades, firearm industry members have been caught in that ongoing tension between those who write the laws, those who enforce the laws, and those who decide if those laws are aligned with the U.S. Constitution.

Consider the recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Duncan v. Bonta. The court decided in a 7-4 en banc decision that California's ban on standard-capacity magazines did not violate the Constitution because it decided that magazines are not "arms" protected under the Second Amendment; they're mere "accoutrements" despite being essential to the proper functioning of a semi-automatic firearm. .....