The ball is officially in the justices’ Supreme Court on whether to decide if AR-15 bans are constitutional.

The petitioners challenging Maryland’s ban on so-called assault weapons filed their final brief asking the Supreme Court for cert on Monday. It responds to Maryland’s argument against taking the case and makes one last attempt to persuade at least four members of the Court that this term is the right time to hear an AR-15 ban case.

“Incredibly, in the sixteen years since Heller every single court of appeals to consider the question has concluded that such bans are constitutional, employing a variety of tests that are uniform only in their failure to adhere to the principles established by this Court,” the petitioners’ reply brief in Snope v. Brown reads. “Maryland asks this Court to deny certiorari to allow even more time for percolation, but enough is enough. The lower courts have proven themselves incapable of following *Heller’*s clear guidance, and this Court should intervene without delay.”

A day after the petitioners filed the reply brief, the Court distributed the case for its December 13 conference, where the justices will convene and decide which cases to grant and which to reject. That means the Court could issue its order on the Snope case as soon as December 16, though it could choose to re-list the case one or more times before announcing its decision. It also means that the petitioners’ arguments will be the most recent thing on the justices’ minds when doing so.

Maryland’s final brief, filed earlier this month, essentially boiled down to two basic arguments. The first is that the Fourth Circuit faithfully applied the Supreme Court’s guidance in upholding the state’s ban. The second is that it is too early for the High Court to weigh in on the matter, even if it disagrees with the first claim.

“The Fourth Circuit’s decision is faithful to Heller, Bruen, and Rahimi,” the state’s brief reads. “There is no reason why this Court should stray from its usual practice of allowing questions to percolate in multiple courts of appeals, with arguments tested and refined in cases litigated through final judgment on the merits, before granting certiorari.”

The petitioners rejected Maryland’s claim that lower courts deserve more time to develop the relevant Second Amendment caselaw surrounding hardware bans before the Supreme Court intervenes.

“Maryland has argued that this dispute is just beginning to take shape following this Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen,” they wrote. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Instead, they argued that the question of whether governments can ban firearms that are “in common use by law-abiding citizens” has been an open battle since the Supreme Court decided Heller in 2008. While the petitioners contended that a straightforward reading of the Court’s Heller opinion should invalidate AR-15 bans across the board, they pointed out that federal appeals courts have unanimously ruled the other way under standards of their own creation.

“Remarkably, every circuit to confront the question has (somehow) held that whatever the test for protected arms should be, it should not be the common use test prescribed by Heller and confirmed by Bruen,” the brief reads. “In casting about for some way to sustain bans on common arms, courts have concluded that arms can be banned if they are (in the court’s estimation) ‘particularly capable of unprecedented lethality,’ ‘ill-suited and disproportionate to self-defense,’ or ‘predominantly useful in military service.'”

As a result, they argued that continuing to give the lower courts more time, as Maryland suggests, would be a lost cause and only encourage further legal obfuscation.

“The debate over whether common arms can be banned has persisted in the circuits since Heller, and this Court’s intervention is required to resolve it,” the brief reads. “There is nothing to gain by waiting to see whether additional jurists adopt *Heller’*s common use test or instead come up with evermore-creative ways to avoid it.”

In addition to the ripeness argument, the petitioners directly appealed to the Court’s role in superintending its past holdings. They argued allowing lower courts to ignore or alter the justices’ landmark gun rulings risks long-lasting distortions to the burgeoning field of Second Amendment jurisprudence.

“Intervention is particularly important because, in the ongoing debate below, the side that to date has always prevailed is also the side that is flouting this Court’s clear teaching in Heller,” the brief reads. “This error results in an ongoing infringement of the fundamental right to keep and bear arms in the states that have made the most popular rifle in America illegal. It also has created a doctrinal mess with far-reaching effects as courts do violence to the Bruen analytical framework to justify what should be unjustifiable.”

As an analogous example, they pointed to the development of various “interest-balancing“ tests in lower courts reviewing gun cases following Heller, even though Heller never relied on such a test. They pointed out that the interest-balancing regime continued until the Supreme Court finally weighed in again on the Second Amendment in 2022 and explicitly rejected it in favor of the text, history, and tradition test. They said a similar dynamic was now at play with arms bans that warranted an immediate cert grant.

“Following Bruen, the skewing of Second Amendment doctrine has continued, it has just been forced into other avenues,” the brief reads. “Several courts, including the Fourth Circuit below, have distorted *Heller’*s discussion of M-16 rifles to suggest that, contrary to the text of the Amendment itself, arms can be banned because of, not despite their utility to the military.”

They pointed out that, even beyond the Fourth Circuit’s ruling in the Snope case, other circuit courts have used this idea to suggest that AR-15s don’t count as arms under the Second Amendment.

“Something has gone awry when a court’s analysis ends with the conclusion that semiautomatic rifles are not even ‘arms,'” they concluded.

Overall, the reply brief attempts to allay some of the potential concerns the justices may have with taking an “assault weapon” ban case this term. While, in many ways, the Snope case is the best vehicle gun rights advocates have had to date for enticing the Supreme Court to strike down AR-15 bans, one of its only weaknesses as a candidate is simply the fact that it stands alone as the only post-Bruen appeals court merits ruling on such a ban.

Part of that is simply a structural disadvantage based on the geographic sorting of state-level gun bans and the ideological slant of the courts that oversee them–a factor unaddressed in the reply brief–that makes it unlikely a circuit-split will emerge on this issue anytime soon, if ever.

Though the Supreme Court generally prefers to hold off on hearing big constitutional questions until there’s an active controversy between the lower appellate courts, it isn’t a hard and fast rule. The petitioners’ arguments about the real controversy being over how lower courts have distorted Heller since 2008 could be enough to overcome that hesitance.

The Court has already heard or will soon hear two separate gun-related cases this term. Yet, it has not agreed to take up any explicit Second Amendment cases since it decided US v. Rahimi last year. We could find out sometime in December or January whether a Snope grant will soon change that.

12/02/2024 1190 submissions are currently in the queue. We are working on (Friday) 11/29/2024 work. The current delay is 3+ day(s).
More Info: www.njnics.com

https://reddit.com/link/1h41n7d/video/dpgmtdyb684e1/player

Seasons Greetings!

Winter may have arrived, but the year isn't over and Ironsights Academy has several classes coming up:

Low Light / No Light (.22lr Pistols and/or Rifles)

• Saturday, December 7, 2024
• 4:00 PM  9:00 PM
• Private Range (map)

The Low Light / No Light Course is intended to provide education and opportunities to shoot in low light and no light conditions, use handheld and weapon mounted lights and to engage in dynamic courses of fire.

Note: .22lr calibers only.

In this course we will cover the fundamental elements of hand held lights, weapon-mounted lights, principles of movement, use of cover and concealment and marksmanship in low light / no light conditions.

We will then head out to the range and shoot in the dark!

Course Fee is $185.00

Beyond the Basics - Pistol Level I

• Saturday, December 14, 2024
• 10:00 AM  4:00 PM
• Private Range (map)

The Beyond the Basics (BtB) series is the natural progression for shooters once you have completed the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting Course. In the BtB - Pistol Level I course, we focus on refining your pistol handling skills, building muscle memory, honing your shooting accuracy, and we take you to the next level of firearms training…beyond the basics.

This course is 100% range time with copious amounts of hands-on instruction.

Course Fee is $185.00

Running & Gunning - December 15, 2024 - RIFLES

• Sunday, December 15, 2024
• 10:00 AM  4:00 PM
• Jersey Devil Outfitters (map)

By Invitation Only

Each month we will host a Running & Gunning Training day. This 6 hour session will continuously evolve and no two sessions will be the same.

Each session will be focused on pistol, rifle, shotgun or a combination of disciplines.

These sessions will be all range time, with high round counts.

We will focus on balancing speed and accuracy, multiple targets, multiple distances, dynamic movements, obstacles, steel targets, timed exercises/drills, performance-based shooting, and much more.

Invited Ironsights Alumni will be asked to bring their own training drills to share/use in addition to what the instructor provides.

Course Fee: $200.00

NRA Basics of Shotgun Shooting

• Saturday, December 21, 2024
• 10:00 AM  4:00 PM
• Indian Mills Deer Club (map)

The NRA Basics of Shotgun Course (Instructor-Led) introduces students to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for owning and using a Shotgun safely.

In this course we will cover basic firearms safety, fundamentals of rifle shooting, ammunition components, malfunctions, and we will review the core elements of modern shotguns. We will practice loading, unloading, recognizing and clearing malfunctions, proper grip and shooting stance, aiming, and trigger techniques.

Then we’ll head out to the range and put these principles in action.

Course Fee is $165.00

New Jersey Permit To Carry (PTC) Qualification

• Sunday, December 22, 2024
• 9:00 AM  2:00 PM
• Indian Mills Deer Club (map)

The New Jersey Permit To Carry (PTC) Qualification course is an instructor-led and live-fire shooting qualification course intended to equip you with the training and documentation necessary to apply for your New Jersey Concealed Carry Permit.

UPDATE: This course meets the CCARE Protocol requirements for NJ Concealed Carry as published by the NJSP (September, 2023).

Course Fee is $150.00

To All New Jersey Citizens, did you know you can apply for your Firearms Identification Card “FID”, Permits to Purchase a Handgun, and PREPARE FOR your Permit to Carry a Handgun all at the same time?

Well Yes! You can.

To obtain your Permit to Carry a Handgun, you must comply with the “Civilian Carry Assessment and Range Evaluation.”

What you may not know is, you can shoot this Handgun Qualification Course “HQC” even with a rented/or friend’s handgun. And the qualification is good for two years.

Not only you can qualify with any handgun, more noteworthy is, you can also carry any handguns you want to with this one permit, and do not have to qualify with any other handgun.

*PER 2C:58-4 PERMIT TO CARRY HANDGUNS, ONE PERMIT SHALL BE SUFFICIENT FOR ALL HANDGUNS OWNED BY THE HOLDER THEREOF. *ANY REQUIREMENT FOR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION AND TARGET TRAINING SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED FOR A RENEWAL APPLICANT WHO COMPLETED THE INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING WHEN OBTAINING A PERMIT TO CARRY A HANDGUN ISSUED WITHIN THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS.

This means you can apply for your “FID”, Permit to Purchase a Handgun, receive your “Use of Force Training”, and shoot the CCARE Qualification, all in ONE SHOT!

Once you receive your “FID” with your State Bureau of Investigation Number [SBI#], we can populate the form S.P.182, you upload all information for the Permit to Carry, with your “HQC” already completed.

Once your application is approved, you can immediately start Carrying your Handgun!

HOT (Hits On Threat)

Reddit: u/hitsonthreat

Call: (413)-749-5054

Email: tac.gun.train@gmail.com

Any thoughts or opinions on this for edc ammo?

Thanks

11/29/2024 692 submissions are currently in the queue. We are working on (Tuesday) 11/26/2024 work. The current delay is 3+ day(s).
More Info: www.njnics.com

As we gather with family and friends to give thanks, we wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude for our community and the freedoms we enjoy.

In particularI, We're thankful for our Second Amendment rights, which allow us to defend ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities.

To all members of GardenStateGuns, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving filled with good food, warm company, and maybe even some range time!

May we always cherish and defend our rights as law-abiding citizens.

• The GardenStateGuns mod team

Anthony Sciortino, a detective in Staten Island, was also charged with falsifying police records in what prosecutors said was a “brazen act of misconduct.”

Nov. 27, 2024 A New York City police detective has been arrested and accused of amassing a small arsenal of unregistered firearms, prosecutors said.

The detective, Anthony J. Sciortino, was taken into custody after a search of his Staten Island home Tuesday produced 19 unregistered weapons, including several so-called ghost guns: firearms without serial numbers that are sold in parts and can be assembled by an unlicensed buyer.

Mr. Sciortino faces 17 charges that include manufacturing dangerous weapons, official misconduct, falsifying business records and tampering with public records, according to an unsealed indictment.

Hey Happy Thanksgiving! I Saw some gun safes today at harbor freight. I was wondering if any of you are using them and what you think of them or what you think of them in general. I'm looking at the upright rifle shotgun models. I was thinking of getting one and putting ballast in the bottom for weight if need be.

What do you all think about those?

Hi all. Expungement finally granted today. Called the Expungement Unit and they told me to call back in a month. Said my expungement is not "detailed" and shouldn't take that long to process. Not holding my breath as I know it will take time.

My question is: do I even need to wait for it to be completed if I want to apply for a PTC ? If I was denied, wouldn't replying with my expungement order be enough ?

Also, I have firearms and always pass a NICS check without issue. Does that mean anything in regards to applying ? Don't they use the same service ?

For the record, I only have three charges that were dismissed - all from 2004.

Thanks for the replies.

11/27/2024 424 submissions are currently in the queue. We are working on (Tuesday) 11/26/2024 work. The current delay is 1+ day(s).
More Info: www.njnics.com