Political Activity Rises Due To Gun Control Legislation

Supreme Court Declines Hearing

Monday, June 20th, the Supreme Court declined to hear two cases regarding the gun bans imposed in Connecticut and New York.

Gun rights activists challenged two state laws that prohibited the ownership of specific assault-style firearms. However, both cases were denied certiorari leaving the current state laws will in place.

The Connecticut Assault Weapon ban was enacted in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting of 2012. The ban prohibits over 180 firearms and features, and was later used to write the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act of 2013.

The laws are “banning the whiskeys, but not the vodkas.” says Eugene Volokh, a professor at the University of California School of Law. The argument is that while the bans limit some forms of firearms, they still allow other firearms that are similar in function and capabilities. For example, a weapon that has the appearance of an assault rifle (pistol grip, made of metal, barrel sheath, etc.) will be banned. On the other hand, a variation of the same weapon, that fires the same ammunition, with the same size magazine and with the same rate of fire will not necessarily be banned if it does not have the same name and appearance.

The last Supreme Court ruling involving Second Amendment rights was the McDonald v. City of Chicago case in 2010, regarding whether or not gun regulation could be dictated by state law. The hearing affirmed the 2008 decision in Heller v. District of Columbia, which ruled that a person had the right to bear arms for the traditional purposes of self-defense and home protection.

House of Representatives Sit-In

On Wednesday, June 22nd, Democratic Representatives staged a sit-in on the House’s floor. The sit-in began when the GOP-controlled House of Representatives decided not to vote on two bills concerning gun regulation. The sit-in lasted nearly 26 hours and was initiated by Representative John Lewis. The sit-in was intended to bring attention to the lack of action in regard to gun law reform. House Speaker Paul Ryan later referred to the event as a “publicity stunt.” Though Lewis commented during the sit-in that “there comes a time where you have to say something and make a little noise. Where you have to move your feet.”

One of the bills that was the subject of the protest would have prevented people on the government’s “no-fly” list from purchasing firearms. The other bill would have required a background check for customers buying firearms from gun shows or online.

A CBS new poll shows that public support for gun control laws has grown to 56 percent after the Orlando shooting, a 13 percent jump from the same poll that was taken in December. Some people, such as Governor Martin O’Malley, believe that the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 should be reinstated. The bill limited the type of guns that could be manufactured and sold and also restricted the magazine size of all firearms, but expired in 2004.