Good evening, after a bit of a hiatus here is a proper weekly update. I per the usual I have been very busy mostly between work and family. It is all good things, but it sometimes means I am not able to update the site as often as I would like. Before we get into some of the updates, we need to pause for a moment and recognize the anniversary of D-day which was yesterday, June 6th, 1944. It is worth noting that on, June 7th, 1944 the success of the D-day landings was definitely not clear, and while the allied troops pushed inland it was not without great sacrifice.
We refer to those who served during World War 2 as the Greatest Generation. I have often wondered what prepared these men to face the guns of the Third Reich, and the Imperialist Japanese? We are a mere seventy-seven years removed from this time. While it was before I was a twinkle in my father’s eye, it is a drop in the bucket compared to human existence. I look around today, the men in the photo above, they were barely 18, some were younger, fresh from high school. On their shoulders were the hopes and dreams of a nation, and many of them paid with their lives. A debt that we can never hope to repay, a debt that can only be honored by the way we live our lives.
There has been something lost, these men had, a certain grit and an unbreakable will that we have lost. It is troubling to me, that my children will never know a World War 2 veteran. Members of this, the Greatest Generation, will have long been laid to rest by the time my children come of age. We are fortunate to have so many records and testimonies given by these men. I hope we have all taken a moment to pause and reflect on those who have served, who continue to serve, and who will serve.
I realize this next part is a bit of a 180 in tone and tenor of the update. So pause here….
A friend of mine shared with me the fact that a mutual acquaintance of ours got busted for purchasing a Solvent Trap and a lightning Link from Wish.com. This is one of those facepalm moments. For those who are not familiar with Wish.com, it is probably for the best. Basically, it is an overstock site that sells stuff direct from China, for what seems like outrageously low prices. It is probably the biggest scam out there. It does not take much of a search on your favorite web browser to see the outright stupid stuff that is sold on this site. Now, with that said, I have bought a few things from Wish.com. Small electronic-type stuff and a few computer fans or whatnot. I have not really been burned by it, but I also did not buy the $300 item selling for $19.99.
Where some gun owners have gotten themselves in trouble is buying firearm parts from Wish.com. You can purchase Solvent Traps, you can purchase items that are downright illegal to own. There was a time, early on when the ATF was not keen on this, but that time has long since passed. Typically one of two things happens when you buy a Solvent Trap from Wish.com or another similar site.
- You get an empty box that has a letter to the effect “This item was confiscated at customs as was an illegal item”
- You get a visit from your local ATF agent.
Unfortunately for our mutual acquaintance, he got the latter option. That visit came with confiscation of all of his firearms. He is not allowed to touch a firearm, discuss firearms, or really associate with folks who have firearms. Undoubtedly this is going to come with some hard time in club fed, fines, and he will be a lifelong felon and unable to legally purchase or own a firearm.
This should be a hard reminder to every one of us that every firearm law on the books is backed by a felony. Are there a few minor infractions that may result in a misdemeanor, maybe, but they are ones you and I could probably count on one hand. I get frustrated by the ridiculousness of firearms laws on a semi-monthly basis. Something rubs me the wrong way, but at the same time, I really enjoy my hobby and my profession. I do not have an interest in crossing that line. That is usually the reason I tend not to like items like Solvent Traps, Bumps Stocks, or Braces. They are riding that edge of legality, and too many people are woefully ignorant of basic firearm laws let alone the nuance of Short Barrels Rifles, or Suppressors.
Another interesting thing I am starting to see more and more issues with FedEx, UPS, and USPS. I realize there may be some bias here, and I may be more sensitive to the idea of lost packages as a whole. Some are just simple things like batteries, but others are very expensive things like a couple of SPAS 12 Shotguns that recently got lost. I had DHL deliver half of a $15k drone to an address in Las Vegas back in August. As for my incident with the bullets, UPS refunded me the cost of shipping, plus the insured value. In total, we lost about $200 in the deal.
I am thinking the shipping industry as a whole is not particularly reliable right now. I hate purchasing extra insurance but I recently had an Oehler 43 box shipped back to me. They asked me how much I wanted to insure it for, given it is no longer made and would cost about $8300 for a replacement Oehler 83. I insured the box for $5,000. I figure if FedEx screws it up they can pay 3/4 the cost for a new Oehler 83 and I figure that will be a bit of a win.
We are going to end on a happy note. If you are even remotely plugged into the firearms news, no doubt you have already heard of the recent decision coming out of California. The judge ruled California’s 30 year old Assualt Weapons Ban unconstitutional. This was the same judge who ruled the magazine ban unconstitutional in 2017, resulting in a 72-hour airlift of 30 rounds magazines into the State before a stay was granted.
There are a few neat things about this case. The first is, that the whole case was built on several Supreme Court rulings that have happened in the last two decades. Namely the Heller v. DC case and the Mcdonald v. Chicago. I am probably butchering the summery of this this, but the Heller case established that if a Firearm was in common use, then it fell under Second Amendment Protections, and the McDonald Case established that the 2nd Amendment applied to the States and the Federal Government. Previously to the McDonald case, the common practice was to lay out the phony argument that the States could choose to ignore the 2nd Amendment and only the Federal government was bound by it.
This court decision built on those two cases, and basically stated that the AR-15 passed the Heller test, and by doing so fell under 2nd Amendment Protections as outlined by the McDonald case. If there is one take away here, there are legal guys out there on our side, who are playing some pretty slick games of chess. We can get frustrated by the time, money and effort that goes into what should be a universally recognized Right, but progress is being made and we need to recognize it when it happens.
This win really puts California in an interesting position. They will appeal this to the 9th Circuit Court. Unlike the magazine ruling, the ruling did not strike out the laws, meaning no “AR Airlift”, but it has a lot of folks who are on the far left up in arms. When the 9th Circuit hears the case, they have two options, they can either rule in favor of California, which sets up an appeal to the Supreme Court, or they can rule in favor of SAF and FPC who are arguing the case and California will need to deal with the fallout. The 9th Circuit coming out with a favorable ruling becomes the basis for challenging laws in other jurisdictions, basically it opens doors and if two circuit courts have competing rulings it increases the chances the Supreme Court will take up some future case.
If it goes to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court rules that the law is unconstitutional, then that ruling becomes binding to states like New York, and New Jersey. This means legal challenges there are basically certain, and the judges will have to choose to follow the Supreme Court precedent or ignore it. This has happened with the Heller decision where judges have outright ignored the ruling, typically this means more legal processes and eventually another case will make it’s way to the Supreme Court which could further solidify the ruling.
There is a catch if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Assualt Weapons ban, then it will make it difficult to challenge any bans in the future, and basically embolden the anti-gun factions. With the current makeup of the court, it is likely we would get a favorable ruling, but legal processes taketime. One strategy that is often used, is to stall cases. There are various ways this can be done, by either party, to try and wait for a more favorable court make up. Its unlikely we will see it here as I doubt we will see a significant change the make up of the Court in the next three years, but who knows.
Generally, though, this is a step in the right direction. It is also why I am a big advocate for the Second Amendment Foundation, they have made a lot of progress where other organizations just have not. If you have not checked them out, kick them a few bucks, it is the one organization that seems to be really fighting the good fight.
Generally, though, this is a step in the right direction. It is also why I am a big advocate for the Second Amendment Foundation, they have made a lot of progress where other organizations just have not. If you have not checked them out, kick them a few bucks, it is the one organization that seems to be really fighting the good fight. If you would like a somewhat interesting read, the ruling can be found here.
As always if you are looking to get in touch, the best way is to send me an email at jay@theballisticassistant.com. You may check us out on Parler, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database, the instructions are here.
As always, shoot straight and stay safe!
The Ballistic Assistant