A voter-approved Oregon gun control law violates the state constitution, a judge ruled Tuesday, continuing to block it from taking effect and casting fresh doubt over the future of the embattled measure.

The law requires people to undergo a criminal background check and complete a gun safety training course in order to obtain a permit to buy a firearm. It also bans high-capacity magazines.

The plaintiffs in the federal case, which include the Oregon Firearms Federation, have appealed the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case could potentially go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • @jordanlund
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    11 year ago

    The reason for the distinction between firearms and “destructive devices” is the firearms act of 1968.

    I think the root cause for the confusion is people forget that the agency isn’t the ATF, it’s the ATFE (I guess the “E” is silent? :)

    Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

    Explosives are their own category, it’s right there in the name.

    • @neatchee
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      41 year ago

      No, the firearms act is the thing that distinguished. It is not itself the justification for distinguishing.

      Right now all you’re saying is “because that’s the law”. I want to know why you think that’s how the ought to be

      • @jordanlund
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        -11 year ago

        What I think is totally irrelevant. I’m not a lawyer or a judge. All I can tell you is the way it is, if you don’t LIKE that, there is a path to change it, talk to your legislators about writing a new law.

        • @neatchee
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          21 year ago

          but I’m asking you. You can’t answer the question? Or choose not to? You think there’s no value in discussing these issues and trying to get people to agree? That’s how you get like-minded people elected, my dude.

          Unless you’re saying nothing anyone can say will ever change your opinion on this issue. Which would be an end to any and all conversation

          • @jordanlund
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            -11 year ago

            I’m not answering the question because my answer literally does not matter. The facts are the facts, you can choose like them or not, but that doesn’t make them not facts.

            • @neatchee
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              41 year ago

              Got it. You literally are incapable of having your own opinions because you think they “don’t matter”. We have nothing more to talk about. Peace ✌️

              • @jordanlund
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                01 year ago

                Oh, I HAVE opinions, I’m just not obligated to share them when doing so serves no purpose.

                • @neatchee
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                  21 year ago

                  Then next time just say “no” instead of pretending like you have some winning argument for a question that’s not being asked.

    • Flying Squid
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      31 year ago

      So you agree that armor-piercing ammunition should not be legal, correct? It shoots from a gun, but it explodes. So it is a destructive device.

      • @jordanlund
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        -11 year ago

        The ATF has banned armor piercing rounds specifically for that reason, but they also have a (17 page!) document listing how, when, and why certain armor piercing rounds fall under a “sporting exception”.

        https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/general-notice/armor-piercing-ammunition

        “Specifically, the definition of “armor piercing ammunition” in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(B) provides: (B) The term “armor piercing ammunition” means— (i) a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper or depleted uranium; or (ii) a full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.”

        It would appear the ban was intended to restrict the sale of what the press hysterically called “Cop Killer Bullets” back then. Phrase was all the rage. No mention of rifle rounds, only handgun rounds, and rifle rounds would later be explicitly allowed by the ATF:

        "Between 1986 and 2011, ATF received few exemption requests for armor piercing ammunition. In 1986, ATF exempted 5.56 mm (.223) SS109 and M855 “green tip” ammunition containing a steel core. Similarly, in 1992, ATF exempted .30-06 M2AP cartridges. Since 2011, however, ATF has received approximately 30 exemption requests for armor piercing ammunition. Several developments since 1992 have spurred the influx of exemption requests.

        ATF understands that one of the primary factors is the increased pressure on the ammunition industry to produce suitable hunting alternatives to lead ammunition. The widespread use of lead ammunition for hunting has been linked to lead contamination in certain species that consume carrion and “gut piles” containing remnants of lead projectiles. The endangered California Condor, which scavenges on carrion, has proven particularly vulnerable to this type of lead poisoning. The impact of lead poisoning on the Condor and other species has resulted in at least one State banning the use of lead ammunition in certain environmentally sensitive areas, and has generated substantial advocacy for broader availability of non-lead ammunition. Generally, rifles are the type of firearm predominately used for hunting purposes, particularly the type of hunting conducted in sensitive environmental areas such as the California Condor range. It thus appears that rifle-based hunting is the primary driving force behind the market demand for lead-alternative ammunition made with the metals listed in section 921(a)(17)©."

        Oh, man, I had TOTALLY not considered that angle. Yeah, as states ban lead ammunition, that’s going to spur development of alternatives which would ordinarily fall under the armor piercing definition unless they are granted a sporting exception.

        I wonder if the “straight wall” ammo requirements had a similar impact?

        https://www.remington.com/big-green-blog/what-states-can-you-hunt-with-a-straight-all-cartridge.html

        • Flying Squid
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          41 year ago

          I asked if you agreed, not what the ATF did.

          • @jordanlund
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            -11 year ago

            My opinion has no weight, it doesn’t matter what my opinion is. The ATF did what they’re going to do.

            • Flying Squid
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              41 year ago

              Weird, then, that you’re fine giving it when you haven’t been asked for it.

              • @jordanlund
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                -11 year ago

                Reporting to the uneducated the way this stuff actually works isn’t an opinion, it’s a teachable moment.

                • Flying Squid
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                  11 year ago

                  That in itself sounds like an opinion. Maybe you don’t know what an opinion is?