----- Original Message ----- From: "J. N. Heath" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, November 14, 2003 5:54 AM Subject: [inbox] 9th Cir./Stewart vs Silveira
> I think Judge Kozinski just made a contribution to the 2nd Am debate. > > The question in _Silveira_ was/is: did Congress, in adopting the Second > Amendment, waive the power to prohibit firearms possession by individuals? > (leaving aside incorporation for the moment) > > And the answer in _Stewart_ is: Congress was never delegated a power to > prohibit firearms possession by individuals. > > The 9th Cir. now holds that Congress was never delegated a power to regulate > firearms ownership, while paradoxically denying that the 2nd Amendment > impeded a Congressional power to regulate firearms ownership. There's a specific issue here: Congressional intent on the National Firearms Act was very clear: the A-G recognized, and members of the Ways & Means Committee didn't dispute the point: Congress had no authority to prohibit manufacture of machine guns. The most that they could do was tax their manufacture and transfer. That's why U.S. v. Rock Island Armory some years ago was decided the way it was. The 1986 changes had made it impossible to pay the tax, and therefore there was no violation of the law. Wisely, the government chose not to appeal this decision from the district court level. _______________________________________________ To post, send message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/firearmsregprof
