Neil Hendershot of the Pennsylvania Elder, Estate & Fiduciary Law Blog and Josh Prince wrote a three part series on the Right to keep and bear arms after the Supreme Court decision in Heller.
Some NFA firearms collectors, who are not engaged in any firearms business, have been known to acquire a GCA license to deal in firearms and pay the NFA special tax to acquire NFA firearms for their personal firearms collections. This is not a wise thing to do and violates the National Firearms Act.
Most individual acquire NFA firearms for the following reasons:
(1) to acquire firearms from non-licensee residing out-of-state;
(2) to circumvent requirements imposed on individuals to provide their fingerprints and photographs in order to receive NFA firearms and law enforcement certifications authorizing their receipt of such firearms;
(3) to purchase and use items that they are not legally able to obtain as an individual; and
(4) to avoid NFA transfer tax on firearms they receive from FFL’s/SOT’s.
Warning: These transactions violate the NFA and can only lead to trouble for the individual. In these instances, the individual has committed Federal felonies by falsely stating on a license application and special tax return that the collector intends to conduct a firearms business. Any NFA firearms received tax free by the collector are subject to transfer tax and the collector’s receipt of the firearms tax free violated the NFA. As held in ATF Ruling 76-22, these transfers are unlawful and the firearms received are subject to seizure and forfeiture.
If you hold NFA restricted firearms that are of a personal use in nature, under a business license, you should consider creating a NFA Firearms Trust to hold the title to these items to avoid being in violation of the National Firearms Act.
To download a copy of the new Florida Law – Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of (2008)
Guns-at-work-law-florida.pdf
Dave Markowitz has posted Thoughts on the Heller Decision on his Blog O’Stuff, a Blog about Computing, Shooting, RKBA, and whatever else he feels like ranting about.
He states that the court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right for lawful purposes including self defense.
2) Some restrictions of the RKBA are ok, licensing is not forbidden, but it must not be arbitrary or capricious
Today the Supreme Court issued a historic ruling overturning Washington, D.C.’s ban on handguns and on self-defense in the home, in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller.
It vindicates individual Americans all over this country who have always known that this is their freedom worth protecting,” declared NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. “Our founding fathers wrote and intended the Second Amendment to be an individual right. The Supreme Court has now acknowledged it. The Second Amendment as an individual right now becomes a real permanent part of American Constitutional law.”
More commentary to come but for now you can download and read the case
Supreme-Court-2nd-amendment.pdf
Alabama: “That every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.” Ala. Const. art. I, § 26.
Alaska: “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Alaska Const. art. I, § 19.
Arizona: “The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the State shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men.”
Open Carry refers to whether an individual is permitted to carry a handgun that is visible. Some states permit open carry and others do not. In contrast, many states offer concealed weapons permits. These allow individuals to have a handgun that is not open and visible. It is important to understand what your states laws are and how and where you are permitted to have weapons in or near your possession.
Joshua Prince, a 3L law student has complied this information on Open Carry in Pennsylvania. This information was modified by comments received by a retired deputy sheriff who noted that Pittsburgh is a second of the second class and not of the first like Philadelphia is.
To the surprise of many residents, as well as law enforcement officers, individuals who are not prohibited from owning firearms may openly carry a handgun on or about his/her person without a license (18 PA.C.S. § 6106). This has been upheld by the PA Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Ortiz and Commonwealth v. Hawkins. However, there are some limitations on open carry. Specifically:
NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog