It is now legal to carry electronic guns, such as stun guns and Tasers, after the Annapolis City Council voted to repeal its ban against the weaponry on Monday night.
The repeal was passed with a unanimous vote after it was discovered the law could be deemed unconstitutional after a March Supreme Court decision last year. A lawsuit against the city, backed by gun rights activists, catalyzed the decision.
"Because of the lawsuit brought by this resident and foundation for gun rights, it is rather clear that it is presently ruled by the courts as unconstitutional against people's rights to bear arms," said Mike Leahy, city attorney. "It is highly likely we would lose this (lawsuit)."The lawsuit against the City was filed in December of 2016. Howard County, Maryland has already lifted its ban. The City of Baltimore, Maryland is considering what to do. A number of other lawsuits have been filed in the few jurisdictions that ban electronic weapons. The lawsuits are based on the Supreme Court decision on the Caetano v. Massachusetts. The last direct action on the Second Amendment by the United States Supreme Court was on Caetano. The Court unanimously held, in the Caetano PER CURIAM decision (pdf), that:
The Court has held that “the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding,” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570, 582 (2008), and that this “Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States,” McDonald v.Chicago, 561 U. S. 742, 750 (2010).
Caetano was directly about electronic weapons. Lawsuits against bans on electronic weapons have had success in New Jersey, New Orleans, the District of Columbia, and parts of Maryland. Ongoing lawsuits are being pursued in New York State, Massachusetts, and Baltimore, as mentioned.
©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
an absolutely clear rejection of United states Supreme court authority and an Insult to our constitution to deny that these laws do not need repeal the court has made them void by numerous rulings. The supreme court by its title is the end of all laws that conflict with the federal constitution. Bad losers are throwing their tantrums. I like to call them morons that cannot accept the power of our federal constitution. it is much less time consuming and money saving to take a pen and cross out those sections of law in their books. I think they need tutoring in reading English when they are unable to understand what the word supreme means. the only way to over rule the supreme court is to ratify an amendment and change the rulings of the supreme court. that is a part of the checks and balances system in our form of government. Once a judge has been determined to be an activist judge he should be removed from his office, the written law actually requires those judges to be removed. Legislators that refuse to accept the authority of the supreme court should be recalled. Cleaning out the swamp of these people, I call ass holes, is a big job. Maybe it is my personality but I have had run ins with these kinds of jerks my entire life. I am personally thrilled that they are now being exposed for what they are. Many of them are the draft dodgers of the 1960s. they have been spewing their hate for this country for decades. and in my opinion they are a low class of people that will never admit the truth. they are wrong and have always been wrong. If this movement is now off the ground and just getting started, it will take years to educate enough people to rebuild what I call real patriots. the very reason we have a constitution is to protect us from those morons. they simply can not comprehend the meaning of personal freedom. they reject the limitations placed on government to interfere in our private lives. Law must exist, but all laws must be fair and equal. any law with exception written in is not law by definition. any one can ride a bike on the freeway if they want to take their chances of getting killed in the first few hundred feet. common sense tell you that is a dangerous thing to do. You have the right to make stupid mistakes in hopes that you will live long enough to learn from them.
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