In the ever-evolving discourse around the Second Amendment, recent events in Washington state have catapulted the debate into the national spotlight.
The focal point of this ongoing battle is the recent ruling by Judge Gary Basher of Cowlitz County, which deemed the state’s ban on magazines holding more than ten rounds unconstitutional. This decision underscores a pivotal moment in our understanding and application of constitutional rights, specifically the right to keep and bear arms.
A Judge’s Stand on Constitutional Grounds
Judge Basher’s decision, issued on April 8th, 2024, didn’t just stir the pot; it boiled it over. In a meticulously crafted 55-page ruling, he addressed the ban imposed by Washington state, highlighting its contradiction with both the state and federal constitutions. The judge’s argument was clear: the restrictions infringe on the fundamental individual right to bear arms—a cornerstone of American liberty.
The Immediate Backlash and a Supreme Court’s Pause
However, the victory was short-lived. Within a mere 88 minutes post-decision, a Supreme Court commissioner, a role akin to a high-level law clerk, issued a stay. As the seattletimes.com reported:
“Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed an emergency appeal to the state Supreme Court, seeking to get the law back on the books. Michael Johnston, the Washington state Supreme Court commissioner, granted an emergency stay Monday evening, keeping the ban in effect, for now.”
This action temporarily halted the enforcement of Judge Basher’s ruling, sparking a flurry of debate and confusion about the powers and limits of legal authorities in such significant matters.
The Hearing: A Display of Judicial Theater?
On April 17th, 2024, Commissioner Michael Johnson conducted a hearing to deliberate whether to uphold his stay. The proceedings, lasting 57 minutes, didn’t just highlight the legal arguments but also unveiled the commissioner’s overtly active role in the discussion, which arguably overshadowed the essence of judicial impartiality and listening. This hearing, streamed online here, seemed less about judicial review and more a performance of judicial theater—where the outcome felt predetermined and the process, a mere formality.
Ignorance of the Role of Firearms and Magazines
Critics argue that the commissioner’s approach to defining what constitutes an “arm” under the Second Amendment is narrow and historically unfounded. The argument that a magazine isn’t an arm because a firearm can operate with fewer rounds is a dangerous oversimplification that ignores the integral role of magazines in the functionality of modern firearms. Such interpretations threaten to undermine not just the letter of the law but its spirit, as envisioned by the framers of the Constitution.
As the community awaits the commissioner’s final decision, it’s crucial to engage in informed and respectful dialogue about the implications of this case. The ongoing legal processes not only test the resilience of our judicial system but also challenge us to reflect on the balance between safety and liberty.
This isn’t just about a magazine capacity ban; it’s about affirming the sanctity of our constitutional rights against erosions masked as regulatory measures. As proponents of the Second Amendment, we must remain vigilant, informed, and ready to advocate for rights that, once eroded, may be irretrievable.
The case in Washington is a microcosm of a larger national debate on gun rights. It exemplifies the challenges faced by constitutional rights in contemporary legal and political climates. As this case progresses, it may well set a precedent that will influence not only future interpretations of the Second Amendment but also the broader dialogue around civil liberties in America.
Let’s ensure our voices are heard, our rights defended, and our freedoms preserved.
Big thanks to video host Mark Smith at Four Boxes Diner, where these issues are explored in depth. For those seeking to understand the nuances of this legal battle and its implications for Second Amendment rights, the video provides a compelling visual and auditory insight into the complexities of this crucial issue.
This sort of nonsense is anathema to the rule of law. It’s sort of like, “The law be damned if it doesn’t comport with my jaundiced view of what I think it should be.” It’s these kinds of self-important nincompoops that trigger revolutions. Cheap tin badges (and improperly assumed authority) confer way too much power in certain small minds.
The guy looks like a schnook, and acts like a schnook; I suspect he was bullied as a child because he was a schnook, and now he’s abusing and overstepping his authority to feel like less of a schnook. But he’s still a schnook.
He’s a liberal with a bit of power. That’s what they do.
They do what they do because we acquiesce to it. One gets what one allows.
I had to look it up:
shnook /shnoo͝k/
noun
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved • More at Wordnik
“Schmuck” might be an even better word. He is the worst combination of conceited, self-righteous, dismissive, arrogant, closed-minded, sac of preconceived opinion I have ever had the displeasure of listening too. (All things being relative, I have never listened to any female on MSNBC or to Steven Colbert so my new benchmark may be easy to surpass.)
Used to work with a guy they called schmuck . Now I know why . It fits !!
שמע
That’s Schmuck in Hebrew.
He is a Schmuck. He is a Schnook.
He should be disbarred and jailed for not following the Constitution.
It is not his right to interpret the Constitution.
It’s his duty to protect it.
Feed him to the lions. It’s about time these POS had consequences for their actions.
FJB
FMichaelJohnson
FATF
F-Em’All
Decent late-night entertainment died with Johnny Carson’s retirement.
Yep. Sometimes I catch Gutfield! for entertainment but it’s not the same. I was working long hours through the Leno years so all I know about him is he has one hell of a car collection.
It has nothing to do with ignorance or even stupidity. It has everything to do with the political ideology that doesn’t believe that law abiding citizens should be free from government control. Toady id the anniversary of 77 ordinary men who chose to say No to such tyranny. Putting their very lives on the line so that their countrymen could live free and thus al,owing ‘YOU’ to live free from government tyranny. If you have the courage to preserve it.
We will have the abuse we allow or the respect we demand. Gov exists and only has power that we consent to… that we cede to the gov. It always pushes to assume more power, and must be held in check by We the People.
This nerd has OVERSTEPPED its authority. The decision rests WITH Our American Constitution, NOT with a COMMUNIST OPERATIVE who wants to DISARM Legal Law Abiding American CITIZENS!!!!
Basher’s decision is outstanding. You all should read it. He spanks every one of the leftwing gun-grabbing authoritarian arguments for gun control, and using scotus and history basically reiterates the case scotus made: pretty much all gun laws are unconstitutional since they were all written after 1791 and most after 1868 as well. Heck, Nfa from 1934 has not a whiff of Constitutional authority! He says like SCOTUS if a substantially similar law(ie infringement) didn’t exist in 1791, then it’s unconstitutional. If something similar existed as law then, and more examples up to 1868, then maybe it might possibly be… Read more »
Hear here…
The Bill of Rights rendered all prior gun laws null and void.
HLB
When I was eighteen, fifty-four years ago, I could buy a Saturday Night Special out of a Argosy magazine and have it mailed right to my house.
en years earlier when I was fifteen, I could walk into a hardware store or a Sears and Rareback/<omleu Wards, plop about wenty five dollars on the counter, pick up my change and a meaningess cash registter receipt, and walk out with my NEW S&W 38 Special. And folks weren;t getting shot in the streets for the crime of breathing back then, either. Sure certain parts of town were dangeours, but we al knew where those were and justt chose not to participate. The only men I went to high school or college with that evr shot ayone had government… Read more »
Don’t care what activists declare. We all know in common use is protected, and 700 million magazines are not going away. We will use them. We will disobey unconstitutional decrees, as it is our duty. And as scotus said, an unconstitutional statute creates no crime, has no authority, makes no law, and has no bearing. We also all know shall not be infringed means every restriction, limit, ban, rule, is unconstitutional, as are ALL GUN LAWS.
If a Supreme Court Commissioner can issue a stay on a judge’s decision, then why do we need a judge or a Supreme Court? Is this Commissioner an elected position? I would like to see an article on how this was possible. I thought a judge’s decision could only be affected by another court, not a simple clerk.
This was my question as well. How can a commissioner have the same, or greater, authority of a sitting judge? He works for the Supreme Court, but does not sit the bench or make decisions.
Obviously I must be wrong though, otherwise the screaming from Gottlieb and the SAF in Bellevue WA would be heard in NYC.
I too am curious about the silence frm Bellevue and 2AF.
My best hope is tht Ala and Company are quietly and quickly working up a challenge to this madness. We shall see if this is so.
Here’s your Cliff’s Notes version of “how this was possible”….’cause we acquiesce to their tyranny for 240+ years….we have emboldened them….they feel no risk, no personal accountability….no repercussions. They don’t believe we are serious as a heart attack about our freedom, America tradition. Appears they have been right.
you thought righly. He is NOT elected, he is hired, on what basis and by whom I do not lnow but in this state Judges are elcted, underlings are not. Yuo are also correct that ONLY a court, duly elcted and empanelled, have the authority to change the decision of any other judge, duly seated. The Cowlitz COunty Judge IS elected, his judgement IS valid, and a silly two bit commissioner cannot override that. Of course we here all know that even if this fixer is overruled or taken down a few pegs, the en banc Washingti=on State SUpreme Court… Read more »
“We’re gonna give you a fair trial, then hang you.”
That seems to sum up Washington’s justice system these days.
“We’re gonna hang you, say we “knocked”, gave you fair trial. Case closed, if we allow it.
There is no law and order when those charged with upholding it substitute their own opinions – buttressed by the power of their office and the power of the state – for the decisions handed down by those charged with making those decisions. By any measure, this is lawlessness. The massive influence of the state has increasingly been used, under these Leftist/Democrat administrations, to obstruct the proper workings of government, and to invert the role of citizen as sovereign to citizen as subject. These petty tyrants need to be erased from the public square – their role extinguished, their office… Read more »
Most eloquently stated. The traitors must be removed.
“‘m.j. states, it is lawful to ban magazines that hold more than ten rounds”, according to this IMBOCILE”, YEAH RIGHT! The Garandoni Rifle had a magazine that held 21 or 23 acording to FACTUAL RECORDS. OH YES! By-the-Way, the Garandoni Rifle was produced around 1803 and was used in a County’s Army. History and Text PROVES bans on Magazines IS UNLAWFUL and UNCONSITUTIONAL!!
It was carried in the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803 but was actually produced in the 1770’s.
The Girandoni Rifle, the Kalthoff Repeater (invented around 1630 and actually used in military service until 1649), and the Puckle Gun (shown to British Board of Ordnance in 1717 and used during a 1740-49 expedition) all show the statements regarding how our founders could not even imagine or comprehend modern firearms with high rates of fire and magazines (internal or external) are blatant lies.
It was also known, and used (though rarely) in the War for Independence which started two hundred forty nine years ago las Friday. 19th April 1775.
they were mazing pieces of workmanship and design, complicated to build, thus rather dear. But they WERE available for they who had the funds, and they WERE in provate hands prior to the outbreak of that war.
The implications of this case? Be sure to advocate for rights that once eroded will disappear? Respectful advocation? Yeah, no! We are beyond that. Protests, letter writing, calls to elected officials and advocating for civil rights are all met with derision, disdain and unconstitutional acts by arrogant, ignorant criminals masquerading as arbiters of the law. Rights must be exercised, defended, and forcefully so, per our very founders and eons of history.
Here is my take on writing to my “representative” in Maryland, ‘Glad to hear from you and your concern. I KNOW BETTER how to “serve=screw” my Constituency. I will be doing what my DemoKKKratic national communist party TELLS — ME — WHAT TO DO!!’.
The only thing I miss bout MD is climbing at Great Falls and Carderrock. The state and its “representatives” and new woke laws are unrecognizable and disgust me.
The only way to keep our rights is to exercise them. That means; strap your gun on where people can see it and go about your business as usual. Do not hide your rights.
HLB
Yup, and so I do
i fell asleep listening to this fudd judge ramble on. why not just send it up to the appeals court? woke up for the state attorney saying that this bill was about public safety. that william kirk told people how to take advantage of the injunction, what is wrong with obeying the law? the law was ruled unconstitutional. they are really struggling with the bruen case, struggling to follow that scotus has ruled against these unconstitutional laws. the treatment by this commissioner towards the two attorneys is telling. he was almost peeing on himself when the state attorney spoke and… Read more »
Public safety is interest balancing by definition, which is expressly forbidden by SCOTUS for 2A cases. Bashes correctly cites this. The clerk is breaking the law and violating his oath.
Never mentioned, maybe it is too obvious, is that Ferguson most certainly had his emergency appeal already written just as Johnston had his stay prepared for issuance the moment Ferguson wiped the spittle from his chin. Edit: In the first 15 minutes of the hearing, self proclaimed Fudd Johnston explains how everything was primed to issue a stay within minutes of Judge Basher issuing his ruling. Ferguson had given a heads up to Johnston that he would appeal and to be ready for it. Johnston had already determined that he wanted to avoid a repeat of California’s Freedom Week so… Read more »
This Commissioner Michael Johnson did this in hopes that Attorney General Bob Ferguson gets elected. If he does, and I hope he does not, he wants a nice position in his administration. quid-pro-quo.
These progressives just do as they please, there’s no punishment.
WE are either within OUR 3-Founding documents or have become something else…!!!
HLB
Correct me if I’m wrong but this thuggery/malfeasance is exactly what the upcoming Chevron Decision will either stop or be allowed to continue the usurping of our Constitution by these kind of unelected bureaucrats. I know how I want the Supremes decide.
I bet this guy spends most of his time at work on his knees.
bent over a desk
Theater. Democrats pretend to uphold law, the Constitution, justice and equity but then at the end of the day. they just do whatever they want to punish their political dissenters and thus show themselves to be the Communist tyrants they are.
What else did ya expect?
It’s The Peoples Repubelick of Pugetopia, mostly comprised of the 20 mile border around Puget Sound. Like in Oregon, (they have the area known as Portlandia) the rest of the state is relatively sane.
Bob “Goes the Weasel” Ferguson will be FAR worse than Dimslee if he gets elected.
Jaybird is an idiot.
Bobby is fairly SMART and is very DANGEROUS as a result.
Did you hear about the Republican Convention over in Spokane? My wife was a delegate and part of the credentialing committee. Lordy, what a mess. The only time it was more chaotic was back when Ron Paul was running for the nomination and had his group of “Paulistinians” running amok complete with com sets. I have a terrible feeling since we have the communistic Top Two Primary, thank you Grange and Michael Medved for pushing that initiative, losers, we’ll not see either Reichert or Bird make the top 2. This state will not be safe for conservatives if that bastard… Read more »
If our family situation changes, I will be selling everything and moving over to Idaho, if I can find some land that would meet my specifications…
It will be tough to find anything you can still afford. I know because my daughter lives there and has for about 5-6 years. THey have already been offered 6 times what they paid for it and what they have put into it. I would love to go but cannot afford it on SSI and a very small pension.
I am not sure that would be far enough away from the left coast. Friends on the radio say that Idaho is safe but I know of allot of kommiefornians moving to Boise. We all know what most of them bring with them. Athol Idaho might look good because it is close to Spokane and better doctors but people from kommiefornia are buying up big lots of land, splitting it up and selling it for cheaper prices than anyone else can get because it is their buddies that they are selling it to. They are going to take over the… Read more »
Actions outlined in the article make the WHY one needs their AR15s and next zip code SendIt toys more apparent daily. History….playing at your front door today…..learn from it; be doomed to re-live it; or, die by it.
Someone has a scaIp probIem and needs a good Hickory Shampoo.
Perhaps there needs to be a fund to find a cure for deep state aka liberalism?
Most excellent post! “The Armed Scholar” is another informative source that also has the receipts.
You can add “Washington Gun Law”. Sometimes “Armed Attorneys” make a new salient point or covers something the others don’t.
Since there are hundreds of thousands of such magazines “in common use” it appears that some folks see something of a need for them.
For my carry piece hese last 25 years or so, the magazine is key. It will not fire unless there is a magazine in the well, clicked home. To further defeat the lies of these dirtbags, the smallest capacity mag evere made for mine is 13 rounds. Fifteen and seventeen are also made, these being “large capacity” per the manufacturer’s sttatements. SO.. without a thirteen round magazine I have a rather expensive club. npt quite as effecive or ccurate as a billly club or a copper’s seven D cell MagLite.
In my view, this fellow is not the most eloquent speaker – ya know what I mean? – “so”, “right”, “ok”, “alright”…