Marine faces 15 years behind bars for unknowingly violating gun law

[newportri]

Again I ask, where in the constitution, which is The Supreme Law of the Land, is our 2A right limited to the home?????

I agree there is nothing in the 2A that says the RKBA is limited to your home, but as we all know there are different opinions to where it does apply. So, until the SCOTUS' opinion is that the RKBA also extends beyond your home, we will have to be licensed to carry in public (where state law requires you to be licensed).

 

[jasons]

I agree, and I think that is great and I wish more states were like that. However, the reason people can do that in those states is because the states have passed laws that allow you to do that, and not because the second amendment says you have a right to do it.

That's incorrect. Most laws limit what you can do with the assumption that things are legal. (There's some latin legal term for this that I don't recall.) Vermont, for example, has a law that says you must be at least 16 to carry (without parental permission,) and have a record that would essentially pass a NICs check. (No felony convictions, no dishonorable discharge, etc.) If those limits don't apply to you, you're free to exercise your rights without so much as asking.

For what it's worth, McDonald was the SCOTUS case that ruled that the 2nd is applicable to the states. The loophole they left open is this "reasonable restriction" crap. What's "reasonable" will be hashed out in future cases, but NY-style defacto bans seem pretty obviously UNreasonable and thus unconstitutional.

 

[newportri]

Don't you realize that this is the exact reason we have these stupid laws in the first place?

It's unrealistic to expect that the US would function without laws.
Regardless of what you believe the intent of the founders were, it doesn't have anything to do with how a court would interpret it.

And the SCOTUS and legislators are not the once to determine the founders intent.

I agree, but they give their opinion of the intent of the founders. Whether you like it or not, that is a very important opinion.

 

[sig2009]

I agree there is nothing in the 2A that says the RKBA is limited to your home, but as we all know there are different opinions to where it does apply. So, until the SCOTUS' opinion is that the RKBA also extends beyond your home, we will have to be licensed to carry in public (where state law requires you to be licensed).

Their opinion is an interpretation of the constitution as they see it depending on the makeup of the judges. So until you get rid of SCOTUS and let the people decide there will be no changes and one group of judges that interprets it one way will be interpreted by a different SCOTUS makeup down the road so really it's a 50/50 win,lose tossup.

 

[joeendris]

We don't sit around with our thumbs in our arses waiting on someone's opinion in order to exercise a God-given right! THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE CONSTITUTION!! The only time the government is allowed to intervene, is when it is defending those rights.

The decision has been handed down, and the law has been written. "...The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Again I ask, where in the constitution, which is The Supreme Law of the Land, is our 2A right limited to the home?????

We're fighting against monkeys like Devil Patrick, Olver, Brown, McGovern, Carol McCarthy (NY), Coakley, Bloomberg(NY), Mumbles, etc. These people don't think you have rights. You have what they allow you, nothing more.

 

[MA_Shooter]

Former Marine Ryan Jerome does not believe in partial victories.

You may recall recall Jerome was arrested for felony gun possession during a visit to NYC last September. He voluntarily checked in his firearm at the Empire State Building, as it was legally registered in another state, and he believed he was in compliance with the law.

Not in the Big Apple. Any weapon unregistered in NYC is a major crime under.

As a 28-year-old Indiana-based jeweler, Jerome brought his legally-registered .45-cal Ruger to New York because he was transporting $15,000 in gold to a Long Island refinery, according to the New York Post.

The somewhat good news for 2nd Amendment advocates is that the Manhattan District Attorney has offered a plea deal to a misdemeanor with no jail time. But Jerome adamantly refuses any deal. He wants all charges dropped. Period.

It is a felony to possess a handgun in New York City whether it is registered anywhere else or not. Those caught violating the statute face a mandatory 3 1/2 year sentence, but prosecutor discretion often allows for plea deals and lesser punishments.

As a former Marine, Jerome has received substantial support from his brothers-in-arms as well as from those in the chattering classes who believe New York’s draconian gun laws violate the 2nd Amendment. This public attention may have helped push prosecutors to treat this case less harshly than they could have.

“We continue to believe the case should be dismissed outright,” said Jerome’s lawyer, Mark Bederow, according to the New York Post.

The Post claims a document has been released regarding the case that states: “The New York District Attorney‘s Office is offering to allow your client to plead guilty to a single Class ’A’ misdemeanor in full satisfaction of all charges.” The letter was apparently addressed to Jerome’s lawyer from the prosecutor heading the case, Joseph Davis.

Link

 

[glide]

The somewhat good news for 2nd Amendment advocates is that the Manhattan District Attorney has offered a plea deal to a misdemeanor with no jail time. But Jerome adamantly refuses any deal. He wants all charges dropped. Period.

Finally. I hope it works out for him.

 

[MichaelJR]

Former Marine Ryan Jerome does not believe in partial victories.

You may recall recall Jerome was arrested for felony gun possession during a visit to NYC last September. He voluntarily checked in his firearm at the Empire State Building, as it was legally registered in another state, and he believed he was in compliance with the law.

Not in the Big Apple. Any weapon unregistered in NYC is a major crime under.

As a 28-year-old Indiana-based jeweler, Jerome brought his legally-registered .45-cal Ruger to New York because he was transporting $15,000 in gold to a Long Island refinery, according to the New York Post.

The somewhat good news for 2nd Amendment advocates is that the Manhattan District Attorney has offered a plea deal to a misdemeanor with no jail time. But Jerome adamantly refuses any deal. He wants all charges dropped. Period.

It is a felony to possess a handgun in New York City whether it is registered anywhere else or not. Those caught violating the statute face a mandatory 3 1/2 year sentence, but prosecutor discretion often allows for plea deals and lesser punishments.

As a former Marine, Jerome has received substantial support from his brothers-in-arms as well as from those in the chattering classes who believe New York’s draconian gun laws violate the 2nd Amendment. This public attention may have helped push prosecutors to treat this case less harshly than they could have.

“We continue to believe the case should be dismissed outright,” said Jerome’s lawyer, Mark Bederow, according to the New York Post.

The Post claims a document has been released regarding the case that states: “The New York District Attorney‘s Office is offering to allow your client to plead guilty to a single Class ’A’ misdemeanor in full satisfaction of all charges.” The letter was apparently addressed to Jerome’s lawyer from the prosecutor heading the case, Joseph Davis.

Link

Good for him. Takes some serious sack to stare down the barrel of the cannon known as the legal system without even flinching.

 

[JFR2]

Good for him. Takes some serious sack to stare down the barrel of the cannon known as the legal system without even flinching.

This. That Marine has bulldawg balls!


Sent from my iPhone5 using Tapatalk

 

[MagGus1820]

+rep for that marine. The system won't stop pushing us around until we start pushing back.

 

[terraformer]

Let me just say that this approach is fraught with risk for him. That the law is unconstitutional is not relevant as his actions are illegal as per current law. He would need to stall adjudication of his case for years to possibly hope to beat this on appeal. I understand his stance, and I hope DA Vance blinks but this is not by a long shot the easy way out.

 

[eric_07]

Let me just say that this approach is fraught with risk for him. That the law is unconstitutional is not relevant as his actions are illegal as per current law. He would need to stall adjudication of his case for years to possibly hope to beat this on appeal. I understand his stance, and I hope DA Vance blinks but this is not by a long shot the easy way out.

I think that's part of the point...

 

[terraformer]

Not that NYC gives a shit, but SCOTUS already ruled that any law repugnant to the Constitution is null and void. It may take many cases like this over the course of years, but if people had balls like this guy and followed through enough times, we just might make some headway.

The problem is SCOTUS has passed up 3 or 4 cases this term where the defendant had failed to attempt to get a license under clearly unconstitutional laws. This meant people who clearly were victims of an unconstitutional law had the charges against them stand. So this is by no means a path guaranteed to yield no conviction. I am just trying to point this out. Kind of like the guy who challenged CT's AWB law back in 1993 and who the state's highest court was perfectly willing to uphold his conviction for what I believe will ultimately be considered an unconstitutional law. Yet he is still a convicted felon to this day most likely.

 

[terraformer]

Completely understand and agree. Just wishful thinking on my part that if the majority of BS gun charges were approached in the same manner this Marine is approaching his, we would make some headway.

We'll all keep funding you guys to fight this in the courts. However, we'll keep buying ammo; stack it high, stack it deep, gents.

Believe me. I wished everyone fought but the reality is, they won't and they can't. We can't even support every criminal case and believe me, I want to.

Certain laws can only be challenged if they fight. Others can be challenged civilly. The NY licensing law can be done civilly and as such, it's really not worth to the collective "us" what he will pay in the personal cost to him that he fight this to that extent. If he is making this decision completely on his own based on what he can live with when he looks in the mirror, all the more power to him and I hope he pulls a good jury. Juries in NY have been really pro 2A (or more likely anti NYS .gov bull shit) lately and I can't say he will lose for certain.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Let me just say that this approach is fraught with risk for him. That the law is unconstitutional is not relevant as his actions are illegal as per current law. He would need to stall adjudication of his case for years to possibly hope to beat this on appeal. I understand his stance, and I hope DA Vance blinks but this is not by a long shot the easy way out.

Believe me. I wished everyone fought but the reality is, they won't and they can't. We can't even support every criminal case and believe me, I want to.

Certain laws can only be challenged if they fight. Others can be challenged civilly. The NY licensing law can be done civilly and as such, it's really not worth to the collective "us" what he will pay in the personal cost to him that he fight this to that extent. If he is making this decision completely on his own based on what he can live with when he looks in the mirror, all the more power to him and I hope he pulls a good jury. Juries in NY have been really pro 2A (or more likely anti NYS .gov bull shit) lately and I can't say he will lose for certain.

I also admire him for doing this and hope he wins.

BUT, let's dissect this a bit and see why he MIGHT be doing this.

- If he takes a plea bargain he ends up with a conviction on his record.

- If he is bonded and deals with buying/selling jewelry or is "licensed" by some gov't agency, it might be a DQ for his profession.

- If he takes the deal, he will likely be a PP in some (if not all) states and perhaps by the Feds and he may value his ability to own firearms.

We can't get into someone else's head, but his position may not be all altruistic . . . it might be a practical one.

[Just like if the aspiring female doctor intern takes a "deal", she might never be able to be a licensed physician in the US!!]

NOTE: I am making some assumptions here, I don't know what the plea penalty might be or what is a DQ for bonding/licensing. Just throwing this out for some additional thought.

 

[terraformer]

It's not a DQ for firearms as the max in NY for a Misdemeanor is 1 yr. The other stuff I don't know.

 

[Radtekk]

Could be he's just one of those rare patriots we all aspire to be from behind our keyboards....

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Vance's willingness to sweep this under the rug with a minor misdemeanor plea is telling. This guy's arrest was one of several incidents that NY publicized widely as a response to HR822 and other potentially threatening (to them) relaxation of gun laws. They were very happy to publicly make examples of these people in the press at the time of the arrest, but it seems once the PR value has faced they're happy with the least severe course short of a dismissal.

While this guy's willingness to not take the deal is admirable he's likely setting himself up for much harsher charges and punishment. I don't think it will be a PR win for our side either.

 

[drgrant]

I agree, and I think that is great and I wish more states were like that. However, the reason people can do that in those states is because the states have passed laws that allow you to do that, and not because the second amendment says you have a right to do it.

No, sorry, this is BS. States like Vermont simply don't have a law against it. There is no "enabling law" that got passed. It's legal because it's NOT specifically illegal!

-Mike