The Bay State’s notoriously draconian laws have tripped up author Peter Manso, a 67-year-old Cape Cod resident. Manso claims the prosecution is retaliation for his writing on highly publicized crimes, but whether or not that premise is borne out, the story is an unnerving one: ten years ago the state changed an earlier provision making firearm identification cards valid for life to one requiring four-year renewals, and since then old holders who failed to get with the program have been getting tripped up, facing the prospect of long prison terms even over their protest that they never had the change called to their attention. (Jonathan Saltzman, “Writer on Cape slaying indicted on gun charges”, Boston Globe, Aug. 23; J.D. Tuccille/Examiner) (via Never Yet Melted).
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One would almost think this was a feature, not a bug, to the people who wrote the legislation… nah, surely not.
If the firearms card says it does not have an expiration date you have to take it at face value when it was issued. Grandfathering a requirement and then using it for a criminal prosecution post hoc will be found unconstitutional.
It may be found unconstitutional, eventually, after you are bankrupted defending yourself.
The process is the punishment.
“It may be found unconstitutional, eventually, after you are bankrupted defending yourself.
The process is the punishment.”
I would definitely be calling the NRA if I was in this guy’s shoes.
pet peeve:
that’s a backwards usage of the term “grandfathering” – a proper use would be to “grandfather” those with previous licenses, meaning that their licenses would NOT expire, just as the cards say, but no one can get such cards anymore.
To go back and alter the agreement is, essentially, the opposite of “grandfathering”.
Sorry, I’ve just seen a few of that usage recently, and it bugs me for the same reason that using “literally” to mean “emphatically, not literally” does (in that there is no good replacement term for the term being ruined by the ignorant).
Deoxy you should appreciate James Taranto’s Best of the Web Today at the WSJ online. He literally ranted about the misuse of the word literal. Of course he also got pretty wound up about monkey fishing too.
Of course, none of these gun control laws apply to the politicians, their friends, the police, or celebrities. I wish one day they would have to play by the same rules us little people do.
People resent being turned into criminals.
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