Gunmakers lose challenge of assault weapons ban
By The Associated Press
October 2, 2000 9:17 a.m. CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two gunmakers who challenged Congress' authority to ban the manufacture, sale and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons lost a Supreme Court appeal today.
The court, without comment, rejected an appeal that said Congress exceeded its power to regulate interstate commerce when it outlawed such weapons in 1994.
The 1994 law, an amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968, defines semiautomatic assault weapons to include a list of specified firearms and "copies or duplicates of the firearms in any caliber."
Navegar Inc. and Penn Arms Inc. challenged the federal ban in 1995.
Florida-based Navegar, doing business as Intratec, manufactures two semiautomatic pistols, the TEC-DC9 and TEC-22, which are among the specifically banned weapons.
Pennsylvania-based Penn Arms makes the Strike 12, a 12-gauge revolving cylinder shotgun. All such shotguns are treated as semiautomatic assault weapons under the 1994 law.
A federal trial judge and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the ban. In its ruling last year, the appeals court called the law a permissible "regulation of activities having a substantial effect on interstate commerce."
The appeals court cited Congress' "intent to control the flow through interstate commerce of semiautomatic assault weapons bought or manufactured in one state and subsequently transported into other states."
In the appeal acted on today, the gunmakers argued that the appeals court ruling conflicts with recent Supreme Court decisions that pared congressional power by narrowing the definition of interstate commerce.
In one, the Supreme Court said Congress exceeded its authority in banning possession of guns within 1,000 feet of schools. In another, the court struck down a key provision of the Violence Against Women Act.
The gunmakers' appeal said the appeals court wrongly presumed that "the manufacture and transfer of semiautomatic assault weapons was for a national market."
They said the appeals court "had no basis for concluding ... that the intrastate manufacture, transfer or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons had a substantial effect on interstate commerce."
Justice Department lawyers urged the court to reject the appeal. "Federal regulation of firearms and assault weapons is based in large part on evidence that the nationwide market for firearms renders purely local prohibitions ineffective," they said.
The case is Navegar v. U.S., 99-1874.
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press
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By The Associated Press
October 2, 2000 9:17 a.m. CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two gunmakers who challenged Congress' authority to ban the manufacture, sale and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons lost a Supreme Court appeal today.
The court, without comment, rejected an appeal that said Congress exceeded its power to regulate interstate commerce when it outlawed such weapons in 1994.
The 1994 law, an amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968, defines semiautomatic assault weapons to include a list of specified firearms and "copies or duplicates of the firearms in any caliber."
Navegar Inc. and Penn Arms Inc. challenged the federal ban in 1995.
Florida-based Navegar, doing business as Intratec, manufactures two semiautomatic pistols, the TEC-DC9 and TEC-22, which are among the specifically banned weapons.
Pennsylvania-based Penn Arms makes the Strike 12, a 12-gauge revolving cylinder shotgun. All such shotguns are treated as semiautomatic assault weapons under the 1994 law.
A federal trial judge and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the ban. In its ruling last year, the appeals court called the law a permissible "regulation of activities having a substantial effect on interstate commerce."
The appeals court cited Congress' "intent to control the flow through interstate commerce of semiautomatic assault weapons bought or manufactured in one state and subsequently transported into other states."
In the appeal acted on today, the gunmakers argued that the appeals court ruling conflicts with recent Supreme Court decisions that pared congressional power by narrowing the definition of interstate commerce.
In one, the Supreme Court said Congress exceeded its authority in banning possession of guns within 1,000 feet of schools. In another, the court struck down a key provision of the Violence Against Women Act.
The gunmakers' appeal said the appeals court wrongly presumed that "the manufacture and transfer of semiautomatic assault weapons was for a national market."
They said the appeals court "had no basis for concluding ... that the intrastate manufacture, transfer or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons had a substantial effect on interstate commerce."
Justice Department lawyers urged the court to reject the appeal. "Federal regulation of firearms and assault weapons is based in large part on evidence that the nationwide market for firearms renders purely local prohibitions ineffective," they said.
The case is Navegar v. U.S., 99-1874.
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press
------------------
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http://Second.Amendment.Homepage.com
