Pirate's Cove

Arms are not just guns

Second Amendment fight moves beyond guns with Supreme Court poised for big ruling

Two federal court rulings Wednesday extending Second Amendment protections to switchblade knives and body armor have fueled optimism among gun-rights advocates ahead of a major Supreme Court showdown over bans on AR-15-style rifles.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal law restricting the interstate commerce of switchblade knives violated the Second Amendment, while a federal judge in the Western District of New York struck down New York’s restrictions on personal body armor. In both cases, the courts determined that switchblades and body armor qualify as constitutionally protected “arms.”

I’m not so sure that body armor is part of “arms”, but, also not sure where a state has the authority to ban a lawful goods like that just because they feel like it. Body armor doesn’t hurt anyone else, right? Switchblades, though, are arms. Dumb arms, the blades tend not to be very strong, better off getting a butterfly or even a gravity knife, but, Los Federales shouldn’t be able to ban interstate transport of them

The twin rulings come as the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in Viramontes v. Cook County, a case that could determine whether AR-15-style rifles qualify as “arms” protected by the Second Amendment.

National Association for Gun Rights President Dudley Brown, whose organization filed an amicus brief in Viramontes, said a Supreme Court ruling against AR-15 bans could influence future legal challenges to restrictions on ammunition magazines, automatic knives, body armor and other defensive equipment.

“The interesting thing about both of these cases is that they’re both going to be really decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Viramontes decision,” Brown told Fox News Digital.

I do not see the Court ruling against the rifles. And, per the Supremacy Clause, the 2nd applies to all states.