United States v. Miller et al. History

B.L.U.F. — Examining the 1939 case of United States v. Miller 307 U.S. 174 where we first lost our Second Amendment Rights. Touching on how Heller, McDonald, and Bruen all reference back to Miller but how it got twisted to allow the courts to allow infringements to continue


Background

On April 18, 1938, the Arkansas and Oklahoma state police stopped Miller and Layton outside of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, en route from Claremore. They had an unregistered, short-barreled shotgun in the car and apparently were “making preparation for armed robbery.” So the police arrested them.

Miller and Layton ended up in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas Clinton R. Barry charged them with violating the National Firearms Act. Barry knew all about Miller, as he had attended the O’Malley trials and seen Miller testify. Barry was eager to ensure the government could prove an NFA violation. It is “[e]xtremely important this case be investigated by competent federal officers quickly before these parties released on bond to prove possession this weapon in Oklahoma immediately before arrest in Arkansas to show transportation.” The United States Attorney’s office forwarded Barry’s request to the F.B.I. for investigation.
N.Y.U. Journal of Law & Liberty [Vol. 3:48 2008]

There is a different version of the arrest of Miller in Unintended Consequences, this appears to be more factual.

This is how the District Judge Heartsill Ragon described it:

The defendants in this case are charged with unlawfully and feloniously transporting in interstate commerce from the town of Claremore, Oklahoma, to the town of Siloam Springs in the State of Arkansas, a double barrel twelve gauge shot gun having a barrel less than eighteen inches in length, and at the time of so transporting said fire arm in interstate commerce they did not have in their possession a stamp-affixed written order for said fire arm as required by Section 1132c, Title 26 U.S. C.A., the regulations issued under the authority of said Act of Congress known as the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S. C.A. § 1132 et seq.
United States v. Miller, 26 F. Supp. 1002 (W.D. Ark. 1939)

There are some significant aspects to this case and how it was charged. The state would have to prove that the firearm in question required a NFA tax stamp, that it did not have that tax stamp, that it had been transported across state lines. And that the police had reason to make the stop.

This was before Miranda but the law still required some reason to arrest and search people.

The Miller case was a case of tax evasion. Failure to pay a $200 tax on a $15 shotgun. In addition, the NFA made transporting a registered firearm across state lines a crime unless the state first gave permission.
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It may be a Cultural Thing.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – An overnight Nashville shooting has left two men dead, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department.

The shooting happened after a fight broke out between them inside the Trap Up Studio Lounge in South Nashville.

Officers responded to a shots fired call at the business just after 2 a.m. David Bickham, 27, a DJ at the bar, died at the scene. Tarrell Grant, 26, was found seriously wounded and was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he died.

A gun was recovered from inside the bar. Detectives with Metro Police are working to find out if the two men or others were involved in the shooting.

Two men dead after shooting at hookah bar in South Nashville (wsmv.com)

It looks like a classy location where no bad things will happen.

I know, I know, it is the guns. Gun Control when armed people get together, it is inevitable that somebody will die or be seriously injured.

Of course, it does not explain how come last Thursday about two dozen shooters crammed up in an indoor range managed to have fun for a couple of hours, all discharging their weapons and nobody (but a few egos) got injured or killed.

But it is MY culture the one that is deadly.

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Tyre Extinguisher Cowards

I have never understood the impetus to decide what other people need and should be allowed to own.

I’ve seen it in the gun world for my entire life.

“You don’t need an AR-15.  You don’t need a 17 round mag in your gun.  I’ll tell you what you need and stop you from owning what I think is excessive.”

We’re seeing it more and more in the car world.

“You don’t need a truck or an SUV.  You don’t haul or tow anything, so I’m going to stop you from owning it.”

Tyre Extinguishers is a group dedicated to that.

Eco-mob brags about deflating tires on luxury SUVs in Boston, leave patronizing notes for owners

According to the group, they are “defending” themselves “against climate change, air pollution and unsafe drivers.”

They even issued a press release to explain why targeting those they deem to be too wealthy is totally justified.

“The group took this action to render the large greenhouse gas emitting vehicles unusable, directly preventing the outpouring of emission from the vehicles into our atmosphere which further contribute to climate change and air pollution,” the statement reads. “Only large, luxury, gas powered SUVs were targeted by the group; no tires were deflated on electric or hybrid vehicles nor any vehicles with handicap signage.”

They were, they said, good enough to leave leaflets on the cars they vandalized “to inform the owners about why their vehicle was impacted, imploring them to stop using their SUVs and switch to public transportation, biking, or smaller compact electric and hybrid cars.”

Here is their celebration on Twitter.

 

They targeted Beacon Hill, one of the wealthiest and most Progressive areas of Boston, a very Blue city in a very Blue state.

Why?

Because they are a bunch of fucking cowards.

Do that in the South to some redneck’s lifted F-250 on 37 inch mud tires that are $800 a piece.

Hell, go into a working class neighborhood and do it to some construction worker’s pickup so he can’t get to the job site in the morning.

Get caught and I guarantee if they survive, it’s going to take a team of proctologists to remove the tire iron from the offending Extinguisher’s rectum.

The Mercedes G-Wagon driving banker who voted for Warren and Biden might feel that they deserved it.

The guy putting in 50 hour weeks pouring concrete or putting up drywall will want to murder someone.

I honestly hope these people do try and harass the wrong truck drivers.  It will thin the herd of assholes like this.

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Training firearms?

I am not an expert in this. These are my own personal opinions.

The first thing I would say is that for a first-time shooter, guns are scary. I have a difficult time remembering the first time I shot a firearm. I’m thinking it was a 12gage shotgun with my uncle. It was loud and exciting. We didn’t use ear protection, we didn’t wear eye protection.

We went to the end of his driveway and I got to shoot his gun. This was part of him making his house safe for me to visit. I was maybe first or second grade? The point of it was that he had a beautiful gun cabinet with lots, from the point of view of a very young child, guns in them. It was glass – fronted and beautiful.

Later I was exposed to more shotgun shooting, culminating with a wonderful rabbit hunt.

That was then. My housemate the summer after high school took the time to show me where he had his defense weapon stored. It was a derringer. It was so exciting to handle it when I was alone. I knew to keep my finger off the trigger and I never pointed it at me, but it wasn’t a “safe” situation.

When I finally got the money to buy my own firearms, I had a little more experience. My mentor had given me some lessons. Nothing spectacular. Nothing good.

I was self-taught. Not a good way to learn firearms.

Today, I teach firearm safety to anybody who wants to learn. Not the formal NRA training, but my own person version of firearms training.

Here is how I go about it:

First is the safety talk. This is where we go over the four rules until they have it. I do not go any further if they aren’t comfortable with the rules.

The next step is to let them handle different firearms. At this stage, they learn that they really, really should treat every firearm as loaded. They learn how to handle those firearms safely. They learn how to verify, for themselves, that the firearm is unloaded. They learn to keep the firearm pointed in a safe directly. They learn a bit about how it feels.

During this time, there is never more than one firearm out at a time.

We go through the different types of ammunition. This is partially to disprove the “AR-15 assault weapons fire the most deadly killing bullets!!!!”

At that point, I show them the .22LR we will be using for our first shots. The idea here is that I want them to see this as small and less scary.

We now move to the range. At the range, we will have four different firearms.

  • .22LR semi-automatic pistol
  • .22LR Bolt Action rifle
  • 9 mm semi-automatic pistol
  • .45cal semi-automatic pistol

There are many choices for .22LR semi-automatics. I choose to use a semi-automatic because that is what the rest of my primary pistols are. Yes, I have a few SAA style and one .357 Magnum revolver, but those are not my primary. Those are just for fun.

The next question is with regard to the manual of arms. When you look at .22LR pistols, you’ll find many different styles. For me, I needed a .22LR that had the same manual of arms as my other primary pistols.

What does this mean?

What this means is that everything that you have to do right with my primary firearms you need to do right with the training firearm.

For me, my primary firearm is a 1911. Because my primary is a 1911, my other firearms that I regularly use have 1911 style controls. I prefer a push button for a magazine release, just like the 1911. I want it to have a manual safety, just like my 1911. Likewise, I want it to have a slide release in nearly the same place as the 1911. And I want it to have good sights.

My choice was the M&P 22 Compact. Everything I needed for the manual of arms applies. In addition, it is just fun to shoot.

There are a number of .22LR rifles out there. Pick one that is of a comfortable size for you and the people you are training. I thought about getting a youth sized rifle, but by the time I was ready to do it, my kids didn’t need a youth sized rifle.

Start Slow

When starting, most of the time they want to start with a pistol. Starting with a pistol is a little easier in some ways.

Here is the big starting point, only put one round in the magazine the first time.

This person is going to pull the trigger. There will be a loud bang. You do not know what they are going to do next. Sometimes they will turn towards you, sweeping with the pistol, sometimes they will want to drop the pistol. Regardless of what happens, you want it to be as safe as possible.

I always stand where I can put a hand on their hand if they start to swing towards me, but that is not always the best choice.

Start with one round.

Once they have done one round a few times, then you can move to two rounds in the magazine. The idea, again, is to be safe.

During initial training, I normally do not put more than 5 rounds in the magazine. For you, it might not feel like anything to put 18 rounds of spicy 9 mm down range. For a new person, holding that pistol out for 15+ rounds can be tiring.

At this point, I will demonstrate the 9 mm and the .45. I only send one round down range. The idea is to let them hear that sound up close.

If it works for them, I will let them put a round down range from each of them.

From there we move to the rifle. This gives them a chance to better understand the loading process. We normally shoot offhanded because most of the time people don’t like to get prone. Depending on the range, we might be able to let them sit at a bench to shoot the rifle.

This is how I do it. Lots of talk beforehand. Lots of familiarization beforehand. It is about making them comfortable and to not do stupids or allowing them to do stupids.

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