ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to review the case of a convicted felon sentenced to five years in prison for possessing a BB gun.
David Lee Haywood was charged in Ramsey County in 2013 with possession of a firearm by an ineligible person. He was convicted after the judge told the jury a BB gun counts as a firearm.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld his conviction in September, saying appellate courts have consistently included BB guns in the definition of firearms.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports the Minnesota Supreme Court will now consider the issue.
Court papers say Haywood was caught with a BB gun that looks like a Walther P99 pistol. Haywood was deemed ineligible to possess a firearm because of a 2005 drug conviction.
BB guns obviously take the fire out of firearms, but these supreme court idiots are only “considering it” to find another way to ban another weapon.
They don’t even try to make sense. Their only concern is you being defenseless, and that fact should make it obvious to you what will happen when they succeed.
If they’re not recognized as firearms by the sc, does that mean I’ll be refunded the money I paid for the citation in 1985 for “unlawful discharge of a firearm”? Even then, shooting your trash can at 14 years old with a BB gun, would get 3 pigs to point a pistol in your face. Only needed a curmudgeonly neighbor to call in a “sniper” in the neighborhood!
Yet there is no background check
Complete stupidity, can’t these asswipes find something else to make idiots out themselves with?
No…plus they’re afraid a kid will shoot his eyes out…
Guess I’ve seen “Christmas Story” once too many… 😉
I was (told) that USC Title 27 defines a “Firearm” as a fully automatic weapon.
Semi-autos and less are simply “Arms”
If someone has the resources to look this up and give the source, it would be interesting.
Just taking a short look at it, an entire article (or series of articles) could be written by someone with legalese expertise (not me) about how U.S. code defines firearms, including how the codes are unconstitutional, and how federal jurisdiction of these codes would apply only to residents of “the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and no other,” [26 U.S.C. 7701(a)(10), from https://supremecourtcase.wordpress.com/page/2/%5D
.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/478.11:
“27 CFR 478.11 – Meaning of terms. [Title 27, Chapter II, Subchapter B, Part 478, Subpart B, Subsection 478.11]
“Firearm. Any weapon, including a starter gun, which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or any destructive device; but the term shall not include an antique firearm. In the case of a licensed collector, the term shall mean only curios and relics.”
The above definition is basically the same as 18 U.S. Code § 921 – Definitions [Title 18, Part I, Chapter 44, Subsection 921] found at
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/921. Below is an extended definition.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/5845:
“26 U.S. Code § 5845 – Definitions [Title 26, Subtitle E, Chapter 53, Subchapter B, Part I, Subsection 5845]
“(a) Firearm.
The term “firearm” means (1) a shotgun having a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (2) a weapon made from a shotgun if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (3) a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (4) a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (5) any other weapon, as defined in subsection (e); (6) a machinegun; (7) any silencer (as defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code); and (8) a destructive device. The term “firearm” shall not include an antique firearm or any device (other than a machinegun or destructive device) which, although designed as a weapon, the Secretary finds by reason of the date of its manufacture, value, design, and other characteristics is primarily a collector’s item and is not likely to be used as a weapon.
“(b) Machinegun
The term ‘machinegun’ means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
“(c) Rifle
The term ‘rifle’ means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed cartridge.
“(d) Shotgun
The term ‘shotgun’ means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of projectiles (ball shot) or a single projectile for each pull of the trigger, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire a fixed shotgun shell.
“(e) Any other weapon
The term ‘any other weapon’ means any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive, a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell, weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire. Such term shall not include a pistol or a revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition.”
“He was convicted after the judge told the jury a BB gun counts as a firearm.”
AND THE STUPID JURY BELIEVED THAT MORON???
Those @sswipes need to be incarcerated in case their stupidity is contagious.
Next its slingshots and spitwads/pea shooters.
This case has nothing to do with the convicted felon sentenced to five years for possessing a BB gun, believe it or not.
They just want the ruling, or precedent, so they can use it to attack BB guns elsewhere, and arrest people for them.
SO
That states CODE does INCLUDE “BB GUNS” in “FIREARM” definitions.
that in and of it self is a gross injustice but whatevs
http://law.justia.com/cases/minnesota/court-of-appeals/2015/a14-1792.html
Here is the court case docs.
He was originally convicted on drug charges.
less than 3 minuets. God Bless the interwebs.
INFRINGEMENT IS A CAPITOL OFFENSE .
Thank you!
A BB gun is not a firearm. Now an air rifle with a .46 cal. 22 slugs, like Louise and Clark had, now that’s a firearm. The Girandoni
awesome…
Although it’s still technically not a firearm, that air rifle is VERY cool. I had no idea such a thing existed back then. Thanks for sharing that.
A firearm, by definition, uses the burning of a propellant to propel a projectile. A BB pistol is NOT a firearm. Those criminal charges are frivolous and vindictive, but that’s hardly anything new in the modern un-American police state.
I also disagree with the denial of Second Amendment rights to convicted felons after they’re done serving their sentences, especially in cases where the felonies weren’t violent crimes with innocent victims. Generally speaking, if someone is too dangerous to be trusted with a firearm, then he shouldn’t be living outside of a prison or a mental institution. It’s almost as easy to murder someone with a butcher knife, hammer, or other ubiquitous item as with a gun. But guns are needed for meaningful self-defense, and no free person should ever be denied that right.
Agreed, 100%, BMF. If the sentence is served, it is served. Not a life sentence. Committing a “crime”, which could be anything a rogue authoritarian state deems a “crime”, does NOT nullify the Bill of Rights and sentence you to a lifetime of being devoid of God given rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
I believe June 1968 was when that tripe was ushered in and in complete violation of the 8th Amendment. Coincidently enough, it was shortly after JFK’s public execution/coup d’etat, by the reds that subverted US in secrecy previously, but made a public vulgar display of power to any opposition to that might protest or resist. Message received loud and clear by the gang of 535, but also to American Nationals here. Imho