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<![CDATA[First Amendment]]>

Ron DeSantis Crushes Dem/Media Talking Points in Comments on So-Called ‘Blogger Bill’

March 7, 2023 by Sister Toldjah Leave a Comment

Last Thursday, a bill was filed by Florida Republican state Sen. Jason Brodeur that would mandate that any paid blogger who writes about state politics including the governor, his administration, cabinet, and members of the state legislature to register with the state or be subjected to fines.

As we reported, the bill raises serious First Amendment concerns, with some First Amendment attorneys noting in so many words that the bill likely would not survive in court should it come to that point.

Fortunately, though, it looks like it won’t come to that. Because just a few days after the bill’s introduction and the predictable media hyperventilating and attaching Gov. Ron DeSantis’ name to something he had nothing to do with, DeSantis has come out against Brodeur’s proposal.

In his remarks informing the media that he does not support the bill, he also chastised them for putting his picture on articles about something he had no hand in crafting. Further, he reminded them that anyone in the state legislature could file a bill, and that just because it was put forth by a Republican didn’t automatically mean he was on board with it:

“Every person in the legislature can file bills,” the governor said after delivering his “State of the State” address.

“I see these people filing bills and there are these articles with my face on the article saying that bloggers are going to have to register with the state and they’re attributing it to me.

“That’s not anything I’ve ever supported, I don’t support,” added DeSantis, a likely 2024 presidential candidate. “I’ve been very clear about what we are doing.”

“I don’t control every single bill that has been filed,” he added.

Watch:

BREAKING— @GovRonDeSantis just struck down the ‘Blogger Bill’ that forces Bloggers to Register With State

READ MORE https://t.co/bsC2wfxhht#FlPol #Florida pic.twitter.com/HbQ4gTM9Oh

— Javier Manjarres (@JavManjarres) March 7, 2023

We eagerly await the apologies from The Usual Suspects in the press and on the talking head shows who pinned this legislation directly on DeSantis as a way to paint him as a “local Mussolini”:

MSNBC’s @BeschlossDC: “[@GovRonDeSantis] really has tried to turn him self into sort of a local Mussolini in Fla. What w/ the book banning, the brutal tactics, & … the suggestion that bloggers have to register w/ the state … This is fascism & authoritarianism” pic.twitter.com/Wz8fem6Bf9

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 5, 2023

I’ve seen some on Twitter try to credit media criticism of the bill for DeSantis taking the stance that he did, but as readers are well aware, DeSantis doesn’t typically back down from anything he supports. In fact, the 2022 parental rights bill that the left lost their minds over and falsely called the “don’t say gay” bill was not a DeSantis-inspired bill, but he nevertheless stood up for it and eventually signed it into law, defending it from spurious media attacks along the way.

If he’d have supported Brodeur’s bill, in my opinion, DeSantis would have said so. That he doesn’t ensures the bill will probably be DOA, so… next “issue,” please?

Related: Jen Rubin’s Latest Ron DeSantis Hit Piece Hilariously Does Not Have the Intended Effect

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Filed Under: <![CDATA[Bloggers]]>, <![CDATA[First Amendment]]>, <![CDATA[Florida]]>, <![CDATA[Jason Brodeur]]>, <![CDATA[ron DeSantis]]>, News, Red State

New California gun control bill aims at 3D printers… and code

February 17, 2023 by Cam Edwards Leave a Comment

Not all 3D printers, mind you. Just those that the state determines “has the primary or intended function of manufacturing firearms.” Under the language of AB 1089, anyone who uses a 3D printer or a CNC machine to make a gun in their own home would first have be licensed by the state as a firearms manufacturer. Sales of 3D printers and/or CNC machines with that primary or intended function of making guns would be banned throughout California, unless you could produce your manufacturer’s license, and existing owners would have to get rid of their machines or potentially face charges.

According to the text of the bill, those who possess one of these printers or CNC milling devices only have a few options if the bill becomes law.

(A) Sells or transfers the machine to a federally licensed firearms manufacturer or importer.

(B) Sells or transfers the machine to a person described in paragraph (1).

(C) Removes the machine from this state.

(D) Relinquished the machine to a law enforcement agency.

(E) Otherwise lawfully terminates possession of the machine.

How would the state define whether a printer or CNC machine falls under the provisions of AB 1089? As broadly as possible.

[A] CNC milling machine or three-dimensional printer has the primary or intended function of manufacturing firearms if the machine or printer is marketed or sold to the public in a manner that advertises that the machine or printer may be used to manufacture firearms, or in a manner that knowingly or recklessly promotes the machine’s use in manufacturing firearms, by individuals who are not California licensed firearms manufacturers, regardless of whether the machine or printer is otherwise described or classified as having other functions or as a general-purpose machine or printer.

It’s pretty clear that the intent of the bill is to block the sales of products like the GhostGunner CNC machine, but the legislation further infringes on civil liberties by making targeting anyone who shares a “digital firearm manufacturing code” used to produce an unserialized firearm.

An action may be brought against a person who, by any means, including the internet, knowingly distributes, or causes to be distributed, any digital firearm manufacturing code to any other person in this state.

(b) A person who distributes, or causes to be distributed, any digital firearm manufacturing code as described in subdivision (a) shall be strictly liable for any personal injury or property damage inflicted by the use of a firearm that was manufactured or produced using the digital firearm manufacturing code that was distributed.

That seems like it would not only be a nightmare to try to enforce, but would run headlong into some serious First Amendment concerns as well. As far as the federal courts are concerned, computer code is speech, and instructions on how to make a firearm should be protected by the First Amendment. The Anarchist Cookbook contains instructions on how to produce any number of prohibited items, and it and other derivative works remain available to purchase in California; though retiring U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein did call for the book to be “banned from the internet” back in 2015.

Clearly the authoritarian impulse is strong in California, and it’s not just limited to trying to infringe on the right to keep and bear arms. State lawmakers have already approved a law targeting the First Amendment rights of Second Amendment supporters, but AB 1089 manages to ignore the protections provided by both amendments in one single piece of legislation. The bill is currently slated for its first committee hearing in mid-March, but we’ll be keeping an eye on the legislation in case it starts moving sooner than that. In the meantime, I wouldn’t be surprised if sales of 3D printers and CNC machines to California residents actually increase in the short-term. Just like with bans on guns themselves, nothing spurs sales like the prospect of prohibition.

Filed Under: <![CDATA[3D printer]]>, <![CDATA[AB 1089]]>, <![CDATA[California]]>, <![CDATA[CNC]]>, <![CDATA[First Amendment]]>, <![CDATA[ghost gunner]]>, <![CDATA[Gun Control]]>, <![CDATA[Second Amendment]]>, <![CDATA[speech control]]>, <![CDATA[Video]]>, Bearing Arms, News

Surprising coalition challenging part of NY carry law

February 9, 2023 by Cam Edwards Leave a Comment

The legal challenges to New York’s Concealed Carry “Improvement” Act are continuing, with oral arguments on a request for an injunction scheduled to take place before a three-judge panel on the Second Circuit on March 20th. Ahead of that hearing, groups on both sides of the debate are weighing in, including an amicus brief filed on Wednesday by a rather surprising coalition.

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University is siding with a number of 2A groups in opposing New York’s mandate that concealed carry applicants turn over a list of their social media accounts for police to peruse and look for evidence of “good moral character”; filing a brief with the Second Circuit alongside the Asian Pacific American Gun Owners Association, D.C. Project Foundation, the Liberal Gun Club, the National African American Gun Association, and Operation Blazing Sword-Pink Pistols  arguing that the mandate is a clear violation of the First Amendment rights of New Yorkers.

On today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co we’re taking a closer look at this important brief, which notes from the outset that there’s a broad difference of opinion among the groups about many of the provisions in the CCIA. When it comes to the social media disclosure mandate, however, even those who buy-in to the idea that “gun-free zones” will make us safer can agree that the requirement is a brazen attempt to once again impose an unconstitutional requirement on concealed carry applicants; and one that gives licensing authorities broad discretion to deny anyone they subjectively deem to be lacking in “good moral character.”

The social media registration requirement burdens well-established First Amendment rights in three ways. First, conditioning applicants’ ability to obtain a concealed-carry permit on their willingness to register their social media accounts with the government burdens the applicants’ rights of free speech and association.

Second, compelling applicants to disclose their pseudonymous accounts—including accounts they might use to avoid harassment, embarrassment, or retaliation for their online speech—burdens applicants’ right to speak anonymously.

And third, requiring applicants to direct the State to information that may make it obvious what groups they belong to, what identities they hold, and what causes they support burdens applicants’ right to associational privacy.

In effect, the statute compels applicants to direct the State to a record of their online speech and associations. The natural and predictable result of this requirement is that applicants will refrain from speech or associations online that they fear may be held against them in the application process or that they do not believe should be subject to government inspection. This is of urgent concern to amici gun owners’ associations, which represent Asian Pacific Americans, African Americans, women, LGBTQ individuals, and politically active individuals—some of whom have particular reasons to distrust law enforcement and to fear the government’s scrutiny of their online lives.

The social media registration requirement triggers—and fails—heightened First Amendment scrutiny. The State has not demonstrated that the uncertain endeavor of using social media posts to predict the future will do anything to meaningfully advance its goal of preventing gun violence, rather than simply inject explicit and implicit bias into the process. Moreover, the requirement is significantly overbroad, implicating a vast amount of protected speech and association that bears no relation to the State’s policy goals. It applies to every applicant, regardless of whether the person’s application or character references give rise to an individualized reason to believe that the applicant poses a threat to public safety. It also applies to every social media platform, irrespective of the fact that dating apps, fitness forums, and professional networking platforms (to take just a few examples) are highly unlikely to provide helpful information about an applicant’s propensity to engage in violence. As the Second Circuit recently suggested, this kind of dragnet approach to compelled disclosure is generally not narrowly tailored and so usually fails First Amendment scrutiny.

Accordingly, because the social media registration requirement imposes a profound burden on expressive and associational freedoms without materially advancing the State’s goal of preventing unlawful gun violence, it violates the First Amendment.

I’d encourage you to read the entire brief for yourself when you have a few minutes, because it’s an excellent takedown of the both the disclosure requirement and the related “good moral character” clause. As the amici argue, the statute gives issuing authorities so much leeway to decide whether an applicant has demonstrated “good moral character” that even protected political speech could be reason enough to deny someone a license.

The burdens imposed by the requirement are compounded by the fact that applicants do not know what kind of speech or which associations will cause the State to doubt the applicant’s “good moral character”: they are at the mercy of the whims and vast discretion of the licensing officer. What kinds of posts would make a licensing officer think the applicant did not have “the essential character, temperament and judgement necessary to be entrusted with a weapon”? N.Y. Penal Law § 400.00(1)(b), (o)(iv). Clear and direct threats of violence would almost certainly be red flags for the reviewer, but what about the frequent use of profanity? A proclamation that “all cops are bastards”5 or that “Black lives matter”? Evidence of an unorthodox sex life? Photos of a prized collection of guns? And what acts or statements would “suggest [applicants] are likely to engage in conduct that would result in harm to themselves or others”? Video of the applicant playing “shooter” games, like Call of Duty or Fortnite? Posts about recovering from an eating disorder? Pictures of the applicant boxing?

Moreover, applicants who frequently post criticism of law enforcement or hold differing views from licensing officers may have concerns about how that speech will be understood. For example, members of amicus the Liberal Gun Club are particularly worried about retribution related to their political views, concerned that their support of opposition candidates or political organizations that challenge those in power will be used against them.

It’s a valid point. I mean, we already know that there were egregious abuses and corruption under New York’s unconstitutional “may issue” regime, and the “good moral character” requirement as written is really just another way for those licensing authorities to continue to have unfettered discretion in picking and choosing who gets to exercise a fundamental civil right.

I love the fact that the Knight First Amendment Institute is a part of this brief, even if the organization is supportive of some of the other unconstitutional aspects of the CCIA. Maybe the exposure to the points of view of Operation Blazing Sword-Pink Pistols, NAAGA, APAGOA, D.C. Project Foundation, and the Liberal Gun Club will even sway some of the First Amendment fans at the institute to take a second look at their own views on the Second Amendment, but at the very least this coalition has demonstrated that you don’t have to be an ardent defender of the right to keep and bear arms to find fundamental flaws in New York’s post-Bruen carry regime.

Filed Under: <![CDATA[Antonyuk v. Nigrelli]]>, <![CDATA[APAGOA]]>, <![CDATA[Cam &amp; Co]]>, <![CDATA[D.C. Project]]>, <![CDATA[First Amendment]]>, <![CDATA[Knight First Amendment Institute]]>, <![CDATA[Liberal Gun Club]]>, <![CDATA[NAAGA]]>, <![CDATA[Operation Blazing Sword]]>, <![CDATA[Pink Pistols]]>, <![CDATA[Video]]>, Bearing Arms, News

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