printThe Supreme Court has “ruled in favor of an illegal alien convicted of using false social security numbers, reports BILL TUCKER for CNN’s Lou Dobbs.
“The court said an individual using a false identity cannot be charged unless prosecutors can prove that the individual knew in advance that the identity belonged to a real person. … Do you feel better knowing that it is now legal for an illegal alien to steal your identity if he or she doesn’t know it’s yours?”
“The courts ruled differently in the case of a Wisconsin gun owner, David Olofson remains in prison for something he didn’t know that his malfunctioning rifle would be classified as a machine gun by federal authorities.”
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: David Olofson will remain in the federal penitentiary where he’s been for 10 months. He must complete his 10 to 30 month sentence for illegally transferring a machine gun. Olofson lent his AR15 rifle to a neighbor to shoot on a target range, the semiautomatic gun fired a couple of multi-round bursts after firing hundreds of rounds of single shots.
Instead of simply seizing the gun or ordering its repair, Olofson was put on trial, convicted and given a jail sentence. The judge at his trial said he had shown he was ignoring the law and had considerable knowledge of machine guns. The seventh circuit court heard his appeal in January and now has affirmed his conviction. It’s a ruling that gun rights advocates call chilling.
DAVID KOPEL, INDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE: The taking away if the Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco Firearms wants to enforce the gun laws against you with the utmost stringency the courts are not going to provide any protection.
TUCKER: Part of Olofson’s appeal rested on the argument that his gun malfunctioned, therefore it didn’t fit the definition of a machine gun, but the jury, following the judge’s instructions, convicted Olofson.
PROF. MICHAEL O’HEAR, MARQUETTE UNIV. LAW SCHOOL: There is a very high degree of deference to jury decisions.
TUCKER: The court did not accept Olofson’s argument that he did not know he had a machine gun.
“On the same day, the Supreme Court threw out an illegal immigrant’s conviction for identity theft saying the government had not proved that the man knew the documents he received were false.”
KRIS KOBACH, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: It is interesting that the two opinions come down on the same day. The Supreme Court said in the case of the immigration identity theft statute, knowingly means knowingly and you have to know you stole a specific person’s identity.
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As I’ve said, “I know I can always rely on America’s deracinated elites to elevate the interests of the enemy above those of the people. In other words, I trust the government’s untrustworthiness. When it comes to breaching the public’s interests, the government’s track record is better than good.”
Still, the American state takes treason to new heights.
I doubt that Mr. Olofson wasn’t aware of his rifle’s automatic-aspirations. That being said, I am having even more trouble believing that someone is dumb/obtuse/stupid enough to not figure out that if the name next to your mugshot is not yours, you are breaking the law (well, before the court ruling at least).
Although the word TYRANNY is often used to characterize “one-man rule”, I think it is more appropriate as a description of our modern State. Unlimited power, arbitrary rules, inconsistent applications of the law, capricious decisions of unaccountable judges and bureaucrats, lack of due process – the ingredients of the modern day tyranny. Whether it is abuses of pardons, signing statements, enhanced interrogations, amnesties to illegals, prosecutorial jihads (like the Duke “rape” case) – it is people in power using the law as their personal playtoy to corruptly enhance their power, enrich their pals, etc.
Is there an illegal immigration related court ruling in the whole history of this country that wasn’t corruptly decided on the judge’s own ideology of amnesty?
More restrictive gun laws are on their way. With convictions like this one, gun owners now have a strong incentive to simply not let themselves be taken into custody.
Olofson’s persecution reminds me that many gunowners that I know slavishly ‘herd up’ with any new regs and practices, hoping to be on the inside of the herd when the wolves come out for feeding.
We’re not all like that though…
It is time to wake up and smell the coffee. The American people are being attacked by a ruthless and aggressive gang of statist thugs that imagines there to be no limits on its power and is committed to their enslavement and seizure and control of all material wealth.
It is axiomatic that winners in combat cannot be reactive. The enemy is poised to strike. If it strikes first, we are doomed.