On the 1st day of #testimony in #HunterBiden’s federal #gun trial, #jurors heard his audio of his memoir, where he recounted his #drug use in graphic detail. A federal prosecutor told jurors “no one is above the #law,” & defense said the he did not “knowingly” lie when filling out forms to purchase a weapon.
The #gun counts #HunterBiden faces are rarely stand-alone charges. Usually such violations are attached to ≥1 other alleged #crime, e.g. armed robbery.
Oct 2022 - Mar 2023, federal prosecutors filed 3,863 cases in which the #unlawful possession of a #firearm was the lead charge, per Syracuse’s TRAC database.
In 130 of those cases, or ~3%, the lead unlawful possession charge was related to making a false stmnt to acquire the weapon. The amt of false stmnts + drug use is likely even lower.
"Tony Gonzales, the #Republican congressman who represents #Uvalde, where the #MassShooting of 19 #children & two adults took place in 2022, barely won his runoff against a #gun zealot who refers to himself as “The AK Guy,” a reference to his fondness for Kalashnikov assault rifles...
Big show of family support on the 1st day of #HunterBiden’s trial.
In addition to #POTUS’ statement, Hunter’s wife, Melissa Cohen, his sister Ashley Biden, his friend Kevin Morris, Peter Neal, who is married to Hunter’s daughter Naomi, & #FLOTUS Dr. #JillBiden are in attendance.
President #Biden will be in Wilmington, DL, w/no appearances scheduled. But he has given no indication that he would be in the courthouse — a possibility that would require considerable security arrangements.
The 3 felony charges against #HunterBiden stem from a 2018 #gun purchase in #Delaware. He separately faces 9 tax-related federal charges. The #tax case is scheduled to go to trial in Sept in Los Angeles. Hunter is accused of making 2 false statements on the paperwork to purchase the weapon, specifically when he claimed not to be addicted to or using illegal drugs, & unlawfully possessing the gun for 11 days. It’s against the law to possess a weapon while using illegal drugs.
Judge Maryellen Noreika swore in 12 #jurors — + 4 alternates — to determine the #legal fate of #HunterBiden, who is on trial for 3 #felony#gun charges….
A substitute #teacher, a fmr #SecretService employee & multiple #GunOwners were among those chosen to report back to court Tues morning, when opening arguments are expected to begin.…Most were people of color, &…appeared to range from mid-20s to 70s.
…The responses of dozens of prospective jurors to questions in open court reflected some of the most pervasive & divisive issues in American society, w/jurors discussing their views on #gun ownership & #mistrust of the #judicial process.
And in a trial where the #criminal defendant has been public about his struggles w/ drug #addiction, the #jurors told the court about similar battles fought by their parents, children & friends.
…Many #jurors said they had read or seen headlines about Hunter Biden’s #gun case over the yrs in local & natl news, but few said they delved into the details. One woman, selected as an alternate, said she first learned #HunterBiden was going to trial on Mon …on her drive over to the courthouse.
She told the court that many of her relatives are gun owners & that she has lost multiple friends to drug #addiction. “I feel it’s an everyday part of the world nowadays,” she said.
#SCOTUS gave a win to the #NRA in its #FreeSpeech dispute w/a #NY state ofcl it accused of coercing banks & insurers to avoid doing business w/the influential #gun advocacy group.
#Trump pledges to 'roll back' Democratic President Joe #Biden’s #gun#regulations put in place by Democratic President Joe #Biden & to fire the #ATF chief during a lengthy rally speech to the #NRA on Sat, during which he accepted the influential group's #endorsement.
The address to thousands of #NRA members at the group's annual Leadership Forum in Dallas was light on new #policy, but he used the platform to urge #gun supporters to go to the polls in the Nov #election.
"We've got to get gun owners to vote," #Trump said in his wide-rangingspeech, which covered everything from his #criminal trials to #trade & #immigration over >90 mins.
"I think you're a rebellious bunch. But let's be rebellious & vote this time."
The nation's top #gun rights group has now endorsed #Trump 3X - in 2016, 2020 & 2024.
The org cheered on Trump during his 2017-2021 term, as he appointed 3 #conservative justices to #SCOTUS & took a series of steps sought by the #GunLobby.…Including designating #firearm shops as “essential businesses” during the #COVID19#pandemic, allowing them to stay open.
A man serving 55 years has filed a motion to overturn his conviction, arguing that the state prosecuted him for giving a #gun to a drive-by shooter even though another man had already pleaded guilty to giving the same gun to the shooter.
👏🏻👏🏻“Sale of firearms on internet & at gun shows in US will in future be subj to mandatory #BackgroundChecks, DOJ said as it announced a “historic” new action to keep weapons out of hands of criminals.
"Almost 25 years after suing the firearms industry for failing to prevent illegal gun sales, the northwestern Indiana city of Gary won a critical victory last fall when a judge ordered gun manufacturers to hand [over] years of production and sales records.
As someone who almost always open-carries guns I must say, the one thing I dont like is how certain people assume your a republican or pro-trump when they see it. Today I had an experience with a tow truck driver who was overtly racist the whole ride home and I suspect its because he saw my gun and made some assumptions.
Pro-guns is probably the only topic where I align with the right at all really.
A #Manhattan#jury found 3 top execs of the National Rifle Association liable in a lengthy #civil#trial that focused on alleged corruption & the misspending of millions of dollars.
Longtime NRA leader #WayneLaPierre, a key architect in the nonprofit's hardline #gun rights agenda who stepped down as CEO last month, was central to #NY state's case.
The execs were accused of misappropriating & mismanaging funds donated to the #gun rights group's members. Acc/to #NYAG [hero] #LetitiaJames, who brought the lawsuit, their actions led to "the loss of >$64M in just 3 years."
During the 6-wk #trial, state lawyers alleged that #LaPierre had spent >$11M for private flights & approved $135M in #NRA contracts in exchange for yacht access & free trips to the Bahamas, Greece & other vacation hotspots.
The shootings in Missouri today are another clarion call: every state in the U.S. can and should enact statutes to ground civil suits against irresponsible #gun manufacturers and sellers. The gun industry is fighting these statutes in court. I explain and defend the desirability, lawfulness, and constitutionality of such statutes in this article, forthcoming in Yale Law Journal Forum. Neither #PLCAA nor the #SecondAmendment invalidate these laws. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dw3rMKXX1DlHKa9GXk1bojxSgYUxsP8r/view?usp=drivesdk#LawFedi#KansasCity
Today is the anniversary of the Kent State shootings, or more appropriately the "May 4th Massacre". In the wake of recent events and our consideration of gun control laws I think this day deserves a great deal of reflection. Four Americans were murdered, and nine more wounded, by our own national guard simply for participating in an anti-war demonstration. If we want to consider limiting access to guns on american soil lets start with our own national guard and police, not our citizens. The last thing I want to see is an unarmed populace needing to deal with a well-armed police and military force. Lets focus on securing the rights of the citizen, not giving them up
Counterpoint; maybe #police would never have been able to justify being so heavily armed in the first place, if it wasn't EASIER to get a #Gun in the #USA than to get a #Degree, a #Home, or a #Job.
The "defence against tyranny" #rhetoric LOST ANY and ALL water it may have held once the #NRA got in bed with the most tyrannical #President elected to date.