Over ammunition limits this time. From Heller’s filing:
25. Subsequently on March 6, 2015, the Chief issued a Notice Of Second Emergency And Proposed Rulemaking , N0051986, 62 DCR 2803, which without comment or explanation,doubled the allowable ammunition a concealed pistol licensee could carry on his person. This regulation read, “A person issued a concealed carry license by the Chief, while carrying the pistol,shall not carry more ammunition than is required to fully load the pistol twice, and in no event shall that amount be greater than twenty (20) rounds of ammunition.”
Yes, NYSRPA v. Bruen (seeing lots of these cases now) is cited.
There appears to be nothing in the text, history or tradition of the Second Amendment that supports limiting the amount of ammunition that a person may carry for his or her self-defense.
Upon seeing that, I immediately thought of the Militia Act of 1792, which actually specified a minimum amount of ammunition to be carried, not a maximum. And very much more than a single loading of the firearm (also required).
Sure enough, Heller knows that. As I continued reading, I saw this.
What regulations did exist around the time of the founding of the SecondAmendment required Americans to be armed as detailed above and required militia members to be equipped with aminimum amount of ammunition.
Here’s the relevant section of the Militia Act.
That every citizen, so enrolled and notified, shall, within six months thereafter, provide himself with a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack, a pouch, with a box therein, to contain not less than twenty four cartridges, suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of powder and ball; or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch, and powder-horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a pound of powder; and shall appear so armed, accoutred and provided, when called out to exercise or into service, except, that when called out on company days to exercise only, he may appear without a knapsack.
So the only historical and traditional precedent is for a minimum of 44 rounds; 2.2 times the arbitrary maximum that DC imposed. Or 22 times the amount needed to “fully load the [musket of the day] twice.”
[Correction: See comments below. That’s 24 cartridges if the militia had a musket, or 20 rounds if he had a rifle; not a total of 44. I apologize for misreading that.]
I rather hope this goes to the Supreme Court, since it provide a nationwide — not just the District of the District of Columbia — judicial precedent to argue against magazine limits (Hey, California…).
The DC District Court is going to hate this. It has generally been very supportive of DC’s rights-infringements, but NYSRPA v. Bruen is very, very clear.
Well done, Mr. Heller.
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Point of order: the Militia Act does not mandate 44 rounds. It mandates 24 or 20 rounds, depending on the type of firearm:
– Musket or firelock: 24 rounds
– Rifle: 20 rounds
If you had a musket or firelock, you were expected to also bring a bayonet and belt, spare flints, a knapsack, and a pouch holding a box with at least 24 cartridges of pre-measured powder and ball. OR, if you had a rifle, you were expected to have a knapsack, shot pouch with at least 20 balls, and powder horn with at least a quarter-pound of powder (no bayonet, belt, or spare flints required).
The Act did not require a man to bring both types of long gun; he only needed ammunition for the gun he brought.
You’re correct. I don’t know how many times I’ve read that and saw it requiring 24 prepared cartridges, plus the loose balls and powder.
But nothing prevented a man from carrying more than one gun. In law, it’s important to not only pay attention to “what” is stated but also to what is not stated.”