This week, we're talking to the man at the center of a brand new legal fight in the gun world. The Firearms Blog TV founder, James Reeves, was subpoenaed in an Everytown-backed lawsuit seeking to hold Smith and Wesson liable for the Highland Park mass shooting. The plaintiffs are trying to prove the gun company's marketing contributed to the shooting, which is a hard lift but not a new tactic. What is new is how they're trying to do it. That's where Reeves comes in. Reeves doesn't work for Smith and Wesson. He is a lawyer, gun-rights activist, and gun reviewer. He doesn't have any obvious direct connection to the Highland Park shooting. But the plaintiffs want a trove of documents from him anyway. Why? Because, as Reeves puts it, they are treating all gun reviews as de facto advertisements. They believe Smith and Wesson pays reviewers either directly or under the table to try and make their guns more appealing to unstable young people like the Highland Park shooter. Reeves said he has never done any undisclosed advertising for Smith and Wesson or any other gun company. He also said he's never taken direction from them or anyone else on what points to make in a review. He argued that while there are ethical issues in the gun review industry, they aren't nearly as cartoonish as what the gun-control groups imagine. Ultimately, Reeves accused the plaintiffs of lawfare. He said they're trying to circumvent federal protections for gun business, and they're trying to inflict pain on them through the legal process. He then explained why he ultimately decided to tell the plaintiffs he doesn't have what they're looking for, rather than fight tooth and nail to avoid answering at all.Special Guest: James Reeves.
Reload Reporter Julie Miller and I cover a new ruling out of Montgomery County, Maryland, that blocks a gun ban at places of worship. We also discuss Washington, DC attempting to intervene in the legal fight between the NRA and its foundation on the side of the foundation. Then we look at the Department of Justice's new gun-carry permitting lawsuit against San Jose, California. And I detail how my charity range day for Homes for Our Troops went this year! Links: -https://thereload.com/synagogue-wins-case-against-maryland-countys-gun-restrictions/ -https://thereload.com/dc-asks-to-join-nra-foundation-fight-on-the-side-of-the-foundation/ -https://thereload.com/analysis-doj-doubles-down-on-gun-carry-lawsuits-member-exclusive/Special Guest: Julie Miller.
This week, we're taking a look at the briefs backing the plaintiffs in Viramontes v. Cook County. Bearing Arms editor Cam Edwards joins the show to share what he thinks are the most important and the most interesting amicus briefs in the case. He noted that a ton of briefs were submitted, including briefs from all kinds of groups outside your typical gun groups. He said some briefs focus on how the Supreme Court could answer not just whether AR-15 bans are unconstitutional, but also whether magazine bans or other hardware bans are unconstitutional. Cam pointed to one brief that seeks to clarify that AR-15s aren't more powerful than other similar rifles that "assault weapons" bans don't touch and aren't employed by the military. He said the argument sought to debunk the idea that AR-15s are unusually dangerous. We also went in depth on the Department of Justice's brief in the case, which asks the court to adopt a very unique view of the "common use" test. Then, we talk about gun-rights lawyer Alan Beck's brief that unearths some interesting historical evidence to argue the "dangerous and unusual" standard traditionally applied to conduct rather than the weapons themselves.Special Guest: Cam Edwards.
Reload Reporter Shiv Parihar and I cover his recent trip to Kyiv in order to document what's happening with gun rights in Ukraine. He details how the push to liberalize the former Soviet nation's gun restrictions has stalled, and the divide on the ground over what should be allowed. We also discuss a Third Circuit panel's decision to revive a National Shooting Sports Foundation lawsuit against a New Jersey law that makes it easier to sue gun businesses. And we touch on some of the pro-gun briefs in the Supreme Court's AR-15 ban case. Links -https://thereload.com/shooting-is-very-nice-when-its-only-going-one-direction-ukrainian-gun-store-staff-see-surging-interest-member-early-access/ -https://thereload.com/exclusive-ukrainian-right-to-bear-arms-policy-proceeds-at-snails-pace/ -https://thereload.com/third-circuit-allows-gun-industry-challenge-to-new-jerseys-reasonable-controls-law/ -https://thereload.com/analysis-the-dangerous-and-unusual-standard-is-about-conduct-not-weapons-themselves/ -https://thereload.com/analysis-why-doj-says-scotus-should-strike-down-ar-15-bans-but-not-every-gun-ban-member-exclusive/Special Guest: Shiv Parihar.
This week, we're taking a deep dive into a novel college class on the sociology of guns. Wake Forrest University professor David Yamane joins the show to describe his groundbreaking class on guns in America. He just finished the range day portion of his latest course and agreed to describe how he teaches the course, his goals, and how his students react. Yamane explained that most academic research on guns focuses on either the constitutional law questions or the aberrant and criminal misuse of guns. His course instead focuses on how most Americans use guns. He said, in America, guns are normal and normal people use guns. He said he tries to relay the basics of who owns guns, why they own them, and what they use them for most of the time. He also teaches how those things have changed over the decades, including an accelerating trend toward diversification in gun ownership. Part of relaying that information involves going and actually shooting some guns. That is, of course, very similar to what I do with the one-day course I teach college journalists. So, we discuss the ins-and-outs of running a range day for college students. We also talk about what it's like to carve out a unique space in the gun world and try to build it into something more.Special Guest: David Yamane.