Springfield Armory in Massachusetts produced over 4,000 M1855 pistol-carbines, a dual-purpose firearm. With the stock removed, troops could fire from horseback. When dismounted, the horse soldier could attach the stock to fight on foot with greater accuracy. Despite such versatility, the firearm was not popular.I've done some searching around and haven't found a good photo to share, but here's why it caught my attention: Short-barreled rifles and shotguns are strictly controlled, and the rationale in the infamous Miller decision centered around the defendant not being able to demonstrate a military application for a short-barreled shotgun. My friend and colleague Brian Puckett wrote a quite authoritative analysis on this as a supplement for the Silveira case. I'm not a lawyer or a firearms expert, nor do I play one on TV. I don't know if the existence of the M1855 makes a damned bit of difference as far as legal technicalities go, and I suspect it probably doesn't. But I just thought it was interesting, and figured someone might be able to offer some further insights. If you have something to add, feel free to leave a comment.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
The Gun at the Reagan Library
After posting the latest Million Moon Update, I took the family on a trip about an hour north of us to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA. I've always had a fondness for the man, despite some profound differences. He was, after all, a remarkable individual. He was also a master at making you like the persona he presented, and I'm not immune. Plus, I really wanted to tour the Air Force One exhibit (Wow!), and also spend a moment of reflective silence at the president's resting place.
It is a facility worthy of a special trip. Sitting on a mountaintop, the view alone is worth the drive--spectacular doesn't cover it. In addition to the exhibits already mentioned, you can tour a replica of the Oval Office as it appeared during the Reagan years, see a piece of the Berlin Wall, and wander through the various halls displaying periods and achievments of the president's life.
Which brings me to why I'm sharing this.
I stopped at a glass case containing several historic American firearms. There was one of unique appearance that caught my eye, something I hadn't seen before, with this description on its placard:
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2 comments:
Miller was killed during illegal activity prior to the hearing before the Court.
However, the decision is still flawed due to ignorance of the justices as to just what constitutes a "suitable military weapon". They upheld the law in this case because they found no protected military or militia use for the sawed off shotgun. Which displayed their ignorance of the many short barrelled shotguns used in the trenches of WWI.
The law survived because of a collection of mistakes, flawed procedure, and plain ignorance of the justices.
Not to mention their instinctive desire to support government and law enforcement.
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