Jim Porter: Everyone is entitled to keep a machine gun under the bed

TRUCKEE, Calif. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. U.S. Constitution, Second Amendment.

Clearly the Second Amendment allows each of us to own a machine gun; that's part of our right to keep and bear Arms. Right? We need to protect ourselves and a machine gun is perfect. Can't we each be our own Militia?

Homemade Machine gun

On Oct. 30, 2009, the Anchorage Police Department dispatched officers to Matthew Wayne Henry's home after receiving reports of gunfire. They found shell casings everywhere. A search warrant turned up a loaded .308-caliber assault rifle under Henry's bed. Henry was charged with discharging firearms while intoxicated. The case was later dismissed as the State declined to prosecute. Shooting guns while intoxicated must be standard fare in Anchorage.

Anonymous Tip

After Henry was released, the Anchorage police received an anonymous tip that he had converted the .308 rifle into a machine gun, which they had not noticed. They went back with another search warrant and discovered under the bed 20 guns, gun parts and machine gun conversion instructions to convert semiautomatics to full automatics. How'd they miss that cache the first time?

Henry was charged with all sorts of weapons violations which he defended claiming, (a) he had a right to keep a machine gun pursuant to the Second Amendment and (b) laws against machine guns are not authorized under the Commerce Clause the same Clause that came into play in the U.S. Supreme Court's recent health care decision.

Guilty/Appeal

A jury found Henry guilty of knowingly and unlawfully possessing a machine gun. He was sentenced to twenty-four months in prison and forfeited his machine gun. Henry appealed. He didn't mind the time in prison but didn't want to lose his precious gun.

Second Amendment/Machine guns

Read the rest here:
Jim Porter: Everyone is entitled to keep a machine gun under the bed