n one of the first lower court rulings since the Supreme Court handed down the weakly-worded Heller Decision, a government restriction on firearms has been upheld. Steven Mullenix, a federal firearms licensee (FFL), was denied permission to import German WWII replica rifles by the notoriously anti-gun Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). The BATFE used arguments from the 1968 Gun Control Act to argue that the replica BD-44 held no "sporting purpose" and therefore Mr. Mullenix could not legally import them.
In return Mullenix sued the BATFE for infringing upon his right to keep and bear arms, calling their ruling "arbitrary and capricious."
Just a few short days after the Supreme Court ruled on the Heller Case -- the supposed victory for the Second Amendment --the North Carolina Circuit Court used Justice Scalia's own words to uphold the BATFE's restriction on firearms importation.
The lower court agreed with the BATFE's findings that the firearms Mr. Mullenix wanted to import were not "generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes."
They went on to restate the Heller Decision language that the Second Amendment wasn't unlimited, and that the government has the right to restrict or ban any type of firearm, stating that the right only applies to certain types of firearms.
Clearly, the ripples of the Heller Decision will be felt for years to come. Unfortunately we can only speculate on the future unintended consequences of this weak decision.
This much we do know: the Heller Decision is far from a victory for gun owners. It is already being used successfully to infringe upon the rights of gun owners across the county.
Read the full lower court ruling in Mullenix v. BATFE here.
For all the latest Heller Decision related news, click here: www.nationalgunrights.org/truthaboutheller.shtml