U.S. v. Skoien To Be Reheard

News comes from Eugene Volokh that the 7th Circuit wants the Skoien case reheard en banc.  There are two possibilities here.

The first is that there was widespread disagreement with Judge Sykes' decision, and that the others on the panel hope to reverse it should we lose the McDonald case.  This would be similar to the Nordyke situation, in which the initial decision was similarly remanded pending the Supreme Court's decision.

The second possibility is that they want to try for a more lenient standard of scrutiny, which seems unlikely.  Heller took rational basis off the table, and Sykes' opinion was as close to "intermediate" scrutiny as could be workable.  All that remains is strict scrutiny for the 2nd Amendment.

Maybe, just maybe, there's actually support for that.  We'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, the 4th Circuit has quietly agreed with the 7th, vacating William Chester's conviction on similar grounds in an unpublished opinion.  Though an "unpublished" opinion is not binding precedent, its very existence shows a certain amount of support for Skykes' interpretation.

The Morning Horses

Old memory with my father on Assateague Beach, pitch-shifted and sepia.

The Morning Horses (01:21)

Building Loop (00:09)

Mass Effect 2: Life in the Margins

Mass Effect was the story of a plucky commander uniting an oddball crew to save the galaxy.  Sure, there was a seedy underbelly, and folks tended to do some pretty shifty stuff at the fringes of civilization.  Part of the game involved confronting that from time to time, but we were led to expect a Gene Roddenberry happy ending for the most part.

That's certainly not the case in the sequel.  While the first game encouraged the player to navigate a fairly well-defined good/evil moral course, Mass Effect 2 forces us to wade through some fairly gray areas.

Spoilers ahead.

Second Guessing the Unguessable

A young man commited suicide on the range last Thursday. He fired 49 rounds, then turned the 50th on himself.

I reached him within seconds, but he showed no vital signs whatsoever.  He left behind two notes, one of which he appeared to have been holding while he shot himself, and another in his wallet. He waited until the area to his left was clear and aimed the weapon in such a way that nobody was downrange from the bullet.

We all expect suicidal people to give some sort of sign before they do something like this. As I've learned over the last few days, this isn't the case. I'd spoken to this person on two occasions at length, and he always appeared amiable and content. He seemed to enjoy shooting and was showing improvement over time.

Many suicidal people become somewhat serene once they've made the decision. I have no idea what led this man to take his own life, but he must have made up his mind well before we met.

Needless to say, the whole situation was quite disturbing to both witnesses and employees. My primary emotion at the time was annoyance. I was angry that he'd shown the temerity to dump this in my lap. Some very uncharitable thoughts ran through my head. Looking back, that was a fairly selfish reaction.

There's some consolation in the fact that he chose to do it on our premises rather than in front of his family. They've lost a son and they are grieving.  They don't need to see what I saw. I can deal with the terrible logistics.

I'd hoped this could be kept quiet, but someone at the Atlanta Journal/Constitution had access to a police scanner. The story was in the news before his body had even been removed from the premises, and well before the family could even be located or informed. There has been a great deal of speculation on the gun boards, most of it inaccurate, and much of it in reprehensible taste.

I am grateful for those who have expressed support and sympathy.  If I hear from the man's family, I will post the means to offer assistance to them.