Comments by "Stephen Villano" (@spvillano) on "LegalEagle" channel.

  1.  @brontewcat sold who the gun? The accusation was made that the federal firearms dealer sold a firearm, specifically a pistol, which is federally illegal, to a minor child. Which, per all facts revealed in the case is entirely false. The FFL holder lawfully sold the village idiot a firearm, who then violated the law and the common sense that the Almighty gave to a common house brick by letting her troubled teen son have free and easy access to it - again, in violation of federal law. That's as bad as wanting to sue a firearms manufacturer for the proper function of their firearm when it's unlawfully utilized. Yet, for some odd reason, we don't see Ford motor vehicle company getting sued when pedestrians are intentionally ran down by terroristic idiots. Especially, given that despite the hyperbole, I've yet to see a firearms advertisement bragging about how many people that firearm can kill and maim. Although, I do have some heartburn over the advertisements from a marksman perspective. Want to sell me that expensive chunk of steel, one would have much better luck discussing its much greater accuracy and environmental tolerance than the tacti-cool crap currently advertised. I'm far more inclined to consider a product that's, say an AR-15 with 1 minute of angle accuracy than one advertised with a search light, radar set, photon torpedo launcher and a Volkswagon attached to its stock. The same being true for handguns. And for the next gun nut that blathers about an AR-15 in 5.56x45mm being a great hunting rifle, that individual is at great risk of having a magazine shoved up their butt sideways and secured with a sand encrusted eggplant. It was a varmint round, it still is a varmint round and it'll always be a varmint round. Oh, just to be pedantic, swords are also lawfully considered arms. So are spears, archery weapons, well, weapons in general. More worriesome is, the school was well aware that the teen was troubled and was powerless to get the minor child help in the face of a criminally negligent parent. That's something easily addressed, as every other form of abuse currently can be legally addressed. But first, we have to get off of our fat, lazy collective asses and make mental health care of greater importance than dentistry, which itself is treated as inferior to cosmetic surgery! Seriously, it's easier to get a boob job than braces, which are both infinitely easier than to find covered mental health care. I've no need of a boob job, the state capital is rife with plenty of fresh boobs and right down the street from me. No need of braces at my age. I could use a mind, mine has been blown over the last two decades...
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  3.  @brontewcat I actually own a pair of switchblades. Military related, now retired, but bought them, they're mine unless the government wants to name an acceptable price to acquire them and well, if I can locate the things. Useful tools, switchblades are banned by many for being dangerous, which they are - to the bearer. Today, I lug around a small pocket knife that has a spring assist, as frequently, I run flat out of hands to open a knife and otherwise, I'd be forced to lug around a fixed blade of greater length. See the balance there? Same balance when I mentioned a National Firearms Act item - a suppressor. In a number of European nations, a suppressor is desired to not disturb residents during hunting season, not banned in the US, they are NFA weapons. Now, I've had my share of Rambo style idiot knives, got seriously tired of getting jabbed in the hip or losing mobility when mounted near my chest, went with a saner US Air Force aviation survival knife for the majority of my military career. Civilian life, I have my assisted opening 2 1/2 inch knife that's around 6 and 1/3 centimeters. Does its jobs, enough said. Now, is that a weapon? A hammer is a weapon, when used as such, as is a common screwdriver. People have been hitting one another over the head with the latest rock replacement since people were mistakenly invented. Now, let's go back to firearms control, which is lacking in the US and needlessly so. First, take the idiot's brigade out of the picture. All semiautomatic firearms derived from military service rifles go under a new chapter of the NFA. Shy of machine guns, lower than suppressors (yeah, there's a legal threshold in the US practical law, as states have input beyond the NFA). Handguns, I'm shit out of luck figuring out, due to Heller vs D.C.. Here's the fun of it, occasionally, I do hunt, using typically either a 30-30 lever action or a 45-70 lever action. I also compete with an AR-15, frequently enough against active military and also compete in M1911 tournaments. And thoroughly hate gun nuts, who prefer "victory via superior volume of fire" idiocy and go beyond hatred of those who think that they can lawfully overthrow their government with their toy vs MLRS, artillery, bombers, tanks and royally pissed off infantry. But, we've also have a rather confounding legal landscape. That whole second amendment being key to governmental function in a national emergency and citizens rights. Idiots fixate upon militia, never following laws, critical being the various militia acts, upon which the conscription system is rooted upon. Military aged men (now, women are admitted, due to legislation), who are fit mind and body, can be conscripted into military service nationwide and are classified as unorganized militia. That's every able bodied male, typically between the ages of 17 - 45, now adding women (formerly, only women in the National Guard, aka Organized Militia). I'm big on law, I've lived under lawless conditions during deployment, ain't fun at all. I'm also big on commonsense, which alas, is an endangered species, courtesy of my national fixation on quick fixes, rather than permanent fixes. I do however, personally advocate for the concealed carry of 105 - 155 mm howitzers. With one exception, Atomic Annie is also allowed, despite being of a higher caliber. Look up the weights and sizes to get the humor. Had a concealed carry permit, long ago, still have the card for it. One night, as I was cleaning, yet again, my M1911 pistol (yeah, I have a decided preference there), I considered how sporting an armed criminal would have to be, to allow me to equalize the odds by lugging my own out. Stopped lugging around that pig iron the next day. Guns, like hammers and saws are tools, to be used for good or ill. How often do you lug around a hammer or saw? And I live in an "open carry state", where very few bother, see the hammer and saw argument... Here, we've got an obvious parental neglect case, initially viewing things opposite, well, suggest it to say, I'd happily beat both parents to death with their own livers. We've got a massive, glaring hole in our mental health non-care system. As a result, we've got a massive number of mentally injured children, teachers, staff and some dead. All because Ronnie Raygun defunded mental health care and funded vaporware of Star Wars. If there's a hell, I hope to be allowed the privilege of shoveling coal onto Ronnie. I've other reasons, but they're classified... So, I'm not against your views, just tempering them based upon prevailing law and that beyond diamond hard Constitution.
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  9. What they fouled horribly was the actual heart of his defense. The distinction between a lawful order and an unlawful order and the erosive effect a criminally complicit command environment can have on that distinction. It's literally at the heart of what happened at My Lai, but Hollywood always loves to get it wrong or worse, not even wrong. Love the graphic on Rule #1! First time I've saw it, but certainly not the first time I heard it. If memory serves, the first time I heard it, saber toothed cats were still an annoyance... I disagree on who was pushing the code reds, as sergeants and corporals aren't ordering a lieutenant to give that order. But, it did start interestingly with perjury... Marine officers are not gods? Seriously? ;) May I introduce you to second lieutenant god... Wow, I could be charged with reckless endangerment of all personnel hearing that one, due to the extreme risk of dying of laughter. I've gotten unlawful orders in the Army, largely due to poor wording and not listening to an objection to the order not being lawful, what prompted an instant reevaluation is, "Very well, Sir, however I'll require that order documented and digitally signed". Never got such a document, the order was instead made lawful and properly considered. "Going after the Colonel", you know, insubordination for performing your sworn duties. Yeah, totally Hollywood. Although, had the Colonel in a real world court bellowed his career ending tirade, I'd have closed with my own bellow, starting quietly with "Sir, I am a veteran and a honorably retired former service member and military retiree, hence now a civilian and a representative here today of the US citizenry and taxpayers and would like to state, for the record, NOT IN MY NAME!!!", giving my sternest NCO glare. Yeah, wouldn't be allowed, but it would out Hollywood Hollywood and any attempt, rightfully having me ejected from the courtroom, likely alongside the wayward Colonel. Mr Navyman? Just whose department is on the head of a paper paycheck from the USMC? Oh yeah, Department of the Navy, sailor. ;P:p:P:p It's a favorite rub at the VFW, reminding them I was US Army Medical Corps, they are US Navy Marine Corps, the other gentlemen largely being US Marine Corps Judge Advocate General Corps and at some points, I had affiliation with US Army Chemical Corps, as well as US Army Communication Corps. Yeah, long career... High ranking Marine officer? He'd be properly referred to as a Senior Marine Commissioned Officer, which actually means something anywhere but a court of law, where that only comes into play under very special conditions - such as the Colonel's upcoming general courts-martial proceedings. I don't even think senior officers can receive a summary court martial at that point, it'd be special or general, both due to rank and nature of the charges. While on a jury, we once did have a situation where shouts were needed - by the jurist to order a recess until the nearby noise could be abated and examination and cross could be conducted at levels below a bellow. After an slightly extended lunch, the noise had ceased, although I don't believe it was by direction of the court, just that the conditions requiring the noise be made had ended (aircraft overhead, which was unusual for that location and probably was due to some emergent or contingency conditions that had ended). Memorable only because, as a juror, we were fairly well bored out of our minds and seeing a judge shout to be heard yielded entertainment to the spectacle. Military justice is... Complex, due to the unique nature of the Armed Forces (not my words, but the words of the SCOTUS). A number of offenses that are lesser felonies for civilians are capital offenses in the military. Some of the biggies, espionage, mutiny, sedition and treason, typically get civilians a lengthy prison sentence at most, a service member could actually be executed for. That reflects the position of public trust granted to our military, both to represent our nation and her values, as well as being entrusted with our most lethal of weapons. Hence, the need for a level of discipline unheard of in the civilian world.
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  27. Legally speaking, yes, they're the same gravity in breach of law. Also considered, scope. As a thought experiment, I kill family members of your family at the numbers of documents that were astray. For Biden, we're talking immediate family and some cousins, for Trump, a VFW hall sized venue. We're talking a mass murder vs Joe Mengle level atrocity. Going into improperly classified data, well, that's an atrocity well known in government and essentially intractable, to the point where I've read documents that were proudly marked SECRET/FOUO. Secret is special, in it could harm our government's interests, FOUO is For Official Use Only and hence, not subject to summary declassification and release under law. An IP address could be FOUO, the base chow hall roster and those consuming meals roster certainly would be. An entire network's IP scope and base roster is secret for plainly obvious reasons. The massive difference is, if I took any of those documents home, I'd be in a maximum security prison, likely close to Manning's old cell. Executive branch, like seniormost military leadership both realize the overclassification and deal with rivers of such documents, so behavior is decidedly more casual. Welcome to the real world, where some things are a major pain in the gonads for rank and file, not so much upstairs. And if I see another anything not UNCLASSIFIED/FOUO, but otherwise marked something higher/FOUO, there very well may be a death or severe bodily harm involved... And yeah, I Goobered security stuff down a lot, not that it's a classified thing, the guiding documents are unclassified and publicly available, bur boring as hell. But, lawyers who specialize in such things, well, they're rare and about as expensive as live Dodo birds.
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