Word of the Day: Incorporation...

Judge tosses firearms charge against state police lieutenant

BARNSTABLE — A U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a requirement that guns be locked or disassembled when stored has convinced a Barnstable District Court judge to dismiss a firearms charge against a Massachusetts state trooper.

State police Lt. Richard Bolduc was charged last summer with illegally storing a large-capacity firearm in the presence of a minor. Bolduc's 12-year-old son took his father's police-issued handgun from a bureau in their Sandwich home, pointed it at a 5-year-old neighbor, and pulled the trigger, according to court records.

(The gun was not loaded, and the child was not hurt)

That's one lucky cop, one extremely lucky five year old, and one seriously uneducated 12 year old.

Here's the money quote:

Earlier this month, Bolduc's attorney, Daniel O'Malley, argued before Judge Joan Lynch that the firearms charge should be dropped based on the June 26 Supreme Court ruling.

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the court declared a Washington, D.C., gun ban unconstitutional and struck down the storage requirements because, the court decided, they violated a citizen's right of self protection.

Heller vs. DC being used against MA's "Safe storage" laws. Can you say incorporation? I knew that you could...

Now, granted, there are some other factors at play here:

• There was no actual ruling for or against the officer based on the Heller argument.
• Whether this case would have been dismissed against Joe Sixpack is another story entirely
• It's a loooong way from "A cop walks where an ordinary Joe would have gone straight under the bus" to "MA Safe Storage Laws Struck Down from Heller Decision"...

But this is certainly a start. On the positive side, the argument wasn't thrown out. Now, certainly, it could be the judge dismissed the case simply because the person in question was a police officer. Wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last, either. It's also possible that the judge didn't want to push the issue for fear of her courtroom being the first shot in the Heller onslaught against oppressive states - is she ready to be that first domino?

I'll savor the (very minor) victory for now. We've got a precedent, a slim, flickering hope that maybe, just maybe, the Heller decision may be used to strike down some of the more onerous MA state laws. The funny thing, for me, is that it wouldn't change a thing if MA threw out the "Safe storage" requirements - I'll still lock my guns up as long as my kids are in the house, plain and simple. I'd rather train to get a gun out of a safe than worry about them or their friends having a moment of stupid like Officer Bolduc's son...

And as a parting shot, I shudder to think what my father would have done to me had I taken his service revolver and pointed it at a neighborhood child - I suspect I *still* would be unable to sit down...

That is all.