CRS Firearms: The Legal Community Doesn’t Study Logic Any More
BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 7 months ago
I won’t rehearse the history of Matt Hoover and CRS Firearms. I think most of you know it anyway. I also won’t rehearse my love for logic. Most of you know that anyway. Mark does a nice job of finding a very relevant legal precedent that should have been applied before the idiots at the DOJ and ATF ever brought him to trial.
The ATF was never able to demonstrate that what Matt helped to sell could ever work, or did ever work. It was a collector’s item, and nothing more. Anway, here is the relevant part from the court case.
Hypotheticals further illustrate the weakness of this methodology. A mouse is not an “elephant” solely because it has three characteristics that are common to known elephants: a tail, gray skin, and four legs. A child’s bike is not a “motorcycle” solely because it has three characteristics common to known motorcycles: two rubber tires, handlebars, and a leather seat. And a Bud Light is not “Single-Malt Scotch,” just because it is frequently served in a glass container, contains alcohol, and is available for purchase at a tavern. To close with a firearm-related example: a hockey puck is not a “rubber bullet,” just because it has rounded sides, is made of vulcanized rubber, and is capable of causing injury when launched at high speeds. Learning that one object has three characteristics in common with some category may not be very helpful in determining whether the object in question belongs in that category.
I love the judge’s use of logic. All law school graduates should be required to take multiple courses in Aristotelian (or classic) logic, and furthermore, logic should be an integral part of the BAR exam. I’ve read books on logic. Why shouldn’t a lawyer be required to do the same thing?
On April 28, 2023 at 7:40 am, J said:
Spinoza any one?
On April 30, 2023 at 7:06 am, Mike in Canada said:
If gun control arguments had anything whatsoever to do with logic, we would not still be arguing about it forty years later.
A pox on all their houses.