By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Attorney Mark Smith, nationally-known host of the Four Boxes Diner YouTube channel and widely considered an expert on Second Amendment law, delivered a prediction to the Gun Rights Policy Conference—and those watching from home—that the U.S. Supreme Court next year will hand down a major gun rights victory by striking down bans on modern semiautomatic rifles.
“The only way we lose,” he stated, “is if they literally overturn Heller and Bruen, and that ain’t gonna happen.”
Delivering his remarks in typical staccato-like speed, Smith went through several reasons why he is forecasting a Second Amendment win. Among them is that the high court has consolidated two cases, Viramontes v. Cook County (Illinois) and Grant v. Higgins (Connecticut), both involving the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF). One case addresses a local ban and the other, a statewide ban.
He said the Court likely decided to take the cases, even without a circuit court split, “Because they know the lower courts have been misbehaving on this issue for a long time.”
Smith noted the importance of certain amicus briefs filed in the case supporting the petitioners, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League and Eddie Grant, for whom Grant v. Higgins is named. One of those briefs was filed by the Justice Department, Smith explained, which carries considerable weight with the high court.
“The mere fact that the United states department of justice and solicitor general supports us is a very big deal,” Smith said.
Another brief was submitted by the attorneys general of 27 states that argued the AR-15 and similar firearms should be protected by the Second Amendment.
A third amicus was submitted by Prof. William English, the Georgetown University scholar who recently released his National Firearms Survey which, among other things, estimates some 40 million AR-15 rifles and another 20 million similarly-styled rifles are privately owned in the U.S. (“common use”). There can be no question, Smith contended, that such firearms are what would be expected for people to bring in the event of an emergency callout of a citizen militia.
What’s more, he observed, “The government has no evidence at all that these weapons are not in common use.”
There have been dozens of amicus briefs submitted in this case, and oral arguments are scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2 before the Supreme Court.
Smith’s 31-minute presentation covered lots of ground, but in his closing minutes, he sent a clear message to gun owners about the importance of voting.
“Never forget,” he stressed, “that without President Trump being elected, without the Republicans being elected to Congress, there (would be) no Justice Barrett, Justice Gorsuch, Justice Kavanaugh; they (wouldn’t) exist.”
He went on to note that without Trump in the White House and GOP control of Congress, there would have been no One, Big, Beautiful Bill to knock out the $20 tax on NFA-regulated firearms and suppressors.
“The point is,” Smith declared, “elections matter, and you see this in real time, because without Republicans in the Senate, you don’t have Harmeet Dhillon confirmed, you don’t have Todd Blanche confirmed, you don’t have (Solicitor General) John Sauer confirmed.
“So for those of you who say Donald Trump is not perfect, well, no one’s perfect, right,” he challenged. “But Donald Trump and his team have delivered wins for the Second Amendment like we’ve never seen, including the judges he put on the Supreme Court and judges on the lower courts.”
This fact will have long standing impact on future Second Amendment cases.
