A textbook case of injustice is unfolding for New Jersey resident Danny Burt. Despite a valid state credential to possess firearms and no criminal record, Burt lost all his firearms to a temporary restraining order that was dismissed a month later.
Among the confiscated weapons was his grandfather’s M1 carbine, brought home from World War II and passed on to Burt in 2006. He appealed the non-return of the carbine. But without even a determination of the operability of the rifle, the New Jersey Appellate Court is upholding the forfeiture ruling.
Beyond the frightening force of the restraining order process, there is the now decades-old misapplication of the term “assault weapon.” No one contends that Mr. Burt had a fully automatic M2 Carbine, the only version of the heirloom that would fit the actual meaning of the term.
