Opinion
In a groundbreaking verdict that has sent shockwaves through gun control circles, a U.S. District Court judge in California made a bold stand for Second Amendment rights. What’s more, in the process, he served a scorching rebuke to “Firearms Expert” Ryan Busse, a senior advisor for the Giffords gun control organization and candidate for Montana’s next Governor.
The case in question, Miller v. Bonta, saw the court examining California’s longstanding ban on what the state labels as “assault weapons.” In his detailed 79-page decision, Federal Judge Roger T. Benitez made it abundantly clear that the ban was not just an infringement on constitutional rights but also steeped in flawed arguments and poorly conceived testimonies.
At the heart of the matter, however, is Judge Benitez’s surgical dismantling of Ryan Busse’s testimony. Busse, with his history as a former firearm industry executive, might have hoped that his previous professional affiliation would lend weight to his anti-assault weapons stance. But the reality proved to be the opposite.
As the judge noted, Busse’s expertise seems dubious at best when it comes to the subject at hand: AR-15 platform rifles. The majority of firearms that Busse’s former employer sold were pistols, revolvers, and traditional bolt-action rifles, far from the semi-automatic territory that the case revolved around. As such, Judge Benitez rightly questioned Busse’s credentials in offering an “expert” opinion on a class of firearms he had little professional experience with.
Even more glaringly, Judge Benitez didn’t hold back in calling out the irrelevance of Busse’s opinions concerning the ban.
The Judge pointedly remarked, “It is not at all clear what expertise Busse has to support his opinion. He does not describe any professional experience using AR-15 platform rifles for sport or self-defense.”
It was a painful public call-out, pointing out that just because someone hails from the firearms industry doesn’t automatically, or even ‘full semi-automatically’, make them an authority on all firearm types. It is well worth reading the entire ruling embedded below as the Judge makes clear the reasoning for his decision is the Right to Keep, and Bear Arms should not be infringed.
The Miller v. Bonta ruling is a significant win for the pro-gun community, ensuring that the rights of law-abiding citizens aren’t stripped away based on unfounded fears and ill-informed testimonies. And as for Ryan Busse? It’s a stark reminder that true expertise isn’t just about a fancy title or past affiliation but about tangible, relevant experience. Neither the courtroom nor the Montana Governor’s office is a place for ill-prepared “experts,” no matter how impressively padded their resumes might appear on paper.
