Mandatory Minimums & Dangerousness Statute Go to the Deep Core of RKBA

The simple answer is – this case goes to the deep core of the Second Amendment.

Many in the 2A community have expressed some concern over GOAL’s involvement in Kyle Culotta’s legal case. Kyle, an Air Force veteran with no criminal record is being detained without bail for mere possession of a firearm without a license following a routine traffic stop. He is also facing mandatory minimum prison time if found guilty.

GOAL has heard comments from several gun owners such as: “Why are you helping a non-resident? He broke the law and should have known better. He clearly didn’t have a license, so he is a criminal. He did not comply with FOPA.” These comments are very concerning especially coming from the 2A community. It is as if our own people are defending the unconstitutional laws.

We Americans are supposed to be able to exercise the right to keep and bear arms without infringement. Kyle’s case speaks to the very heart of the Second Amendment.

For decades, our own people have repeatedly said - just enforce the old Bartley-Fox Law (mandatory minimum for unlicensed possession of a firearm). I firmly rebuke those calls with a hard – NO!

If a citizen is NOT a “prohibited person,” then mere possession of a firearm without a license should never result in criminal prosecution. Under the Constitution, such an infraction should be treated as an administrative violation at worst. 

Kyle’s case is also unique because there were absolutely no underlying factors and no criminal intent or record. That in itself is incredibly rare.

The case also brings in a host of issues; the unconstitutional aspects of the “dangerousness statute”, the right to travel, homeless rights, non-resident licensing, large capacity magazines, carrying, and much more.

But to me, the most concerning part of the negative feedback is that the comments represent a community that has been beaten down to the point that they are actually defending infringements on the very core of the Second Amendment. Have we lived behind enemy lines for so long that our own people have forgotten what the Second Amendment is about? Are members of the 2A community in Massachusetts suffering from something similar to “Stockholm Syndrome?”

While GOAL certainly does not have the resources to help every individual caught up in the Devil’s Snare that are the Massachusetts gun laws, this is the first person with a clean record we have seen declared “dangerous” by two courts and detained without bail for mere possession. If the entire 2A community cannot get behind Kyle, then who can we get behind and for what?