Originally Posted By Aimless:
I wonder if Taylor plead out? I can't find any current info on this case. It could also have been adjourned.

Originally Posted By -Obsessed-:
Whether something SHOULD be unconstitutionally ruled against or not doesn't change the fact the guy was an idiot for doing what he obviously knew to be illegal in his state.

Now non-idiots are footing his legal bill.

Originally Posted By Aimless:
Boy good luck to him. It seems like he has no chance beyond jury nullification, which seems unlikely

Originally Posted By -Obsessed-:


Logic must escape you.

I said don't do illegal shit. It's legal to own an AR. It is legal to own magazines in excess of 10 round capacity.

If you live in a commie state and have a mag ban there, move if you don't like it. You're welcome to vote with your feet.

You want the majority of America siding with us and seeing us as responsible, pragmatic, law-abiding citizens that aren't rogue.

Dexter is none of those things. He is not helping our cause. He is hurting it. He is a poster child for the left in terms of their talking points.

Originally Posted By -Obsessed-:


With all due respect, it is your opinion that this law is unconstitutional, and your opinion means as much as the liberal's who thinks it is perfectly constitutional. You are not a legal expert on constitutionality and neither am I. Let the SC do its thing, and in the mean time we shouldn't be violating laws we think are unconstitutional because then you end up with people saying they are going to operate illegal abortion clinics because of that same "unconstitutional" bullshit. Both sides play that game, and both sides cry foul 24/7. But the country's laws have been slowly sliding to the favor of the 2A and we need to let it play out, because we know CW2.0 is nothing more than a Boogaloo wet dream and won't happen, and as such I see no good coming of it.

At the end of the day infringing on rights is a gray area open to interpretation. Is not being allowed to own a new production MP5k infringing on your 2A? I see both sides. Infringing could mean absolutely no limitation at all. Anything goes. If that's the case then why the hell can't I vote on Wednesday? Or naked? Or at the location of my choosing? Why not with a crayon? Why the hell MUST it be on Tuesday, with clothes on, at a designated polling location, and I have to use their pens? Are they infringing on my right to vote? I don't see any serious weight given to that argument, and I think there is at least gray area as to what constitutes infringement, if none of those voting limitations constitute infringement in that context.

Originally Posted By sitdwnandhngon:



In my county too they allow you to take your CCW course before getting your permit, which they acknowledge is just a muddy area as far as the law goes, but they don't seem to care.

Originally Posted By -Obsessed-:

Logic must escape you.

I said don't do illegal shit. It's legal to own an AR. It is legal to own magazines in excess of 10 round capacity.

If you live in a commie state and have a mag ban there, move if you don't like it. You're welcome to vote with your feet.

You want the majority of America siding with us and seeing us as responsible, pragmatic, law-abiding citizens that aren't rogue.

Dexter is none of those things. He is not helping our cause. He is hurting it. He is a poster child for the left in terms of their talking points.

Originally Posted By Everrest:

Dexter Taylor is coming on tonight at 19:00 ET.

He’s the New Yorker currently being prosecuted for his “arsenal” of “ghost guns”.

The 2nd amendment is under attack in NY and the government is looking to make examples. pic.twitter.com/yGLRriLtHe

Viva Frei  (@thevivafrei) April 9, 2024

Originally Posted By -Obsessed-:
Whether something SHOULD be unconstitutionally ruled against or not doesn't change the fact the guy was an idiot for doing what he obviously knew to be illegal in his state.

Now non-idiots are footing his legal bill.

Originally Posted By -Obsessed-:


I believe abortion is evil but you don't see me burning down abortion clinics.

I don't see you burning them down either.

Lot of chest thumping on here. Yet I have not heard a shot heard round the world in response to all this tyranny. So what does that make you or anyone else in this thread?

Buying FRTs and printing ghost guns is not sticking it to the man. It's not being heroic.

Originally Posted By -Obsessed-:


With all due respect, it is your opinion that this law is unconstitutional, and your opinion means as much as the liberal's who thinks it is perfectly constitutional. You are not a legal expert on constitutionality and neither am I. Let the SC do its thing, and in the mean time we shouldn't be violating laws we think are unconstitutional because then you end up with people saying they are going to operate illegal abortion clinics because of that same "unconstitutional" bullshit. Both sides play that game, and both sides cry foul 24/7. But the country's laws have been slowly sliding to the favor of the 2A and we need to let it play out, because we know CW2.0 is nothing more than a Boogaloo wet dream and won't happen, and as such I see no good coming of it.

At the end of the day infringing on rights is a gray area open to interpretation. Is not being allowed to own a new production MP5k infringing on your 2A? I see both sides. Infringing could mean absolutely no limitation at all. Anything goes. If that's the case then why the hell can't I vote on Wednesday? Or naked? Or at the location of my choosing? Why not with a crayon? Why the hell MUST it be on Tuesday, with clothes on, at a designated polling location, and I have to use their pens? Are they infringing on my right to vote? I don't see any serious weight given to that argument, and I think there is at least gray area as to what constitutes infringement, if none of those voting limitations constitute infringement in that context.

A Brooklyn man has been convicted of 13 weapons charges after having been arrested and charged in 2022 for building his own firearms. Dexter Taylor’s ordeal could become a landmark Second Amendment case in light of the Bruen ruling handed down in the same year.

The jury found Taylor guilty of second-degree criminal possession of a loaded weapon, four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, five counts of criminal possession of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of five or more firearms, unlawful possession of pistol ammunition, violation of certificate of registration, prohibition on unfinished frames or receivers. Two lesser charges, including third-degree criminal possession of three or more firearms and third-degree possession of a weapon, were not voted on.

Taylor, a 52-year-old New York native and a software engineer, discovered the world of gunsmithing years ago. He decided to take it up as a hobby and possibly turn it into a business later. However, when a joint ATF/NYPD task force discovered he was legally buying parts from various companies, they opened up an investigation that led to a SWAT raid and arrest.

He is currently being jailed on Rikers Island as he awaits sentencing. Taylor’s conviction highlights the ongoing battle for gun rights. During an interview with Vinoo Varghese, Taylor’s defense lawyer, he detailed how Taylor’s trial proceeded and highlighted a distinct bias in favor of the prosecution.

Varghese described how Taylor became fascinated by weapon science during the COVID-19 lockdowns, which inspired him to take up his gunsmithing hobby. “He ended up building, I believe it was eight pistols and five rifles or six rifles, AR-style rifles, and then eight or nine Glock pistols that he built,” Varghese said.

From the beginning of Taylor’s trial, it was evident that the court would be biased against the defendant, according to Varghese, who explained that two judges presided over his case before the current official, Judge Abena Darkeh, took over.

The judge disrupted Varghese’s opening statement multiple times as he tried to set the stage for Taylor’s defense. Even further, she admonished the defense to refrain from mentioning the Second Amendment during the trial. Varghese told RedState:
She told us, ‘Do not bring the Second Amendment into this courtroom. It doesn’t exist here. So you can’t argue Second Amendment. This is New York.'

Varghese said he had filed the appropriate paperwork to “preserve these arguments for appeal” but that the judge "rejected these arguments, and she went out of her way to limit me.”

During the trial, the prosecution attempted to paint Taylor as a dangerous individual who was building dangerous firearms in his basement. In this vein, the prosecution objected to allowing Taylor’s family in the courtroom to show support, nor did they allow his upstairs neighbor, who knew about Tayor’s hobby, to testify on his behalf. Varghese described the prosecutor’s opening statement:
He opens up, and he says that Mr. Taylor had a parade of horror. He was building this horrible place. When they saw this horror that he was making under the noses of his neighbors because all of those guns intended to hit their targets, basically implying that he was going to do some harm with these things.

When Varghese countered this narrative during his opening statement, the judge interrupted him again. “There’s no crime here, there’s no allegation of violence,” Varghese recounted, saying, “I got up and said, ‘You’re going to learn what Dexter is, who he is. You’re going to learn that he never fired these guns.’”

The judge interrupted again and asked the lawyers to come to her chambers for the second time.

Varghese explained that he believed the only chance of having the case go in his client’s favor was through jury nullification, which occurs when members of a jury believe a defendant violated a law, but decide against prosecuting them because they disagree with the law itself, or other reasons.

Judge Darkeh attempted to shut this argument down and led the jury to believe they would face consequences if they did not vote to convict Taylor. In reality, this is not the case. Jury nullification is not illegal, according to Varghese.

“I actually argued that jury nullification is allowed because there is some law from the High Court of New York that talks about lawyers who made jury nullification arguments. And basically, they said that judges shouldn’t encourage it, but they can’t prevent it. I actually made a pitch directly to Judge Darkeh to allow me to argue during nullification. She, of course, rejected that.”

He added: “She basically said, ‘You must vote guilty’ without saying ‘you must vote guilty.’”

He characterized Judge Darkeh as “the most aggressive prosecutor in the room.”

On April 16, when it was almost time for the court to close for the day, the jury returned with a verdict. They found Taylor guilty of all but two counts. He was immediately taken into custody.

The lawyer described what happened after the verdict was read. “When the verdict was read, his mom started crying in the back, and he said to me: ‘Vinoo, please comfort my mother.’”

Varghese continued, saying Taylor also “turned around to his mother after the jury was done, he said to his mom, ‘God bless you, mom.’”

Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13, and it appears Judge Darkeh will likely make an example out of him to send a message to others who might consider building their own firearms in New York, according to Varghese. He could be facing between 10 and 18 years in prison.

However, the battle is far from over. Both Taylor and Varghese are committed to fighting this case to the end – even if it means taking it to the U.S. Supreme Court. “We have a shot at winning in federal court,” the attorney said.

Originally Posted By -Obsessed-:
Whether something SHOULD be unconstitutionally ruled against or not doesn't change the fact the guy was an idiot for doing what he obviously knew to be illegal in his state.

Now non-idiots are footing his legal bill.

Originally Posted By uncle_big_green:
LOL @ people who think that they are incapable of reading a little history and comprehending the Constitution. I suspect it's a coping mechanism.