Go read this now, or read my play by play below:

Francis Warin had a nagging habit.

Nearly 30 years ago, he toted a submachine gun into Toledo’s federal courthouse and made a simple demand: Arrest me.

He got his wish.

Two months ago, the Ottawa County man mailed a homemade gun and silencer to an assistant U.S. attorney. To ensure there was no confusion, he sent the package by certified mail, complete with his return address.

Now the 72-year-old gun-rights advocate is fighting to get out of the Lucas County Jail – staging a hunger strike to try to force authorities’ hands.

The French immigrant insists his actions make sense. They’re part of his on-again, off-again quest to challenge what he perceives as restrictions on the right to bear arms as covered by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

His accent still thick after 42 years in America, the balding professional weapons designer believes the courts have stripped the Second Amendment of its meaning, and he’s willing to be the legal guinea pig to fix it.

Never mind that Warin’s tried before and failed. Never mind that nearly all courts, for six decades, have limited the power of the Second Amendment. Never mind that even some pro-gun advocates question Warin’s tactics. Never mind he could now spend more than two years in a federal lockup.

In 1972, the mechanical engineer filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Toledo asking the federal court to revisit the interpretation of the Second Amendment. The court refused.

In 1974, the father of two young boys decided to engage in “civil disobedience” to call attention to his cause. He built his own “cheap” submachine gun and refused to pay the $200 registration tax.

After no one would arrest him, an inpatient Warin hauled the homemade machine gun to the ATF’s courthouse office. He expected ATF agents to handcuff him immediately.

“They said, ‘OK. Go home. We’ll call you,’” Warin recalled.

They wouldn’t arrest him then?

Most recently:

The package arrived in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Toledo about 12:30 p.m. on a Monday. An employee signed for it, but immediately became suspicious of what could be inside.

A security officer X-rayed it, and it was eventually opened. Inside was a small, homemade gun capable of firing 22-caliber bullets. Attached was a cardboard silencer. A one-page letter was enclosed asking for “prosecution and return of property.” It was signed “sincerely, Warin.”

Prosecutors would follow at least one of his wishes.

Two days later, on May 21, agents arrested Warin on weapons charges and confiscated more than 46,000 rounds of ammunition, six hand grenades, six firearms, four handguns, and diagrams of firearms and silencers, according to court records.

And prosecutors went one step further than their predecessors three decades ago: They put him in jail and fought to keep him there.

“He’s increasingly desperate to gain attention, and his behavior is desperate over the years,” Mr. Weldon said. “In these times, with the heightened security alerts, why should we assume he’s not a danger? We have to assume he is.”

Friends disagree.

“Francis is a good person. He’s a compassionate person,” Mr. Roder said. “He is not a crackpot. He has very strong convictions – whether you agree with him or not.”

Warin’s family declined to be interviewed for this story. Warin said his wife, who works in an Oak Harbor nursing home, hasn’t been surprised by his actions: “She has been with me for 42 years.”

He dreams of a full-fledged hearing on his case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The pro-gun interpretation has been adopted by a growing number of scholars and even Attorney General John Aschroft – making it more likely the high court could eventually step in.

But Warin’s prosecution likely won’t be that test case.

Ms. Zemmelman gives it a “zero” chance. So does noted gun-rights advocate Stephen Halbrook, a Virginia attorney who has fought in many high-profile gun cases.

He scoffs at Warin’s tactics.

“I don’t know of any responsible Second Amendment advocates who would suggest that anybody get arrested,” he said.

Before being wheeled back to his cell, Warin said he has no regrets. His explanation comes with a simple shrug.

“I had to do what I had to do,” he said.

Posted in uncategorized on August 11th, 2003 by SayUncle | RSS 2.0 |