Judge stands by his guns not to allow blogger to have any

A federal judge is standing by his guns not to allow a blogger to have any – guns, that is.

The summary suspension of 2nd Amendment rights for Mike Palmer, a 55-year-old Christian missionary from Phoenix, happened through a court order when a reader, Melody Thomas-Morgan from Prescott, Ariz., complained that the online discussion was a threat to her life.

The discussion had concerned the "wages of sin is death," and the reader claimed that Palmer was threatening her with "death," with that word in quotes in the legal filings.

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Palmer explained, "It is true that the blog, 'That Woman Jezebel,' talks about spiritual life and spiritual death. ... Spiritual 'death' as in 'The wages of sin is death.' (Romans 6:23) ... It is not true that the blog ever mentions the 'death' of Miss Thomas-Morgan."

He took his complaint, requesting a temporary restraining order against the state court actions, to federal court, but District Judge G. Murray Snow refused to even recognize that there was an issue on which federal courts should intervene when a state court system is accused of violating the U.S. Constitution.

Now, in response to a motion for reconsideration from Palmer, Snow dismissed him with a terse three-sentence statement that was put in the mail to him.

"Pending before the court is plaintiff's emergency motion for reconsideration or alternatively motion for clarification of judge Snow's denial of TRO. For the reasons already stated in the court's order …, the motions will be denied. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered denying the motions," Snow wrote.

"Snow articulated no reason for denying the motion for reconsideration or to clarify," Palmer told WND. "He simply referred back to his previous order, saying essentially, 'Because I said so.' One wonders if he even bothered to read my motion."

He said it was aggravating that in a "parallel case" in Snow's court recently, the result was different.

"Just last month, he granted a preliminary injunction for Arizona citizens who sued the executive branch of Arizona government … for an impending alleged constitutional violation," Palmer said. "They had not yet suffered 'irreparable harm.' Here, I'm suing the judicial branch (the [state] justices) for an actual constitutional violation, (2nd Amendment) where I have actually suffered irreparable harm.

"I have been deprived of my right to defend myself, my loved ones, my fellow man," he said.

He said he was exploring his next move, which could be with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Palmer's case is against Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Kenton D. Jones, Arizona Supreme Court justices Robert M. Brutinel, John Pelander, W. Scott Bales, Andrew D. Hurwitz, Rebecca White and others.

The original order from Jones ordered Palmer not to have any guns because of the reader's perception that the online discussion about the "wages of sin is death" threatened her life.

Judge Kenton Jones

"The order says that I am not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition, and directs me to turn over any weapons to the Yavapai County sheriff's office," Palmer told WND.

Palmer indicated he does not own any weapons at this time.

Palmer had told WND Snow "has essentially determined that 1) being unarmed on Phoenix is not dangerous (i.e., if Palmer, his loved ones or fellow man is killed as a result of being unarmed, there is no harm) 2) that, even though there is no law allowing Arizona courts to revoke your 2nd Amendment, Snow is not going to defend your 2nd Amendment right…"

"I certainly want my gun rights," he added. "There is no law in Arizona which allows the courts to suspend any constitutional right, in this instance, my Second Amendment right. And, of course, my life's in danger now. I can't defend myself, I can't defend you. I can't defend my fellow man."

He wonders if the Christian nature of his blogging has anything to do with the action taken against him.

"Being a Christian seems to make me fair game," he said. "I bet if I were Muslim and writing about physical beheading on a blog, no judge would dare touch me with an injunction. Ironic."

The issue is reminiscent of another Arizona case, where a local judge ordered Michael Roth of Quartzsite, Ariz., to surrender his weapons because Town Councilman Joe Winslow was offended when Roth allegedly called the lawmaker a "turd."

In fact, Palmer has set up a blog called Michael's Law in honor of the Roth case to tell his own story.

Quartzsite Councilman Joe Winslow lists reasons he sought a restraining order against resident Michael Roth, claiming his entrance to town hall was blocked and that he was called a synonym for dog feces.

Winslow told Karen Slaughter, the elected justice of the peace for the region, what he wanted was that Roth and others with similar views "not be allowed to walk around armed. To me, I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist, but I have been diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) ... that's what I'm concerned with, that he's gonna get so far into my personal space that I'm gonna react without thinking. I'm not making threats or anything like that. I'm not proud of that, but it's the way I am."

"I know that I'm 71 years old," Winslow said. "I don't want to be a statistic, I don't want to go to jail and I don't want to go in the hospital. But based on my history of 24 years in the service, I am more concerned about my reaction to his aggression than anything else, especially now that I believe that he is carrying a handgun. His actions have demonstrated in the past to me that he is not in full control of his emotions."

After WND's coverage of Roth's case, Slaughter eventually reversed her decision on the weapons ban, but Roth says she refused to dismiss his attorney fees.

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