Weekly Reminder: HR 45 has not even gained one co-sponsor in committee
and S 2099 died nine years ago. It is not necessary to forward the
hysterical mailings to me.
Friday, January 23, 2009
U.S. Representative Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) recently sponsored H.R. 45,
also known as "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale
Act." The bill is, at its core and as its name implies, a licensing
and registration scheme. The measure calls for all handgun owners to
submit to the federal government an application that shall include,
among many other things: a photo; an address; a thumbprint; a
completed, written firearm safety test; private mental health
records; and a fee. And those are only some of the requirements to
be licensed!
The bill would further require the attorney general to establish a
database of every handgun sale, transfer, and owner's address in
America. Moreover, the bill would make it illegal to own or possess
a "qualifying firearm" -- defined as "any handgun; or any
semiautomatic firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition
feeding device..." without one of the proposed licenses.
Additionally, the bill would make it illegal to transfer ownership
of a "qualifying firearm" to anyone who is not a licensed gun dealer
or collector (with very few exceptions), and would require
"qualifying firearm" owners to report all transfers to the attorney
general's database. It would also be illegal for a licensed gun
owner to fail to record a gun loss or theft within 72 hours, or fail
to report a change of address within 60 days. Further, if a minor
obtains a firearm and injures someone with it, the owner of the
firearm may face a multiple-year jail sentence.
H.R. 45 is essentially a reintroduction of H.R. 2666, which Rush
introduced in 2007. H.R. 2666 contained much of the same language
as H.R. 45, and was co-sponsored by several well-known anti-gun
legislators--including Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
H.R. 45 currently has no co-sponsors.
Rest assured that NRA-ILA will continue to monitor this bill
closely, and will keep you informed of any developments if they
materialize.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=4329
Friday, May 29, 2009
In the last few weeks, NRA-ILA has received hundreds of e-mails
warning us about "SB-2099," a bill that would supposedly require you
to report all your guns on your income tax return every April 15.
Like many rumors, there's just a grain of truth to this one.
Someone's recycling an old alert, which wasn't even very accurate
when it was new.
There actually was a U.S. Senate bill with that number that would
have taxed handguns - nine years ago. It was introduced by anti-gun
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and it would have included handguns under
the National Firearms Act's tax and registration scheme. This has
nothing to do with anyone's Form 1040, of course.
Fortunately, S. 2099 disappeared without any action by the Senate,
back when Bill Clinton was still in the White House. We reported
about it back then, just as we report about new anti-gun bills every
week. Now, it's time for gun owners to drop this old distraction
and focus on the real threats at hand.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=4925
---
Response to McDonald Commentary: In today's Washington Times, Ken
Klukowski and Ken Blackwell co-authored an op-ed about McDonald v.
Chicago and the Privileges or Immunities Clause titled, "A gun case or
Pandora's box?"... Going beyond the title, there are several errors in
the piece, which I will briefly recap... Next, the Kens describe the
Privileges or Immunities Clause as a general license for courts to
strike down any law they do not like. This is not accurate. Neither the
Privileges or Immunities Clause nor any other part of the Fourteenth
Amendment empowers judges to impose their policy views. Instead,
"privileges or immunities" was a term of art in 1868 (the year the
Fourteenth Amendment was ratified) referring to a specific set of common
law, pre-existing rights, including the right to keep and bear arms. The
Privileges or Immunities Clause is thus no more a blank check for judges
to impose their will than the Due Process Clause - the exact vehicle the
Kens would use to "incorporate" the Second Amendment...
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/12/11/sealing-pandoras-box/
---
McDonald Decision May Help Illinois CCW Effort: State Sen. Dale Risinger
is waiting to see what the outcome will be on an U.S. Supreme Court
ruling on the city of Chicago's handgun ban before proposing a
concealed-carry measure for the city of Peoria. Risinger, R-Peoria, said
Monday he would sponsor legislation in the Illinois Senate to have
Peoria serve as a pilot city for a statewide concealed-carry law. The
concept was pushed last year by Mayor Jim Ardis and is included as one
of the city's legislative initiatives going into the General Assembly's
spring session. A vote on the city's legislative initiative list was
postponed Tuesday with council members opting to discuss the entire list
a later date. Risinger said a ruling from the nation's highest court
should be out in March on whether Chicago's citywide ban on guns is
legal. If the court overrules Chicago's gun ban, it could lead to legal
challenges for less-restrictive laws across the country that limit who
can own guns...
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x115698368/Peorias-concealed-carry-concept-may-have-found-Senate-sponsor
---
Amendment Would Protect Ammo Supply: The National Shooting Sports
Foundation has notified members that, as demand for ammunition continues
to outpace supply, "it is critically important that an amendment
authored by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) to a seemingly obscure hazardous
material bill (HR 4016) be attached to the legislation during
consideration on the House floor." The NSSF notes that the amendment
being pushed by Graves will help protect the shipment of materials
necessary for the manufacturing of ammunition, and warns that without
the Graves Amendment, the rate of production will slip, perhaps
precipitously. In turn, decreased production of ammunition will lead to
decreased availability. This will lead to an increase in ammunition
prices directly affecting consumers. Floor action on the bill is
anticipated within the next three weeks. Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.),
chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, intends to
bring HR 4016 to the floor prior to the end of the session. NSSF is
encouraging all hunters and sportsmen to contact Rep. Oberstar and urge
him to support the Graves Amendment. He can be reached at 202-225-6211.
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7018
---
RKBA Has Expanded in Most States: ... The AP compiled the data on new
laws from groups ranging from the Legal Community Against Violence,
which advocates gun control, to the NRA. Public attitudes toward gun
control have shifted strongly over the past 50 years, according to
Gallup polling. In 1959, 60 percent of respondents said they favored a
ban on handguns except for "police and other authorized persons."
Gallup's most recent annual crime survey in October found 71 percent
opposed such a ban. The NRA boasts that almost all states grant handgun
permits to people with clean criminal and psychological records. In
1987, only 10 states did. Only Wisconsin, Illinois and the District of
Columbia now prohibit the practice entirely... While some states have
tightened gun laws during the same period, the list of new restrictive
laws is much shorter. In 2009 alone, more than three times as many laws
were passed to make it easier on gun owners...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/11/gun-laws-loosening-across-much-us/
---
New Jersey May Clean Up One-Gun-a-Month Law: ...Since the introduction
of "one-gun-a-month" legislation, we have argued that the bill was
poorly drafted, ill conceived and relied upon the false premise that
law-abiding New Jersey gun owners are the cause of crime. The truth of
the matter is that New Jersey residents are already some of the most
heavily regulated in the nation and New Jersey's "one-gun-a-month" law
simply heaps additional complications on an already overly burdensome
process. Prospective gun owners in New Jersey already have to apply for
a Firearms ID card, which includes a background check, fingerprints,
photographs and references. In addition to possessing a Firearms ID
Card, those wishing to purchase a handgun must obtain a Permit to
Purchase from local police for each handgun purchase, which may take as
long as 12 to 14 weeks...
http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/opinion-new-jersey-passes-three-gun-rights-bills-r-1260571439
---
Prohibitionists Play on Fear: I won't say that in gun rights, the only
thing to fear is fear itself, but fear is among the most effective
weapons in the forcible citizen disarmament advocates' arsenal. Those
who support more and more oppressive regulation of guns always couch
their message as an appeal for urgent action that must be taken quickly,
in order to prevent an armageddon of "gun violence." ...The latest
"emergency" is the fanciful "terror gap" - a concept that calls for a
dramatic expansion of the "prohibited purchaser" list, allowing the
Attorney General to block any gun sale on a whim, simply by designating
the prospective purchaser a "suspected terrorist." In an attempt to show
broad-based support for their "common sense gun laws," Bloomberg's
Mayors Against Illegal Guns conducted a survey, which supposedly shows
that NRA members are actually quite on board with the forcible citizen
disarmament agenda, and NRA leadership is betraying members by being so
intransigent...
http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d11-Antigunners-rachet-up-the-politics-of-fear
Our Side's Poll:
http://www.gunnewsdaily.com/index.php/article-archives/219-our-latest-poll-do-you-mirror-the-luntz-poll
---
Other than That, the Report Was Accurate: Some facts about the gun used
in Thursday's Times Square shooting:
* The MAC-10 is a handheld submachine gun that weighs about 6
pounds, can hold 30 bullets in its magazine and fire more than
1,000 rounds a minute.
* It was developed by Gordon Ingram in 1964 and was used by Special
Forces in Vietnam.
* It's a favorite of street gangs and movie stars. John Wayne
carried one in "McQ," and so did Bruce Willis in "Pulp Fiction."
* The model Raymond Martinez was carrying Thursday was a
semi-automatic variation called the Masterpiece Arms 9-mm. MAC-10,
which had a closed bolt that improves accuracy.
* It was reported stolen on Oct. 28 from a car in Richmond, Va.
(For starters, having the extremely high cyclic rate of at least 1,000
rounds per minute, which actually makes the MAC submachine guns
extremely difficult to handle, does not equate to firing 1,000 rounds
per minute because the gun uses 30-round magazines, which get depleted
rather quickly at that rate. More importantly, the cyclic rate of the
original full-auto version has no bearing whatever on its semi-automatic
clones. In point of fact, the model in question fired two rounds, then
jammed
[
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6783542/New-York-police-shoot-dead-con-artist-scamming-tourists.html].
Other than that... typical yellow journalism from the Daily News.)
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/12/10/2009-12-10_the_mac10_the_gun_used_in_time_square_shooting.html
The "Virginia Connection" Gets Publicized:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,580095,00.html?test=latestnews
Related Commentary:
http://www.examiner.com/x-2698-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d11-Media-propagandizes-Times-Square-shooting?cid=exrss-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner
Officer Fired One-Handed: ...On Thursday, the city marveled at the
instinctive response of another officer, Sgt. Christopher Newsom, who
shot and killed a man who faced him with a gun in Times Square. Sergeant
Newsom, a 17-year veteran of the Police Department, fired with his gun
in his right hand, while at the same time, in a move that surprised some
law enforcement experts, he draped his left hand across his chest,
apparently to protect his heart. It is called "one-hand unsupported,"
and it is something of a throwback. The stance, immortalized by the
cartoon thug in the paper target that police officers shoot at, was more
popular in the days before police officers routinely wore
bullet-resistant vests, several former trainers said. "It's a stance
cops used to take at the range," said Philip J. Messina, a former police
trainer. "The logic was, by holding your arm over your chest, the bullet
would have less of a chance of penetrating." He added, "There are still
old-timers who go into that stance." ... (I repeatedly point out that
when people react to unexpected threats, particularly at close range,
they are likely to shoot one-handed, regardless of how they have been
trained. Training only in two-handed shooting may improve
"qualification" scores but is not meeting the demands of the street.
While covering the heart with the hand is likely to provide much
protection, tensing that hand, whether straight or in a fist, is likely
to enhance the grip on the gun. Such tension will generally get the
non-gun hand somewhere in front to the chest.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/nyregion/12shoot.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion
---
A Look at the Cerberus Freedom Group: ... Here are some nuggets about
Freedom Group:
Largest unit: Remington Arms Company. In April 2007, Cerberus bought
the nearly 200 year-old rifle manufacturer for $118 million and
assumed $252 million in debt. Remington sells guns and ammo for
hunters, police and the military, including classic shotguns and
state-of-the art sniper weapon systems. Remington was bought by the
Dupont Corp. during the Great Depression and later by Clayton,
Dubilier & Rice, a private equity firm, which sold the company to
Cerberus.
Cerberus Fan: "One positive aspect to Cerberus' involvement in the
gun industry is that the huge political clout Cerberus commands as
the "rescuer" of Chrysler Corp. (which Cerberus also acquired)
should undermine efforts to ban AR-platform rifles,'' wrote the
Accurate Shooter.com in December 2007. "Cerberus is big enough to
make waves in Washington. Money talks in politics and Cerberus has
lots of it." ...
http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2009/10/19/a-dossier-on-cerberuss-freedom-group/
---
Kimber Seeks Funds for Plant Expansion: A state agency proposes giving a
$700,000 economic development grant to a weapons manufacturer that
recently expanded in Yonkers and Greenburgh. Kimber Manufacturing wants
the grant to pay for a portion of its acquisition, renovation and
equipment costs related to a $10.8 million expansion completed in
September. The company accepted a grant offer from the Empire State
Development Corp. in 2007 on the premise that it would expand its
operations in New York and create or preserve jobs. Kimber makes more
than 100 types of pistols and rifles for the consumer market, law
enforcement and the Marines Corps, among other clients. The state agency
offered the grant to Kimber because manufacturing is the most
wealth-creating sector of the state economy outside of New York City,
according to the agency's project plan...
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009912110325
---
Georgia to Weigh Campus Carry: ...Monday, UGA Police Chief Jimmy
Williamson was asked his opinion of HB 615, which would permit licensed
Georgians to carry on campus. His comments were published in an article
in the Red and Black by Jacob Demmitt. As an initial matter, Chief
Williamson recognized that the criminals are carrying in the school zone
"no matter what." This leaves us with the question of who obeys the
law, and the answer is - college students and employees who are the
criminals' victims. Chief Williamson did take the refreshing view that
his job is to enforce the law, not make it. "As police chief, I don't
take a position on what the law should be." Somebody needs to pass that
advice on to the rabidly anti-gun organization, Georgia Association of
Chiefs of Police, which lobbies against every piece of legislation that
would attempt to enforce the right to bear arms for law abiding
Georgians, including opposing last session's HB 89...
http://www.examiner.com/x-5619-Atlanta-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d10-UGA-Police-Chief-comments-on-repealing-college-gun-ban?cid=exrss-Atlanta-Gun-Rights-Examiner
---
Restaurant-Carry Hearing Delayed in Ohio: The December 15 hearing has
been canceled. We will provide updates when another hearing is
scheduled... HB203 would allow persons with a concealed handgun license
to carry their firearms into any restaurant providing they are not, and
do not become intoxicated. The bill is sponsored by Representatives
Danny Bubp (R-88) and Jarrod Martin (R-70). Ohio license holders have
proven themselves to be responsible in the five plus years of concealed
carry in Ohio, and decades more beyond our borders. There is no
compelling reason to deny someone the right to carry a firearm based on
what the person at the next table might be drinking. Ohio's restriction
on carrying in restaurants is more strict than any of our surrounding
states and most of the country. Our laws need to be amended. Currently
it is a felony for license holders to carry a firearms into a restaurant
if it has a license to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises,
even if the license holder never drinks. That makes about as much sense
as prohibiting persons from carrying car keys into the restaurant
because the guy at the next table is having a beer with his burger...
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7021
---
Armed Teacher Saves Life: Criminal justice instructor Michael Minto was
leaving the Kaplan Career Institute in Swatara Township [PA] on Monday
night when he spotted a man being stabbed, police said. Minto pulled his
gun and ordered the attacker to drop his knife, police said. The
attacker fled, and authorities said Minto's actions likely saved the
life of Dillon Mitchell, 30, of Harrisburg. If Minto had not
intervened, "We might be talking about someone who died," said Deputy
Swatara Township Police Chief Jason D. Umberger. "There are not many
citizens out there that would have the courage to take that action."
..Umberger said Mitchell left the 5650 Derry St. school around 10:30
p.m. with Ayanna Carter, who is Forde's wife. Forde approached them and
an argument started, leading to the stabbing, Umberger said... (The
article offers too few details about the relationship between Mitchell
and Carter but if it was more than a casual friendship, there is a
lesson to be learned about fooling around with married women.)
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/12/kaplan_career_institute_teache.html
http://www.examiner.com/x-5619-Atlanta-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d11-Armed-teacher-stops-murder-in-progress
---
Oops, Wrong Tire Shop: A would-be robber is shot to death by a tire
store owner in north Houston, and officers are searching for three
suspects who got away. The shooting took place after 8 p.m. Wednesday at
the 11100 block of Bauman Road. Police say four men tried to stage a
robbery at the El Mante Tire Shop at the 11000 block of Bauman Road at
approximately 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The store owner, who has a license to
carry a concealed handgun, drew his weapon and started shooting. One
robbery suspect died in the shop, but three others escaped in a black
Mercury Mountaineer with chrome rims. They were also able to steal some
property, but police would not say what was stolen...
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/091210-robbery-suspect-fatal-shooting
---
Oops. Wrong Jewelry Store: A Nassau County [NY] jewelry store owner was
shot in the torso as he faced three would-be robbers and, amazingly, was
able to detain one suspect until police arrived. At 7:11 p.m., three
suspects - a woman and two men - attempted to rob Papandrew Jewelers,
located at 11 Sunrise Highway at Franklin Avenue in Valley Stream. One
man, Edward Hamilton, 24, of Brooklyn, produced a handgun and the store
owner retrieved his own gun from behind a display case, according to
police. The two exchanged gunfire when Hamilton jumped over the display
case. The store owner sustained a gunshot in the torso. Hamilton and
Gloria Cortes, 20, of Brooklyn, who was posing as a customer, fled the
store. The injured store owner was remarkably able to roll onto the
third robber - Bryan Kenner, 28, of South Ozone Park, and hold him until
police arrived at the scene... (I have to wonder if the jeweler might
have been able to get off the first shot if he had been wearing the gun
on his person. This assumes that he had a handgun, which requires a
specific permit in New York, and not a long gun.)
http://www.wpix.com/news/local/wpix-jewelry-store-owner-shot,0,5656109.story
---
O Canada: Jeremy Bell bought a Lego replica of a semi-automatic pistol
and assembled it, yesterday, in the back office of teehan+lax, a
downtown user-experience design firm, where he's a partner. An hour
later, he was up against the stairwell wall, being frisked by police on
suspicion of weapons possession. Admittedly, the gun, purchased from
BrickGun, an online retailer that specializes in Lego replicas of
firearms, looked pretty realistic. Bell thinks someone living in one of
the apartments with windows facing teehan+lax's building, at 460
Richmond Street West, might have called in the tip after seeing him wave
around the suspicious chunk of plastic from a distance. "I understand
why," he said. "It looks legit. You see a guy in an office with the door
closed, putting something together, it looks like a gun. I get it."
Constable Tony Vella of the Toronto Police Service later confirmed to
CTV that this was precisely the case. "We have to take all the gun calls
seriously because we don't know what we're getting involved in," he told
them...
http://torontoist.com/2009/12/downtown_digital_design_firms_offices_invaded_by_police_over_a_lego_gun.php
---
Video Worth Watching: Posted under the title "Why Switzerland Has the
Lowest Crime Rate in the World," this video actually speaks more
powerfully to the larger political reason for an armed citizenry. I have
no idea who told the opening narrator that the SIG 550 assault rifle
(yes, it's a true assault rifle, in the military definition) is
"designed to destroy anything within its 400 meter trajectory." That's a
pretty tall order for a bullet from a 5.56x45mm (.223) cartridge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nf1OgV449g
---
NRA-ILA Alerts: List members are encouraged to check the alerts for the
week, posted on the NRA-ILA website.
http://www.nraila.org/GrassrootsAlerts/read.aspx
--
Stephen P. Wenger, KE7QBY
Firearm safety - It's a matter
for education, not legislation.
The tactics and skills to use a firearm
in self-defense don't come naturally
with the right to keep and bear arms.
http://www.spw-duf.info
