Month: January 2013

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Attention Connecticut Gun Owners

January 22, 2013 by

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has issued an action alert regarding a public hearing in Connecticut on gun control. The Gun Violence (sic)  Prevention Working Group Public Hearing will be held next Monday, January 28th, at 10am in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. This may be the only time to testify regarding many of the draconian gun control proposals being floated.

From the alert:

Legislators in Hartford are in the process of destroying your Second Amendment rights by exploiting recent tragedies. Gov. Malloy, Sen. Beth Bye, and Rep. Bob Godfrey want outright bans and onerous restrictions on your rights through an enormous number of Anti-Gun Bills. Here are a few of the items included in one of their proposals:

  • An outright ban on ALL modern sporting rifles classifying them as “Assault Weapons.”


  • Restricting your ability to defend yourself and family by arbitrarily restricting the magazine size to 10 rounds.

  • Confiscating ALL magazines holding more than 10 rounds, pistols included.

  • Statewide gun registration for ALL firearms; knowing full well criminals won’t ever register their guns.

  • Re-registration every 2 years with ever increasing fees.

  • Requires permit for any rifle with a pistol grip.

  • Limiting how much ammunition you can purchase AND possess.

  • Registration of all ammunition purchases.

  • Bans internet sales of ammo in Connecticut.

  • Mandatory gun storage laws, like the one the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in the Heller decision.

There will only be a few opportunities for discussion and opposition as many in Hartford are trying to pass legislation as quickly as possible. The first hearing (and may be the only time to testify) will occur next Monday, Jan. 28, at 10 a.m. at the Legislative Office Building.

Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Public Hearing
Monday, Jan. 28, 2013
Legislative Office Building
10 a.m., Room 2C

NSSF is urging all gun owners, sportsmen and hunters to attend Monday’s public hearing to be held in the Legislative Office Building in Room 2C at 10 a.m. and to contact their state representative, senator and all members of the Committee immediately, urging them to oppose knee-jerk reaction legislation.

Find your elected officials here.

If this bill passes, law-abiding gun owners will have to begin surrendering their magazines and possibly modern sporting rifles, or face confiscation by the state police and a felony charge. Again, this proposal would make simple possession of a legally owned firearm or magazine a felony.

This draconian measure will also affect non-gun owners as all Connecticut tax payers will be forced to foot the bill for the extraordinary process of having police confiscate — from law-abiding citizens — AND registration databases.

Making matters worse, Connecticut manufacturers including Colt, Mossberg, Stag Arms, Mec-Gar, OKAY Industries, Ruger and Metalform will be directly affected by this legislation. That means a loss of jobs and tax revenue to the state.

Here are a few of the other pieces of legislation under consideration:

HB 5268, SB140 – To require firearm owners to maintain liability insurance and establish a sales tax on the sale of ammunition at a rate of 50 percent and require all ammunition to be purchased in person.

SB 122 – A class C felony offense for any person or organization to purchase, sell, donate, transport, possess or use any gun except one made to fire a single round.

SB 124 – Prohibit the possession of magazines that accept more than ten rounds.

Don’t let legislators trample your rights. Let your voice be heard now.

Please contact members of the Task Force listed below. These are the main numbers so please ask for the legislator’s office.
Sen. Martin Looney, Co-chair 860-240-8600
Rep. Craig Miner, Co-chair 860-240-8700
Rep. Gerald Fox III 860-240-8500
Rep. Stephen Dargan 860-240-8500
Rep. Bob Godfrey 860-240-8500
Rep. Toni Walker 860-240-8500
Rep. Rosa Rebimbas 860-240-8700
Rep. Janice Giegler 860-240-8700
Rep. Dan Carter 860-240-8700
Sen. Eric Coleman 860-240-8600
Sen. John Fonfara 860-240-8600
Sen. Joan Hartley 860-240-8600
Sen. John Kissel 860-240-8800
Sen. Scott Frantz 860-240-8800
Sen. Tony Guglielmo 860-240-8800
Sen. Kevin Witkos 860-240-8800

Not trying to be overly snarky but I don’t see anything in those proposals that forces troubled young men living in million dollar homes with single mothers to get mental health treatment. I would think that existing Connecticut state law might just cover killing your mom and stealing her guns.

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Two New Bills Introduced In Congress; One Good, One Bad

January 21, 2013 by

Two more pieces of Federal legislation dealing with firearms were introduced in the House of Representatives on Friday.

The first bill was introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and seeks to remove the budget restriction that prohibits the Center for Disease Control from doing “research” that promotes gun control. It has 31 co-sponsors all of whom are Democrats.

HR 321 – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Co-Sponsors:
Rep Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR]
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [D-MA]
Rep Chu, Judy [D-CA]
Rep Cicilline, David N. [D-RI]
Rep Doyle, Michael F. [D-PA]
Rep Ellison, Keith [D-MN]
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ]
Rep Himes, James A. [D-CT]
Rep Holt, Rush [D-NJ]
Rep Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX]
Rep Johnson, Eddie Bernice [D-TX]
Rep Lee, Barbara [D-CA]
Rep Levin, Sander M. [D-MI]
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA]
Rep Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA]
Rep McCollum, Betty [D-MN]
Rep Moore, Gwen [D-WI]
Rep Moran, James P. [D-VA]
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC]
Rep Pingree, Chellie [D-ME]
Rep Quigley, Mike [D-IL]
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [D-NY]
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL]
Rep Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA]
Rep Schwartz, Allyson Y. [D-PA]
Rep Shea-Porter, Carol [D-NH]
Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [D-NY]
Rep Speier, Jackie [D-CA]
Rep Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
Rep Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL]
To amend the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2013 (Public Law 112-175) to permit research on firearms safety and gun violence.
Referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee

The second bill was introduced by Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL). It would reinforce and clarify that the Environmental Protection Agency has no authority to regulate lead bullets, ammo, or fishing tackle under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. It has 67 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.

HR 322 – Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL)
Co-Sponsors:
Rep Alexander, Rodney [R-LA]
Rep Bachus, Spencer [R-AL]
Rep Bishop, Rob [R-UT]
Rep Black, Diane [R-TN]
Rep Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]
Rep Bonner, Jo [R-AL]
Rep Boustany, Charles W., Jr. [R-LA]
Rep Broun, Paul C. [R-GA]
Rep Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]
Rep Chabot, Steve [R-OH]
Rep Coffman, Mike [R-CO]
Rep Conaway, K. Michael [R-TX]
Rep Crawford, Eric A. “Rick” [R-AR]
Rep DesJarlais, Scott [R-TN]
Rep Duncan, Jeff [R-SC]
Rep Fincher, Stephen Lee [R-TN]
Rep Franks, Trent [R-AZ]
Rep Graves, Sam [R-MO]
Rep Griffin, Tim [R-AR]
Rep Hanna, Richard L. [R-NY]
Rep Hartzler, Vicky [R-MO]
Rep Hastings, Doc [R-WA]
Rep Huelskamp, Tim [R-KS]
Rep Huizenga, Bill [R-MI]
Rep Hunter, Duncan D. [R-CA]
Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [R-NC]
Rep Jordan, Jim [R-OH]
Rep King, Steve [R-IA]
Rep Kinzinger, Adam [R-IL]
Rep Kline, John [R-MN]
Rep Latta, Robert E. [R-OH]
Rep Luetkemeyer, Blaine [R-MO]
Rep Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY]
Rep Matheson, Jim [D-UT]
Rep McIntyre, Mike [D-NC]
Rep Michaud, Michael H. [D-ME]
Rep Miller, Gary G. [R-CA]
Rep Nugent, Richard B. [R-FL]
Rep Nunnelee, Alan [R-MS]
Rep Olson, Pete [R-TX]
Rep Palazzo, Steven M. [R-MS]
Rep Pearce, Stevan [R-NM]
Rep Peterson, Collin C. [D-MN]
Rep Pitts, Joseph R. [R-PA]
Rep Pompeo, Mike [R-KS]
Rep Roe, David P. [R-TN]
Rep Rogers, Harold [R-KY]
Rep Rogers, Mike D. [R-AL]
Rep Ross, Dennis A. [R-FL]
Rep Scott, Austin [R-GA]
Rep Sessions, Pete [R-TX]
Rep Shuster, Bill [R-PA]
Rep Simpson, Michael K. [R-ID]
Rep Smith, Adrian [R-NE]
Rep Southerland, Steve II [R-FL]
Rep Stivers, Steve [R-OH]
Rep Stutzman, Marlin A. [R-IN]
Rep Terry, Lee [R-NE]
Rep Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS]
Rep Thompson, Glenn [R-PA]
Rep Thornberry, Mac [R-TX]
Rep Tipton, Scott R. [R-CO]
Rep Walden, Greg [R-OR]
Rep Westmoreland, Lynn A. [R-GA]
Rep Wittman, Robert J. [R-VA]
Rep Womack, Steve [R-AR]
Rep Young, Don [R-AK]
To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to clarify the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency with respect to certain sporting good articles, and to exempt those articles from a definition under that Act.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

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NC Second Amendment Freedom Rally Is On Feb. 5th

January 21, 2013 by 1 Comment

Grass Roots North Carolina has announced that the Second Amendment Freedom Rally has been rescheduled until February 5th. This is due to the North Carolina General Assembly being adjourned until the end of the month. The rally had been scheduled for January 23rd.

Let legislators where you stand!

Important note: This rally was rescheduled from January 23 due to the legislature unexpectedly adjourning until the end of the month. We want them to see you there!

RALLY DETAILS
WHAT: This is the revised information for the Second Amendment Freedom Rally at the General Assembly in Raleigh. It’s your chance to DO SOMETHING TO DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS.

WHEN: Tuesday, February 5, at 12:00 noon. Sure, it’s mid-day of the work week; just do what it takes to be there! Make your arrangements now! This is the only time when we can be sure that legislators will see you and get your message: “NO COMPROMISE ON GUN RIGHTS!”

WHERE: Halifax Mall between the Legislative Building and the Legislative Office Building in Raleigh. The General Assembly is at 16 West Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27601.

WHY: Your Constitutional rights depend on it.

HOW: Immediately send a message to FreedomRally@GRNC.org using the subject “_____people will attend,” indicating how many, including yourself, you will bring. If you responded to the earlier announcement, you will need to respond again. This email address is not for information; do not put anything into the body of the message.

Speakers and agenda will be announced in coming days, along with additional details, relevant regulations, parking, etc.—but first we must know how many will be coming. Bring your like-minded friends. Show our numbers; show our strength!

NOTE: *FIREARMS ARE PROHIBITED BY LAW AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY*.

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“David Gregory” Clause In NY Gun Law?

January 21, 2013 by

William Jacobson of the Legal Insurrection blog is a law professor at Cornell University Law School. As a class project in one of his courses, they are trying to unravel the new 39 page gun law that Gov. Andrew Cuomo rammed through the NY State legislature.

Jacobson was interviewed by Cam Edwards of NRA News about the new law on Friday. The key point made by Jacobson in discussing this new law is that it is so complicated and full of pitfalls for the law abiding that the intent seems to be to discourage gun ownership entirely. He notes that there are all sorts of ways to run afoul of the new law. For example, Jacobson said that a previously legal “assault weapon” under New York law must now for the first time be registered. He could see someone not realizing this and being stopped with a non-registered rifle on the way to the shooting range. That person would now be a felon if convicted and lose all gun rights.

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A Survivor Of Tianamen Square On Gun Rights

January 21, 2013 by 3 Comments

“June 4th” was a young Chinese student and democracy activist who was part of the Tiananmen Square protest. That protest was crushed by the People’s Liberation Army under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party. On Saturday, “June 4th”, who is now a naturalized US citizen and a firearms owner, participated in the rally for gun rights on Saturday at the Massachusetts State Capitol.

“June 4th” refers to the day that the People’s Liberation Army fired upon the students and activists in Tiananmen Square killing many hundreds of them.

The full transcript of the speech can be found here at Blog O’Stuff.

The transcripts of the other speeches can be found on the Northeast Shooter’s Forum here.

The part of “June 4th”‘s speech that really stuck with me was this:

Do you know that the Chinese Constitution guarantees almost all the nice
things we have here? It is written that Chinese citizens enjoy freedom
of speech and religion, they have human and property rights, and that
such rights cannot be taken away without due process of the law. And do
you know what? Chinese people do not have the right to keep and bear
arms. I assure you all those nice guarantees, are not worth the paper
they are printed on, because when the government has all the guns, they
have all the rights.
<

I was not born a citizen of the United States, I was naturalized in
2007. In 2008, I became a proud gun owner. To me, a rifle is not for
sporting or hunting, it is an instrument of freedom. It guarantees that I
cannot be coerced, that I have free will, and that I am a free man.

Now suppose the 20 million Beijing citizens had had a few million
rifles, how many rounds should they have been ALLOWED to load into their
magazines? 10? 7? How about 3?

Think about it. 

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“Choosing Between Guns And Words”

January 21, 2013 by

Rob at the SlowFacts Blog had this to say about the gun control laws being proposed by the Obama Administration and how it weakens the citizen vis–à–vis the government.

The Second Amendment isn’t about sport. The Second Amendment exists to keep politicians and law enforcement talking to us rather than demanding obedience at gunpoint. The Second Amendment discourages government officials from using guns when words would suffice. That really bothers some politicians and law enforcement officers.

When we disarm honest citizens, we are choosing between guns and words. We are choosing state sponsored violence over the frustration of peaceful political discussion. By disarming honest citizens, we are telling our government officials that they no longer need to listen to the people. That should frighten us all.

Read the whole post. It is a thoughtful post.

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Why Pass New Laws If You Won’t Enforce Existing Ones?

January 19, 2013 by 2 Comments

Jim Baker, the NRA-ILA Director of Federal Affairs, represented the NRA at the meeting last week with Vice-President Joe Biden and his task force. During that meeting, Baker emphasized the need to enforce existing gun laws. One of the items he mentioned was the low prosecution rate for falsifying answers on the ATF Form 4473.

Biden’s response?

“And to your point, Mr. Baker, regarding the lack of prosecutions on
lying on Form 4473s, we simply don’t have the time or manpower to
prosecute everybody who lies on a form, that checks a wrong box, that
answers a question inaccurately.”

The Daily Caller article summarized the lack of prosecutions:

In 2010, prosecutors considered just 22 cases of information falsification, according to a 2012 report to the Department of Justice by the Regional Justice Information Service. Forty additional background-check cases ended up before prosecutors for reasons related to unlawful gun possession.

In all, prosecutors pursued just 44 of those 62 cases. More than 72,600 applications were denied on the basis of a background check.

Bear in mind that each false answer on a Form 4473 carries a penalty of up to 10 years in Federal prison.

It isn’t just falsifications of Form 4473 that the Obama Administration seems not want to prosecute. In the table below, the number of firearms cases files and the number of convictions in US District Court is summarized by fiscal year for the period FY 2001 to FY 2010. A Federal fiscal year begins on October 1st of the preceding year. Thus, FY 2001 began on October 1, 2000. FY 2010 is the latest year in which statistics are available.

FY
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Cases Filed
5,875
7,412
9,111
9,403
9,008
8,472
8,103
7,891
7,650
7,089
Convictions
4,925
5,563
6,786
7,889
8,690
8,706
8,111
7,886
7,941
7,642
Federal Firearms
Offenses, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, SUNY-Albany School of
Criminal Justice
http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/

The number of  cases brought involving violations of Federal firearms laws is currently at the lowest level since FY 2001. That year the responsibility was part Clinton and part Bush. It is obvious that US Attorneys in the Bush Administration took violation of firearms law more seriously than do the US Attorneys in the Obama Administration. Comparing the high year of prosecutions under Bush – FY 2004 – with the first full year under Obama – FY 2010 – prosecutions have dropped by 33%. This is for all firearms prosecutions which includes felon in possession among other things.

Jim Baker points out the disconnect between pushing new firearms laws when you don’t prosecute existing laws.


“We think it is problematic when the administration takes lightly the prosecutions under existing gun laws and yet does not seem to have a problem promoting a whole host of other gun laws,” Baker told TheDC.

“If we are not going to enforce the laws that are on the books, it not only engenders disrespect for the law but it makes law-abiding gun owners wonder why we are going through this exercise we are going through now,” he added.

With an approximately 20,000 firearms laws already on the books in the United States, one more law passed won’t stop criminals. Some of the laws being promoted by the Obama Administration and the gun control forces in Congress would, however, make it harder for the average, law-abiding citizen to protect him or herself from the criminal class.

Is that what we really want criminal law to do? The answer is obviously a resounding no.

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2013 SHOT Show – Day Three With Gunblast.Com

January 18, 2013 by 1 Comment

Jeff Quinn is back for the third and final day of the 2013 SHOT Show. He starts off his report with an interview with Mike Fifer, CEO of Ruger, who explains their fast and easy way to contact your representatives to say no new gun control. I think Ruger needs to be applauded for taking this stand. So far over 500,000 people have taken advantage of this tool in less than a week. Fifer is correct that we need to get this up to 20 million or more.

Jeff also profiles the UTS-15 bullpup shotgun, the Sig 227, sights from XS Sights, a carbon fiber AR from Windham, some Ruger exclusives from Lipsey’s, and Smith and Wesson Performance Center pistols.

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NC Democrat Party Doesn’t Get It

January 18, 2013 by 3 Comments

Democrats in North Carolina took it on the chin in the 2012 elections. They lost the governorship, the lieutenant governorship, many seats in Congress, and stand at less than one-third of the members of each house of the General Assembly. Given that you’d think that they would be trying to establish positions that would help them regain lost ground.

Sean at An NC Gun Blog reports on how they just don’t get it. Clay Pittman, press secretary for the NC Democrat Party, issued a rambling, stream of consciousness, release attacking Gov. Pat McCrory for calling the gun prohibitionists “foolish” for their efforts to enact a new “assault weapons” (sic) ban. As McCrory correctly points out, all it is doing is increasing gun sales.

When Sean pressed Pittman on his statistics and position, he got a reply that said to check the NCDP party platform and that the state party will support Obama’s gun control agenda. He said what Democrat members of the General Assembly do is up to them.

I think Sean’s suggestion to write and call Democrat state senators and representatives to ask if they support this policy is a good one. My own state representative, Joe Sam Queen, is the only Democrat left in the General Assembly west of Asheville. I think one of the reasons he survived this election is because he wasn’t bad on guns. He isn’t great but he isn’t bad either.

So if you live in North Carolina and have a Democrat state senator or representative now is the time to put them on the spot. Force them to either agree with Pittman’s statement or disavow it. If they agree with it, make sure they are targeted in 2014.