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An Impertinent Question In The Wake Of The Call For Universal Checks

February 26, 2013 by 1 Comment

I suppose it is impertinent to ask why we need universal background checks when the Obama Administration won’t even prosecute cases involving straw purchases. The correct answer is that we don’t. These laws, if passed, will become another of what Michael Bane calls “flypaper laws”. That is, laws that make it difficult not to violate the law.

Fox New’s William LaJeunesse, who did superb reporting of Project Gunwalker, now turns his attention to the lack of enforcement of the law against straw purchases. In 2010, only 62 people were prosecuted for it and only 13 were convicted or pled guilty. This lack of prosecutions led Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and the Republican members of that committee to send a letter last week to President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder asking why they weren’t bringing prosecutions for violation of the existing law.

You can see the video of LaJeunesse’s report here.

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Newest Gun-Related Legislation In Congress (Updated)

February 26, 2013 by 2 Comments

I have been remiss in updating the list of newly introduced legislation dealing with firearms and firearm ownership. Below are the bills that have been introduced in the House of Representatives since February 5th and the Senate since January 31st. They include both pro-gun rights bills and others that would seek to trample on the Second Amendment.

House of Representatives

HR 538 – Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY)
PLEA Act
To protect the Nation’s law enforcement officers by banning the
Five-seveN Pistol and 5.7 x 28mm SS190, SS192, SS195LF, SS196, and SS197
cartridges, testing handguns and ammunition for capability to penetrate
body armor, and prohibiting the manufacture, importation, sale, or
purchase of such handguns or ammunition by civilians.
Referred to House Judiciary Committee

HR 575 – Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX)
Second Amendment Protection Act of 2013
To express the sense of the Congress that the United States should not
adopt any treaty that poses a threat to national sovereignty or abridges
any rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution, such as the
right to keep and bear arms, and to withhold funding from the United
Nations unless the President certifies that the United Nations has not
taken action to restrict, attempt to restrict, or otherwise adversely
infringe upon the rights of individuals in the United States to keep and
bear arms, or abridge any of the other constitutionally protected
rights of citizens of the United States.
Referred to House Foreign Affairs Committee

HR 577 – Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX)
Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the conditions under
which certain persons may be treated as adjudicated mentally incompetent
for certain purposes.
Referred to House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs

HR 578 – Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN)
Co-sponsors:
Rep Brady, Kevin [R-TX] – 2/14/2013
Rep Bucshon, Larry [R-IN] – 2/12/2013
Rep Griffin, Tim [R-AR] – 2/14/2013
Rep Hartzler, Vicky [R-MO] – 2/12/2013
Rep Jordan, Jim [R-OH] – 2/14/2013
Rep LaMalfa, Doug [R-CA] – 2/14/2013
Rep Lucas, Frank D. [R-OK] – 2/13/2013
Rep Meadows, Mark [R-NC] – 2/14/2013
Rep Palazzo, Steven M. [R-MS] – 2/13/2013
Rep Stockman, Steve [R-TX] – 2/12/2013
Rep Thornberry, Mac [R-TX] – 2/12/2013
Rep Walberg, Tim [R-MI] – 2/14/2013
Rep Wilson, Joe [R-SC] – 2/14/2013
Respecting States’ Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013
To allow reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms.
Referred to House Judiciary Committee

HR 602 – Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL)
Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the conditions under
which certain persons may be treated as adjudicated mentally incompetent
for certain purposes.
Referred to House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs

HR 619 – Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Keep Kids Safe Act of 2013 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to place limitations on the
possession, sale, and other disposition of a firearm by persons
convicted of misdemeanor sex offenses against children.
Referred to House Judiciary Committee

HR 661 – Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Co-sponsors:
Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [D-CT]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Farr, Sam [D-CA]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Fattah, Chaka [D-PA]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Holt, Rush [D-NJ]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Honda, Michael M. [D-CA]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Lowey, Nita M. [D-NY]
– 2/13/2013

Rep McCollum, Betty [D-MN]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Moran, James P. [D-VA]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Pingree, Chellie [D-ME]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Price, David E. [D-NC]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Quigley, Mike [D-IL]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA]
– 2/13/2013

Rep Serrano, Jose E. [D-NY]
– 2/13/2013
Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act  
To repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms laws.
Referred to House Judiciary Committee

HR 720 – Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
Co-sponsors:
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [D-MA]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Cicilline, David N. [D-RI]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Engel, Eliot L. [D-NY]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Farr, Sam [D-CA]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Grimm, Michael G. [R-NY]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Himes, James A. [D-CT]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Holt, Rush [D-NJ]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Israel, Steve [D-NY]
– 2/14/2013

Rep McGovern, James P. [D-MA]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Moran, James P. [D-VA]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Pierluisi, Pedro R. [D-PR]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Quigley, Mike [D-IL]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Rangel, Charles B. [D-NY]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [D-NY]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Waxman, Henry A. [D-CA]
– 2/14/2013
To increase public safety by permitting the Attorney General to deny the
transfer of a firearm or the issuance of firearms or explosives
licenses to a known or suspected dangerous terrorist.
Referred to House Judiciary Committee

HR 722 – Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
Co-sponsors:
Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [D-NY]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Farr, Sam [D-CA]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Moran, James P. [D-VA]
– 2/14/2013

Rep Rangel, Charles B. [D-NY]
– 2/14/2013
To combat illegal gun trafficking, and for other purposes. 
Referred to House Judiciary Committee

HR 793 – Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Co-sponsors:
Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [D-NY] – 2/15/2013
Rep Cardenas, Tony [D-CA] – 2/15/2013
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [D-MO] – 2/15/2013
Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [D-CT] – 2/15/2013
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [D-MD] – 2/15/2013
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ] – 2/15/2013
Rep Hahn, Janice [D-CA] – 2/15/2013
Rep Lee, Barbara [D-CA] – 2/15/2013
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [D-NY] – 2/15/2013
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA] – 2/15/2013
Rep McGovern, James P. [D-MA] – 2/15/2013
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA] – 2/15/2013
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC] – 2/15/2013
Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [D-NJ] – 2/15/2013
Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA] – 2/15/2013
Rep Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL] – 2/15/2013
Rep Sires, Albio [D-NJ] – 2/15/2013
Rep Vargas, Juan [D-CA] – 2/15/2013
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose an excise tax on
concealable firearms and to require the Attorney General to establish a
firearms buyback grant program. 


Referred to House Judiciary Committee and to House Ways and Means Committee

Senate

S 261 – Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Co-sponsors:
Sen Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
– 2/7/2013

Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ]
– 2/7/2013

Sen Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
– 2/7/2013

Sen Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
– 2/7/2013

Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
– 2/7/2013
No Firearms for Foreign Felons Act of 2013  
To establish and clarify that Congress does not authorize persons
convicted of dangerous crimes in foreign courts to freely possess
firearms in the United States.
Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee

UPDATE: Here is one more to add to the list from Chuck Schumer. Interestingly enough, his office hasn’t released any sort of press release on the bill. Given that the most dangerous place in DC figuratively is between Chuck Schumer and a TV camera, this is remarkable.

S 374 – Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)
A bill to ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from
buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background
check system and require a background check for every firearm sale.
Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee

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About That Memo

February 26, 2013 by

The NRA-ILA has come out with a new ad based upon the leaked Depart of Justice memo that says an assault weapons ban (sic) and universal background checks are worthless unless draconian measures are added to it. The memo from Dr. Greg Ridgeway of the National Institute of Justice can be found here.

I wonder how soon Dr. Ridgeway will be thrown under the bus and returned to the RAND Corporation for stating the obvious. DOJ is already saying that the memo was “an unfinished review of gun violence research and does not represent administration policy.”

DOJ may say it doesn’t represent administration policy but it sure represents their thinking even if they haven’t officially adopted it yet.

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Update On North Carolina Firearms-Related Legislation

February 25, 2013 by

Since my first post on gun rights related legislation introduced in this session of the North Carolina General Assembly, a few more bills have been introduced. I have covered some of them in detail in other posts so this will be just a list of the highlights.

HB 63 – Support Right to Bear Arms.
This bill expresses the General Assembly’s support of the inalienable
right of the people of this State to keep and bear arms and opposes any infringement by the
federal government in the State’s right to guarantee the protection of the right of the people of
this State to keep and bear arms.
Primary Sponsor: Speciale (R-Craven)
Other Sponsors: Arp (R-Union); J. Bell (R-Wayne); R. Brawley (R-Mecklenburg); Bumgardner (R-Gaston); Cleveland (R-Onslow); Conrad (R-Forsyth); Dixon (R-Duplin); Ford (R-Rowan); Iler (R-Brunswick); Jones (R-Rockingham); Jordan (R-Ashe); Martin (R-Pitt); McElraft (R-Carteret); McNeill (R-Randolph); Millis (R-Pender); Moffitt (R-Buncombe); Pittman (R-Cabarrus); Presnell (R-Yancy); Riddell (R-Alamance); Saine (R-Lincoln); Schaffer (R-Mecklenburg); Setzer (R-Catawba); Shepard (R-Onslow); Starnes (R-Caldwell); Steinburg (R-Chowan); Stone (R-Lee); Turner (R-Iredell); Warren (R-Rowan); Whitmire; (R-Transylvania)


SB 59 – Armed Security Guards in K-12.
This bill would allow armed security guards in schools if they had passed the selection and training requirements for state law enforcement officers in all schools, it would order the NC Sheriffs’ Education and Training Standards Commission to develop a curriculum to be administered to armed security guards by the various sheriffs’ offices, and would allow for the waiver of certain concealed carry requirements for armed security guards who met certain requirements.
Primary Sponsor: Sen. Ronald Rabin (R-Harnett)
Other Sponsor: Sen. Norman W. Sanderson (R-Pamlico)


SB 124 – Shoot Gun From Inside/To Harm or Incite Fear.
This bill would make it a Class E Felony to discharge a firearm within an enclosure for the purpose of causing harm or inciting fear.
Primary Sponsor: Sen. Peter Brunstetter (R-Forsyth) 


I wrote about SB 124 this weekend and called it North Carolina’s “Don’t Be A Joe Biden” law. Read the comment from Sean Sorrentino on it in my post. SB 59 seems to be a complement to SB 27 which would allow for the position of School Marshal. It seems that it seeks the same end – armed guards in schools – but from a different angle. Finally, HB 63 follows the trend in some other states of stating that they won’t stand for Federal infringements of the Second Amendment in new gun control legislation.

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Remington Takes A Stand

February 25, 2013 by 9 Comments

Remington has set up a new website that allows people to send a prepared email regarding gun control efforts to elected officials at the national and state level. The website called “Take A Stand Now” also has a way to send a selection of prepared Tweets to your senators and congressman.

This brings to four the number of firearms and ammo manufacturers who have provided an easy way to send a pro-gun rights message to the White House, Congress, and the State Houses.

I used it to send out the pre-written message on Saturday morning. I received a personal email from State Senator Jim Davis (R-Macon) by that afternoon. My point is that the message does get through.

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NRA Women’s Network On A Rising Star

February 25, 2013 by

The NRA Women’s Network has produced a video highlighting one of the youngest female junior shooters. Katie Francis is rising through the ranks in 3-Gun competition.

From her bio:

Katie Francis is one of the youngest female junior shooters in the
circuit. At only 13-years-old, she has already accomplished more than
most. Her father, Sergeant First Class Chad Francis, bought her a .22
when she was 9-years-old. At the age of 10, she got her first buck, an
8-point, with an AR-15. Today, the ambitious teenager has her sights set
high, and counts the possibility of making an Olympic appearance as one
of her goals.

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Don’t Be A Joe Biden Law Introduced In NC State Senate

February 24, 2013 by 5 Comments

NC State Senator Peter Brunstetter (R-Forsyth) has introduced S. 124 which could be very well be renamed “The Don’t Be A Joe Biden” Law. The actual working title is “Shoot Gun From Inside/To Harm or Incite Fear”.

On Tuesday, Vice-President Joe Biden gave the following advice on a Facebook forum sponsored by Parents Magazine. It was in response to a question about families being left defenseless if a new assault weapons (sic) ban is passed.

“Kate,” he said, “if you want to protect yourself, get a double-barrel shotgun, have the shells, a 12-gauge shotgun.”

It turns out that this is the same advice he gave his own wife on how to defend their home in rural Delaware.

“I said, ‘Jill, if there’s ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here. Walk out and put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house’ … You don’t need an AR-15—it’s harder to aim … It’s harder to use, and in fact you don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun! Buy a shotgun!”

Of course it is stupid advice to tell someone to fire any firearm into the air as a warning. 

S. 124 would make it a Class E felony to fire a gun from inside a structure so as to “incite fear”.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT TO MAKE IT A CRIMINAL OFFENSE TO DISCHARGE A FIREARM FROM WITHIN AN ENCLOSURE WITH THE INTENT TO DO HARM OR INCITE FEAR.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. Article 8 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
Ҥ 14-34.10. Discharge firearm within enclosure to do harm or incite fear.
Unless covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment, any person who willfully or wantonly discharges or attempts to discharge a firearm within any building, structure, motor vehicle, or other conveyance, erection, or enclosure with the intent to do harm or incite fear shall be punished as a Class E felon.”
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective December 1, 2013, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.

I have no idea whether this bill will become law. While I enjoy tweaking the Vice-President, I could see an over-zealous prosecutor using this to weaken the protections afforded by the Castle Doctrine.

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ISRA Alert On Madigan’s CCW Bill

February 23, 2013 by 1 Comment

The Illinois State Rifle Association has sent out an alert warning about the plans of House Speaker Michael Madigan concerning concealed carry. It appears that he will try to force through his own CCW bill that will be the nation’s most restrictive carry law this coming week.

From ISRA:


Mike Madigan is ticked off…

Why is Mike Madigan so ticked off? Quite simply, he’s ticked off because the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has told him plainly that the legislature must bow to constitutional authority – not to the whims of Mike Madigan. And we all know what a control freak Mike Madigan is.

No, Mike Madigan is no longer in control of the concealed carry debate. The courts have said once and for all that Illinois will join 49 other states in allowing citizens to carry defensive firearms.

The court has really ticked Madigan off…

Mike Madigan is so ticked off that he plans to introduce his own version of a concealed carry bill early next week. Of course, under Madigan’s carry bill, the only people who would be allowed to carry would be… um… nobody.

Although the details of Madigan’s concealed carry bill (HB1155) have not yet been released, those close to Madigan are saying that it will be the most restrictive concealed carry bill in the nation.

One insider termed Madigan’s proposal, “…the closest thing to no-carry at all.”

WHAT YOU MUST DO TO STOP MADIGAN’S INSULTING BILL

1. Beginning first thing Monday morning, call your state representative and politely tell them that you are a law-abiding firearm owner and that you oppose Madigan’s insulting HB1155 and that you would like them to vote against the bill.

2. Pass this alert on to all your friends and family members and ask them to call their state representatives as well.

3. Please post this alert to any and all Internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you belong.

If you do not know who your state representative is, please click the link below and you will be able to identify your representative and get their Springfield phone number.

The Illinois State Board of Elections has a new interactive search page here:
www.elections.state.il.us/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx

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Good Advice For Newbies

February 23, 2013 by 2 Comments

Greg Hickok – Hickok45 on YouTube – has some good advice for new shooters on how not to shoot a semi-auto pistol. I’m glad he’s doing videos like this as they are needed.

At my company’s regional meeting that I mentioned yesterday, I spoke with at least two of my colleagues who were considering getting their first firearm. One of these colleagues also said his dad, a NRA-hating retired college professor, was also considering buying a gun for the house. My point is that there are a lot of new shooters out there who could use this type of info.