by Good turnout to the NRA Annual Meeting. It seems a little less crowded than Charlotte.
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Uncategorized
ATF’s Multi-Long Gun Reporting Proposal
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives opened the 30-day comment period on their proposed requirement that Southwest FFL’s submit reports of multiple sales of certain semi-automatic rifles. The full proposal is below and the comment period is open until May 31st.
If they aren’t misstating the prior comments, then the gun control groups were able to get many more comments submitted than those who believe in freedom. Time to start writing!!
In addition to submitting a comment, make sure to write your Congressman about supporting Sen. Jon Tester’s S. 570 which would prohibit ATF from tracking multiple sales of long arms.
[Federal Register: April 29, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 83)]
[Notices]
[Page 24058-24059]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29ap11-114]———————————————————————–
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
[OMB Number 1140-NEW]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection
Comments Requested: Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of
Certain RiflesACTION: 30-Day Notice.
———————————————————————–
The Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) will be submitting the following
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed information collection is published
to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. This proposed
information collection was previously published in the Federal Register
Volume 75, Number 242, page 79021 on December 17, 2010, allowing for a
60-day comment period. ATF received 12,680 comments from this
collection (8928 commenters support the collection, and 3752 commenters
opposed to the collection).
The purpose of this notice is to allow for an additional 30 days
for public comment until May 31, 2011. This process is conducted in
accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10. To ensure that comments on the
information collection are received, OMB recommends that written
comments be faxed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
OMB, Attn: DOJ Desk Officer, Fax: 202-395-7285, or e-mailed to oira_
submission@omb.eop.gov. All comments should be identified with the OMB
control number [1140-NEW]. Also include the DOJ docket number found in
brackets in the heading of this document.
Comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies
concerning the proposed collection of information are encouraged. Your
comments should address one or more of the following four points:–Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether
the information will have practical utility;
–The accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology
and assumptions used;
–The quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
and
–The burden of the collection of information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.Overview of This Information Collection
(1) Type of Information Collection: New.
(2) Title of the Form/Collection: Report of Multiple Sale or Other
Disposition of Certain Rifles
(3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the
Department of Justice sponsoring the collection: Form Number: ATF F
3310.12. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
(4) Affected public who will be required to respond, as well as a
brief abstract: Primary: Business or For-Profit. Other: None. Abstract:
The purpose of this information collection is to require Federal
firearms licensees to report multiple sales or other dispositions
whenever the licensee sells or otherwise disposes of two or more rifles
with the following characteristics: (a) Semi-automatic; (b) a caliber
greater than .22 (including .223/5.56 caliber); and (c) the ability to
accept a detachable magazine, to the same person at one time or during
any five consecutive business days. This requirement will apply only to
Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) who are dealers and/or pawnbrokers in
Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
(5) An estimate of the total number of respondents: ATF estimates
that 8,479 respondents will be subject to the reporting requirement.
However, ATF anticipates fewer than 30% of the potential respondents
will be required to report multiple sales of the subset of rifles that
is the subject of this collection. This estimate is based upon the fact
that, during fiscal year 2010, 2,509 FFLs in the affected states
submitted reports of multiple sales of hand guns. ATF estimates that a
similar number of FFLs are likely to submit reports of multiple sales
of the subject rifles.[[Page 24059]]
(6) The estimated average burden per respondent: In fiscal year
2010, 36,148 reports of multiple sales of hand guns sales were
submitted by FFLs in the four southwest border states. Because the
specified rifles ((a) semi-automatic; (b) a caliber greater than .22
(including .223/5.56 caliber); and (c) the ability to accept a
detachable magazine) are a subset of the long gun category, we estimate
we will receive 18,074 reports of multiple sale of the specified rifles
from FFLs located in the four southwest border states. We estimate that
each report will take 12 minutes to complete. If we receive 18,074
reports from 2,509 licensees the total burden is 3,615 hours. The
estimated annual burden per respondent is 1 hour and 26 minutes.
If additional information is required contact: Lynn Murray,
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice,
Policy and Planning Staff, Justice Management Division, 2 Constitution
Square, Room 2E-808, 145 N Street, NE., Washington, DC 20530.Dated: April 25, 2011.
Lynn Murray,
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2011-10355 Filed 4-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-FY-P
ATF Continues With Multi-Long Gun Proposal
Reuters is reporting that ATF will be publishing a proposed rule in Friday’s Federal Register concerning the reporting of multiple sales of certain semi-automatic rifles. This is the same proposal from late 2010 that was postponed for further comment.
The proposal to be published tomorrow will open up a 30-day comment period on the reporting requirement.
Within the Reuters story was this note about the response from the prior 60-day comment period.
It was first published in December and had a 60-day comment period that garnered almost 13,000 responses. About 30 percent opposed the reporting requirement and 70 percent favored it, ATF said.
70% of comments in favor of this requirement just doesn’t pass the smell test. Frankly, unless I could see each and every comment submitted to verify this, I think either Reuters misunderstood what ATF told them or ATF has misstated it for their own bureaucratic purposes.
I will publish the comment requirements as soon as it is released.
If I can get a comment from the NRA on this tomorrow, I will post it.
From The West
If you are going into downtown Pittsburgh for the NRA Show from the west – airport area, Carnegie, Green Tree, etc. – by way of I-376 East, make sure to give yourself plenty of time!
We have been here since Wednesday and the traffic heading into Downtown has always moved at a snail’s pace. It is also bumper to bumper.
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Bitter Rules!
We’re sitting in our room in Pittsburgh watching the local news on KDKA CBS Channel 2 and we hear that “gun rights activists” are upset with a “Pittsburgh institution” just before the NRA Annual Meeting. Of course, we have to listen to this story!
The story is about Primanti Brothers and the picture of the cook wearing a MAIG T-shirt. They interview a higher level manager with the company who says they welcome anyone. He goes on to say that he thinks the cook was “just trying to be friendly” by wearing the MAIG shirt.
They then feature a photo of the Snow Flakes in Hell website. They then intone that the NRA and the website wouldn’t “answer questions” and referred them to the blog.
If anyone thinks that gun bloggers don’t have an impact is wrong. Whether it is Primanti Brothers or Project Gunwalker, gun bloggers brought attention to things that needed that attention. As usual, the media is late to the party.
If you want to hear what Bitter and Sebastian have to say, go here and here. It will make more sense than anything a local TV reporter puts out.
Test Post – From Pittsburgh
I’m giving BlogPost for the iPhone a try. I hope to use it to post pictures, etc. from the NRA Annual Meeting.
We’ve arrived in Pittsburgh. Fortunately, we missed all the severe weather – so far.
Did see on the Weather Channel that they had some tornadoes in the Knoxville area. I hope the bloggers from that area such as SayUncle and Insty are OK.
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Road Trip!
We’re leaving for Pittsburgh in the next hour or so.
If there is anything special that you’d like me to cover from the NRA Annual Meeting and its “acres of death”, just send me an email or post it in the comments. I’ll try to get something up about it.
So what better way to get started on a road trip than the ultimate road trip song.
Meet Both Top Shot Winners In Pittsburgh
Iain Harrison of Crimson Trace just sent out this release this evening.
Crimson Trace announced today that the winners of both Season One and Two of the History Channel’s hit shooting show, Top Shot, will be appearing in their booth at the NRA Meetings in Pittsburgh, PA, on Saturday April 30th. The celebrities will be on hand to sign autographs and give away merchandise to promote the new Crimson Trace Lightguard™ weapon mounted light between 10:30 – 11:15 and again from 1:30 to 2:15.
Show visitors are invited to stop by the Crimson Trace booth to meet both winners – Iain Harrison from Season One – and (TBD) from Season Two – shoot the breeze and get a little inside information on the competition.
The final episode for Top Shot: Reloaded (Season Two) will air on Tuesday, April 26th at 10/9c on the History Channel.
UPDATE: And the winner of Top Shot: Reloaded is Chris Reed of Franklin, TN.
ATF In Arizona Gets Visitors
Actually, I’m not sure I’d call them visitors and I definitely know that they aren’t that welcome – at least by ATF. The “they” are House and Senate investigators who have converged on Arizona in the course of their investigation into Operation Fast and Furious (aka Project Gunwalker).
Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News reports that:
CBS News has learned that House and Senate investigators have descended upon Arizona for their probe into the so-called “Gunwalker” scandal. They’re gathering interviews from witnesses, including ATF insiders and area gun shop owners. Sources tell CBS News the congressional investigators are frustrated by what they view as across-the-board stonewalling by government agencies which have refused to provide information in the investigation. Government officials have said they won’t provide information while their own investigations are ongoing.
“They’re investigating themselves,” says one source on Capitol Hill, “and then claiming the open investigations preclude them from giving Congress information it needs for independent oversight. It’s highly improper.”
Attkisson’s report also identifies the Assistant U.S. Attorney who advised Operation Fast and Furious as AUSA Emory Hurley. Mr. Hurley’s boss U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke was the long-time chief of staff for Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. As a reminder, one should not forget that Napolitano was the Governor of Arizona until she assumed the DHS post in 2009.
In a related development, Attkisson reports that George Gillett continues to spill the beans to Sen. Charles Grassley’s staff. As I emphasized earlier in the month, this is the equivalent of a Nixon White House insider giving the goods to Sen. Sam Ervin’s Watergate investigation.
Other Gun Rights Measures Gaining Traction In Congress
Much attention has been placed on HR 822 – National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act – and rightfully so. It now has 171 co-sponsors and, hopefully, will have more after Congress gets back from its district “work” break. Besides this bill, there are a number of other gun rights measures starting to gain traction in Congress if measured by the number of co-sponsors.
HR 58, the Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act, which was introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) now has 93 co-sponsors including a number of Blue Dog Democrats. Under current law, you are allowed to purchase a long gun at a gun shop outside the state of your residence if it is allowed by your state of residence and the state in which the transaction takes place. HR 58 would change this to include pistols and revolvers. Moreover, it would more broadly define state of residence for those in the military.
The next bill that is starting to pick up steam is Rep. Denny Rehrberg’s Veterans’ Heritage Firearms Act of 2011 (HR 420). This bill would create a 90-day amnesty period for veterans or their families to register firearms subject to the National Firearms Act. The firearm must have been acquired outside of the United States while serving in the Armed Services and must have been acquired prior to October 31, 1968. The bill also would allow the firearm to be forfeited to the U.S. and then transferred to a museum. It forbids the destructions of any firearm forfeited to the U.S. HR 420 now has bi-partisan support from 103 co-sponsors. One side effect of this bill is that it could start the process to re-open the NFA Registry that was closed due to the Hughes Amendment in 1986. If it is opened for vet bring-backs, why not re-open for new weapons?
Also dealing with collectible firearms is HR 615, Collectible Firearms Protection Act, which is sponsored by Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). While written broadly to include other firearms, it is aimed at allowing the repatriation of the M-1 Garands and M-1 Carbines that the South Korean government is seeking to sell U.S. importers. This bill now has 71 co-sponsors.
A bill to do away with gun control in the District of Columbia, HR 645, has 99 co-sponsors. This bill was sponsored by Arkansas Democrat Mike Ross and is supported by a broad coalition of Democrats and Republicans. The bill would remove the DC District Council’s authority to restrict firearms, repeal the ban on semi-auto firearms, repeal the registration requirements, authorize ammunition sales, and repeal the ban on the sales of handgun ammunition.
The final bill that seems to be gaining some traction is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Reform Act of 2011. Introduced as HR 1093 in the House and S 835 in the Senate, this bill is a repeat of a similar bill introduced in the 111th Congress. The bill is a comprehensive approach to reforming the way that ATF deals with licensed firearms dealers among other things. It institutes a graduated system of penalties for minor record-keeping errors doing away with the all or nothing current approach. Moreover, it forbids the Attorney General from using the number of warnings issued or fines levied by an ATF agent as the basis for a bonus or promotion. This bill is sponsored in the House by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and it has 82 co-sponsors. In the Senate, the bill was introduced just a couple of weeks ago by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID). Significantly, the first co-sponsor in the Senate is Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee which will be where hearings are held on this bill.
It is still relatively early in the 112th Congress but a number of pro-gun rights bills have gained traction. The difficulty will be in seeing that they get the hearings they need and then the support in both the House and Senate.