gun control

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Another California Senator Heard From

February 2, 2011 by 2 Comments

I think this letter, when combined with the recent ATF study on the importation of shotguns, may signify a strong push to use the sporting purposes requirement of the Gun Control Act of 1968 to clamp down on imports of firearms. In other words, since the gun prohibitionists know a frontal assault is unlikely to succeed, they will work the flanks in their gun control efforts.

As to the use of part kits to assemble functional firearms, I think Feinstein misstates Section 922(r). I think we are all aware that compliance with Section 922(r) requires the use of a significant number of American parts in assembly. In other words, you just can’t slap a receiver on a parts kit and be legal. 27CFR178.92 specifies what is required to make a firearm compliant with Section 922(r). Now if Feinstein is urging that no combination of U.S. and foreign made parts remain legal, it is even more troublesome.

Senator Feinstein Urges President Obama to Prohibit Imported Assault Weapons

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein urged President Obama to prohibit the importation of military-style assault firearms that contribute to violence in the United States and Mexico.

Following is the text of the letter from Senator Feinstein to President Obama:

January 31, 2011

The Honorable Barack H. Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I write to urge you to review enforcement of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) provision, 18 U.S. Code Section 925(d)(3), which prohibits the importation of firearms except those that are “generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.” Previous Administrations have used this authority to limit the importation of military-style assault firearms, and it could once again be a helpful tool in preventing the gun trafficking that is fueling the horrific gun violence in Mexico, the Southwest border region, and many cities and towns across our nation.

Since December 2006, more than 30,000 people have been killed in Mexico in drug-related violence. Every day, there are reports of ruthless and brutal gun murders as Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) fight for control of smuggling routes and terrorize anyone who might get in their way. The DTOs have killed mayors, judges, and other officials who have tried to stop the carnage. They have even targeted young people, murdering 14 teenagers at a birthday party in Ciudad Juarez in October of last year.

Regrettably, firearms trafficked from the United States help fuel the violence in Mexico. Of the firearms recovered by the Government of Mexico and traced through ATF in the past 4 years, more than 50,000 were manufactured in, or imported into, the United States prior to being recovered in Mexico. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and other federal, state and local law enforcement are working to stop this gun trafficking and related violence, but they need additional help. The Administration recently took an important step forward with ATF’s initiative to collect information on multiple sales of semi-automatic assault rifles from Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. I applaud you for this initiative. However, much more must be done.

Under the GCA, the Administration has the authority to prohibit the importation of non-sporting firearms. In 1989, in response to growing drug gang violence, the ATF under President George H.W. Bush denied applications to import a series of semiautomatic rifles that it found were designed and intended to be particularly suitable for combat rather than sporting applications. Similarly, in 1997, President Clinton used this authority and ordered ATF to conduct an expedited review to determine whether modified semiautomatic assault-type rifles were properly importable under the statutory sporting purposes test. In April 1998, ATF determined that rifles with the ability to accept a detachable large capacity military magazine “are not generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes and are therefore not importable.”

Since the Clinton Administration’s efforts, the GCA’s prohibition against non-sporting firearms has not been aggressively enforced, and many military-style, non-sporting rifles have flowed into the United States civilian market. Some of the rifles are cheap AK-type variants from former Eastern bloc countries, while others are more expensive, high-tech weapons. All of them, however, share military-style characteristics that should make them ineligible for import. Furthermore, it appears that some importers are bringing in rifle parts and reassembling them with a small number of domestically manufactured components. This practice has gone unchecked, despite Section 922 (r) of the GCA, which prohibits using imported parts to assemble any semiautomatic rifle or any shotgun which is identical to any rifle or shotgun prohibited from importation under 18 U.S. Code Section 925(d)(3).

I urge you to review enforcement of the GCA and take any regulatory steps necessary to stop the both the importation of all military-style, non-sporting firearms, and the assembly of those firearms from imported parts. We must ensure that law enforcement has all the necessary resources and tools needed to stop the gun violence that is taking a deadly toll in Mexico and in our country. I look forward to working with you toward that goal. Thank you for your attention to this urgent issue.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
Chairman
United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control

cc: Eric Holder, Attorney General
Kenneth Melson, Acting Director of the ATF

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Lautenberg’s Bills

January 26, 2011 by 1 Comment

Sen. Frank Lautenberg introduced the following three gun control bills yesterday. While the text of the bills is not available yet, I am presuming that S. 32 is a clone of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy’s HR 308 and that S. 34 is a reiteration of Lautenberg’s proposal to ban anyone on the Do Not Fly list from buying a firearm (or explosives).

S.32 : A bill to prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] (introduced 1/25/2011)
Cosponsors (9)
Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/25/2011 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

S.34 : A bill to increase public safety by permitting the Attorney General to deny the transfer of firearms or the issuance of firearms and explosives licenses to known or suspected dangerous terrorists.
Sponsor: Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] (introduced 1/25/2011)
Cosponsors (8)
Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/25/2011 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

S.35 : A bill to establish background check procedures for gun shows.
Sponsor: Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] (introduced 1/25/2011)
Cosponsors (10)
Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/25/2011 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

The co-sponsors of the bills above read like a who’s who of gun banners in the Senate. Senators Boxer, Feinstein, Durbin, and Schumer are all co-sponsors of the bills along with an assortment of other lesser gun banners.

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Eight New Co-Sponsors For HR 308 (updated)

January 25, 2011 by

The following are the latest co-sponsors of Carolyn McCarthy’s HR 308 – the magazine ban bill.

Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] – 1/24/2011
Rep Sires, Albio [NJ-13] – 1/24/2011
Rep Carson, Andre [IN-7] – 1/24/2011
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] – 1/24/2011
Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7] – 1/24/2011
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] – 1/24/2011

As far as I can tell, all the bill’s co-sponsors are Democrats. The other co-sponsors can be found in this post.

UPDATE:  Two more co-sponsors – both Democrats – were added to the list for HR 308 on Wednesday. They are:

Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] – 1/26/2011
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] – 1/26/2011

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Another By-Product Of The Tucson Shootings

January 21, 2011 by

Beyond the call for more gun control, another by-product of the shootings by the madman in Tucson is an upsurge in the media calling for the confirmation of Andrew Traver.

Helping to push this is Mayor Bloomberg and his Mayors Against Illegal Guns. They are calling for “common sense” measures. Number three on their list released on January 11th is this:

Fill the Leadership Gap and Appoint an ATF Director – The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the federal law enforcement agency responsible for fighting gun crime, has operated without a Director for four and a half years. President Obama has nominated Andrew Traver, a career law enforcement officer, to fill the position. The nomination has the strong support of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and the Senate should give Mr. Traver a careful and prompt review to help ATF spearhead the fight against gun crime.

From Jonathan Alter in Newsweek comes this from a piece entitled Can Obama Turn Tragedy Into Triumph? Saturday’s shooting spree could prove a turning point in the Obama presidency. How the White House should talk about the tragedy:

Finally, the president should speak out forthrightly for better enforcement of existing gun control laws, which the gun lobby is always fighting to undermine. He should re-state his support of Andrew Traver to be head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (ATF). The NRA is currently blocking the nomination because Traver once had the temerity to serve as an adviser to a police association on its gun violence reduction program. Obama can reiterate his (and Giffords’) support for the 2nd Amendment while using this chance to make a case for common sense gun control.

Alter is hoping that Obama could turn the shootings in Tucson into an Oklahoma City bombing sort of event and use Jared Loughner just like Bill Clinton used Timothy McVeigh.

The New York Daily News devoted an entire editorial to the Traver nomination accusing “NRA toadies in the Senate” of keeping the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives without a permanent Director. In typical, over-the-top, Daily News fashion they said:

The truth is, the National Rifle Association and its puppets in Congress push just as hard to hogtie enforcement as they do to gut the nation’s all-too-feeble statutes.

And the prime example is their blockade against confirming a permanent chief for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – the federal front-line force against gun trafficking.

In the editorial they also try to link the shootings at Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, and Tucson to the lack of an ATF Director. They conclude by urging Senators to confirm Traver saying “As bodies pile up, it’s the least they can do.” Obviously, they haven’t heard Obama’s call for civility in political discourse.

In California, the Sacramento Bee has picked up the call for Traver saying that we shouldn’t let the NRA dictate who should be “the top gun cop.” After dismissing Traver’s cozy relations with the gun ban lobby, they say:

The bureau responsible for enforcing the nation’s gun laws has not had a permanent director since 2006. Senate Republicans even held up the Bush administration’s appointee to the post at the behest of gun-rights groups. The bureau is under siege by the powerful gun lobby as illegal gun trafficking within the United States and abroad is rife. Our neighbor, Mexico, is being held hostage by vicious and well-armed drug cartels that buy their weapons in the United States.

The NRA is pushing so-called reform legislation that would make it even harder for law enforcement agencies to prosecute illegal gun dealers. In the face of relentless pressure from the gun lobby, Congress and even the president have shown themselves unwilling and unable to support even the most common-sense gun-safety laws.

Traver’s nomination is a test for the nation and its lawmakers. If a cop with an exemplary record of going after illegal gun sales can’t win confirmation as ATF director following last Saturday’s rampage, we are likely to see more Tucsons, more Columbines and more Virginia Techs.

These incendiary editorials have just begun as well as the push for more gun control – ineffective though it would have been in preventing Jared Loughner from doing this deranged act. We can expect more calls and more pressure on Senators to approve Andrew Traver.

If you haven’t called, written, emailed, or faxed your two Senators, what the hell are your waiting for? Do it and do it now.

UPDATE: In what should be no surprise, NPR is the latest media outlet reporting that ATF has been without a permanent Director and asking why Traver hasn’t been approved.

The Senate has yet to hold a hearing on Traver. A Judiciary Committee aide says the panel is waiting for the administration to submit the necessary paperwork.

Cavanaugh says the lack of a Senate-confirmed director with the backing of the president is disconcerting.

“The agency goes on because law enforcement people are ‘can do’ people and they’re mission people, but nevertheless there’s not an agency in government that has to face that kind of problem,” he says. “Can you imagine a big city police force not having a chief for 4 1/2 years?”

And while that might suit the gun lobby, gun control advocates hope the shootings in Tucson will spur the administration to push for Traver’s confirmation.

For some reason, James “Waco Jim” Cavanaugh must be the only former ATF person in the mainstream media’s Rolodex. Rachel Maddow had him on within the last week and now NPR uses him to push their story. Heck, even the SPLC has used Waco Jim.

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Pushing Obama On Gun Control

January 21, 2011 by 5 Comments

Gun control groups are pushing hard to have Obama not only mention, but push for gun control in the State of the Union speech on Tuesday, January 25th.

The Brady Campaign is one of the main groups pushing it. From a story yesterday by Michael Isikoff of NBC News:

“There’s a major push to get [Obama] to say something on this,” said Chad Ramsey, legislative director of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a leading gun control group. “We’ve been told he will say something, but we’re not sure how strong it will be.”

There have been a number of different gun control ideas put forward since the Jan. 8 Tucson shooting. But gun control groups most of all want Obama’s endorsement of the bill introduced this week by Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York (with more than 40 co-sponsors so far). That bill would ban the sale or transfer of high-capacity gun magazines such as the one allegedly used by Jared L. Loughner to fire off more than 30 rounds. So far, the proposal (and a companion bill to be introduced next week by Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey) has yet to pick up a single Republican co-sponsor.

The Brady Campaign and their congressional backers are also campaigning to get big Democratic donors to prod Obama on gun control according to that story. What is giving them some hope are the comments made by Dick Cheney who said maybe it was time to enact restrictions on standard capacity magazines.

Sarah Brady in a commentary for CNN has this to say:

We feel it’s our duty, and we’re asking President Barack Obama to help lead the way. As he so eloquently put it in his remarks at the memorial service in Tucson, Arizona, if we want our democracy to be as good as Christina Taylor Green and other children imagine it, we have to be able to come to that proverbial table of brotherhood and work on solutions to gun violence.

He is the only political leader who has the capital, the conscience and the competence to gather us. On Thursday, press secretary Robert Gibbs affirmed the president’s commitment to banning assault weapons, and with them those high-capacity-killing magazines.

Obama is our best hope, because he is surely aware that much of the resistance to common-sense changes to our gun laws is meant to shut us down and shut us up. It is meant to allow the guys with the guns — instead of ordinary Americans like us with the ideas — and men and women of good conscience, like Gabby and Jim — to make the rules.

The bullies have succeeded too often. They have made cowardly lions out of too many members of Congress. This moment, as grievous as it is, presents a new opportunity for the president and other elected leaders to demonstrate political courage — the way President Bill Clinton did when he stood by the side of victims and fought with all he had to pass the Brady Bill.

I love all the buzz words in that statement by the sainted Sarah. High-capacity-killing magazines, gun violence, common-sense changes, the guns with guns, ordinary Americans. Of course, despite all the calls for civil discourse, we who disagree with her are “bullies.”

The online political website Politico ran an article this morning entitled “Barack Obama’s conspicuous silence on guns”. The article notes that despite his longtime and unambiguous record on gun control he has been relatively quiet on the issue since becoming President. It goes on to say despite the efforts of gun control groups and liberal Democrats the White House has been noncommittal about using the State of the Union speech to push gun control and McCarthy’s magazine ban. The article goes on to say that gun control groups are saying that Obama has “a moral responsibility” to push for it. They quote Paul Helmke who says:

“If the president could address the issue in the State of the Union that would be really important,” says Paul Helmke, president of the Washington-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a major gun control group.

“If he could announce his support for the high-capacity clip legislation, that would be the best thing. The next best thing would be for him to support a presidential commission to study gun violence,” adds Helmke, the former mayor of Ft. Wayne, Ind. “But he can’t stay silent. Either way, he’s just got to do something.”

There is always that refrain that we must “do something” when often the best course to take is to do nothing.

And this evening, Peggy Noonan, who seemingly has been Obama’s biggest cheerleader on the Wall Street Journal editorial page despite her time in the Reagan and Bush 1 White Houses, suggests that one idea Obama should embrace in the State of the Union speech is a “ban on extended ammo clips.”

What civilian needs a pistol with a magazine that loads 33 bullets and allows you to kill that many people without even stopping to reload? No one but people with bad intent. Those clips were banned once; the president should call for reimposing the ban. The Republican Party will not go to the wall to defend extended clips. The problem is the Democratic Party, which overreached after the assassinations of the 1960s, talked about banning all handguns, and suffered a lasting political setback. Now Democrats are so spooked they won’t even move forward on small and obvious things like this. The president should seize the moment and come out strong for a ban.

Noonan seems to believe that such a ban is a “centrist” position. I’m sure in her milieu that might be a centrist position but then again I bet she has a doorman to guard access to her apartment building.

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Grandfathering and HR 308

January 19, 2011 by

HR 308, Carolyn McCarthy’s bill to outlaw standard capacity magazines and other feeding devices, does not allow any currently owned magazines above 10 rounds to be transferred. The Assault Weapons Ban (sic) of 1994 did allow for existing magazines to be sold, traded, or transferred. The new bill makes it a felony.

Sebastian at Snow Flakes in Hell has an excellent analysis of this provision. To understand just how radical a bill this is, you must read it. As he notes:

McCarthy’s bill contains no such exemption (as in AWB of 1994 regarding proof of ownership), which puts the burden on you to prove you fall under one of these two exemptions. Carolyn McCarthy has been on NPR saying that the things bloggers have been saying about her bill aren’t true. She knows damned well they are true, and so do the anti-gun groups. The purpose of this bill is to try to get more of us thrown in federal prison.

I am not naive enough to believe that they merely don’t know how to draft laws. Dennis Henigan is not a fool or an idiot. He knows federal guns laws, and I would be very surprised if McCarthy’s staffers didn’t consult with the Brady Center on this bill. By removing the original grandfathering and protections that were in the original 1994 ban, the effect is vastly different than what we lived under with that regime. Under this law, you may really only possess 11 round or greater magazines, unless you have proof you possessed them prior, at the arbitrary discretion of the authorities. How many magazines do you have documentation for?

 When you have RINO dinosaurs like Dick Lugar coming out in favor of a ban as well as the comments by Dick Cheney, it tells you two things: most don’t understand the difference between the law in 1994 and what McCarthy proposes AND we are going to have a fight on our hands to stop this monstrosity.

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Dick Cheney On Magazine Restrictions

January 19, 2011 by 3 Comments

Jamie Gangel asks Cheney about gun control after Tucson starting about the 2:45 mark.

Dick Cheney thinks it may be “appropriate” to reestablish size limits on magazines. He backs off a bit when he mentions the Second Amendment saying you have to be careful due to the Supreme Court rulings.

I’m sure this will be portrayed as a “common sense” measure.

Common sense is not shooting someone in the face! He violated Rule 2 and Rule 4 when he shot his friend in the face. Obeying those rules is common sense. Banning or limiting magazine size is not.

I think Alan at Snarky Bytes hits the nail on the head with his comments on Cheney.

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HR 308 Co-Sponsors

January 19, 2011 by 8 Comments

Below is the latest list of sponsors and co-sponsors for Carolyn McCarthy’s HR 308 – The Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act. The list primarily consists of the usual Northeast and California suspects.

I do see Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) on the list. He made some news recently when he said he was going to get his Tennessee CCW permit. I wonder if he’ll ask for an amendment to exclude “high-ranking government officials” such as Congressmen from the bill.

Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] – 1/18/2011
Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1] – 1/18/2011
Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] – 1/18/2011
Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] – 1/18/2011
Rep Chu, Judy [CA-32] – 1/18/2011
Rep Cicilline, David N. [RI-1] – 1/18/2011
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] – 1/18/2011
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] – 1/18/2011
Rep Connolly, Gerald E. “Gerry” [VA-11] – 1/18/2011
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] – 1/18/2011
Rep DeGette, Diana [CO-1] – 1/18/2011
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4] – 1/18/2011
Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] – 1/18/2011
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14] – 1/18/2011
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] – 1/18/2011
Rep Harman, Jane [CA-36] – 1/18/2011
Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] – 1/18/2011
Rep Himes, James A. [CT-4] – 1/18/2011
Rep Hirono, Mazie K. [HI-2] – 1/18/2011
Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] – 1/18/2011
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] – 1/18/2011
Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2] – 1/18/2011
Rep Jackson Lee, Sheila [TX-18] – 1/18/2011
Rep Langevin, James R. [RI-2] – 1/18/2011
Rep Lowey, Nita M. [NY-18] – 1/18/2011
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] – 1/18/2011
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5] – 1/18/2011
Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] – 1/18/2011
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] – 1/18/2011
Rep Meeks, Gregory W. [NY-6] – 1/18/2011
Rep Miller, George [CA-7] – 1/18/2011
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] – 1/18/2011
Rep Nadler, Jerrold [NY-8] – 1/18/2011
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] – 1/18/2011
Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [NJ-8] – 1/18/2011
Rep Pingree, Chellie [ME-1] – 1/18/2011
Rep Quigley, Mike [IL-5] – 1/18/2011
Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16] – 1/18/2011
Rep Sherman, Brad [CA-27] – 1/18/2011
Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28] – 1/18/2011
Rep Speier, Jackie [CA-12] – 1/18/2011
Rep Van Hollen, Chris [MD-8] – 1/18/2011
Rep Waters, Maxine [CA-35] – 1/18/2011
Rep Waxman, Henry A. [CA-30] – 1/18/2011
Rep Weiner, Anthony D. [NY-9] – 1/18/2011
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] – 1/18/2011
Rep Yarmuth, John A. [KY-3] – 1/18/2011

UPDATE: Six more co-sponsors have signed on to McCarthy’s bill. This brings the total to 53.

Rep Berman, Howard L. [CA-28] – 1/19/2011
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] – 1/19/2011
Rep Green, Al [TX-9] – 1/19/2011
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] – 1/19/2011
Rep Deutch, Theodore E. [FL-19] – 1/19/2011
Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2] – 1/19/2011

UPDATE II: Four more co-sponsors. I am not able to retrieve NRA-PVF grades for the 2010 elections but those I did find for all the California co-sponsors for the 2008 election averaged F.

Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9] – 1/20/2011
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] – 1/20/2011
Rep Doyle, Michael F. [PA-14] – 1/20/2011
Rep Sarbanes, John P. [MD-3] – 1/20/2011

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HR 308 – Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act

January 19, 2011 by 3 Comments

Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) introduced her bill yesterday to ban standard capacity magazines, drums, belts, tubes, stripper clips, or anything else that contains more than 10 rounds. Exemptions are made for police and military. All devices made for military or police uses if the bill passes would now be serialized.

Currently, the bill has 47 co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. So far, no companion bill has been introduced in the Senate.

H.R.308 — Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act (Introduced in House – IH)

HR 308 IH

112th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 308
To prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 18, 2011
Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself, Mr. CLAY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. WEINER, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ISRAEL, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MORAN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. NADLER, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. WATERS, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CHU, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. HOLT, Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HONDA, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. FARR, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BISHOP of New York, and Ms. DEGETTE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

——————————————————————————–

A BILL
To prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act’.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OR POSSESSION OF LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICES.

(a) Definition- Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after paragraph (29) the following:

`(30) The term `large capacity ammunition feeding device’–

`(A) means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition; but

`(B) does not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.’.

(b) Prohibitions- Section 922 of such title is amended by inserting after subsection (u) the following:

`(v)(1)(A)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), it shall be unlawful for a person to transfer or possess a large capacity ammunition feeding device.

`(ii) Clause (i) shall not apply to the possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device otherwise lawfully possessed within the United States on or before the date of the enactment of this subsection.

`(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to import or bring into the United States a large capacity ammunition feeding device.

`(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to–

`(A) a manufacture for, transfer to, or possession by the United States or a department or agency of the United States or a State or a department, agency, or political subdivision of a State, or a transfer to or possession by a law enforcement officer employed by such an entity for purposes of law enforcement (whether on or off duty);

`(B) a transfer to a licensee under title I of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 for purposes of establishing and maintaining an on-site physical protection system and security organization required by Federal law, or possession by an employee or contractor of such a licensee on-site for such purposes or off-site for purposes of licensee-authorized training or transportation of nuclear materials;

`(C) the possession, by an individual who is retired from service with a law enforcement agency and is not otherwise prohibited from receiving ammunition, of a large capacity ammunition feeding device transferred to the individual by the agency upon that retirement; or

`(D) a manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device by a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Attorney General.’.

(c) Penalties- Section 924(a) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(8) Whoever knowingly violates section 922(v) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.’.

(d) Identification Markings- Section 923(i) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following: `A large capacity ammunition feeding device manufactured after the date of the enactment of this sentence shall be identified by a serial number that clearly shows that the device was manufactured after such date of enactment, and such other identification as the Attorney General may by regulation prescribe.’.

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I’ll Believe It When I See Her In Pittsburgh

January 19, 2011 by 1 Comment

Rachel Maddow had Meghan McCain as a guest on her show Monday. In her discussion with McCain about guns, gun control, and McCain’s NRA membership, Maddow revealed that her first date with her partner Susan Mikula was at an NRA Ladies Day on the Range event.

Meghan McCain then invited her to attend the NRA Annual Meeting and Maddow accepted. Then McCain went on to make stupid comments about how no one “needs” standard capacity magazines. I’ll believe Maddow was serious about her acceptance when I see her at the Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh at the end of April. Heck, I’ll believe McCain is a NRA member when I see her there as well.

The comments begin at about the 8:55 mark and it is at the 10:00 mark where McCain discusses the “need” for, in her words, “extended capacity” magazines. As to “need”, little Miss McCain ought to heed the advice of Uncle when he says “Whats need got to do with it?”