HR 1808

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“to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited”

July 30, 2022 by 9 Comments

HR 1808 passed the House this evening by a vote of 217-213. Interestingly, the Clerk of the House still has not released the roll call vote on the bill even though it was 1 1/2 hours ago.

All bills have to have a “purpose” stated. The official purpose of HR 1808 is “To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.”

To ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited? In other words, the elites on the Democrats side plus the two Republican turncoats don’t want minorities, Red Staters, the working class, or anyone else who is part of the Great Unwashed to be armed with anything that might just threaten their grip on power.

Given there are over 24 million semi-automatic rifles in circulation, I think those who voted for this bill are just spitting in the wind. Also banned would be any semi-auto pistol with a threaded barrel and any semi-auto shotgun with a pistol or bird’s head grip whose tube held more than 5 rounds. I don’t even want to estimate the number of standard capacity mags in existence.

Unless the Republicans in the Senate cave entirely, this bill will be dead on arrival there.

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Unintended Consequences Of An AWB

July 29, 2022 by

If Congress in its infinite wisdom (sic) were to pass a new assault weapons ban on semi-automatic firearms, it might just increase the number of suicides. That would be an incredibly sad unintended consequence of the law.

I had the opportunity to meet Sarah Joy Albrecht at the SHOT Show this year. She founded a non-profit called HoldMyGuns.Org. It works through a network of Federal Firearms Licensees to have them hold a person’s firearms during times of mental health crisis or personal need. This is 100% voluntary on the part of the firearm owners and provides them safe, off-site storage. When the crisis has passed, they reclaim their firearms.

It is voluntary, government is not involved, and the firearms are held by someone who has been vetted by Hold My Guns. Those holding the firearms for the individual are both licensed and insured.

So how would a new AWB impact this effort to reduce suicide and assist those having a mental health crisis?

Sarah Joy posted this on Twitter this morning.

The gun prohibitionists style themselves as concerned citizens whose only motivation is “gun safety” and the reduction of crimes committed with firearms. The reality is that they don’t give a big rat’s ass if Joe Bob cannot find a safe location for his firearms during a mental health crisis and ends up killing himself. It only adds to their statistics. It is time to call them out on it as well as the politicians who kowtow to them.

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AWB On The Floor Today

July 29, 2022 by 1 Comment

Nancy Pelosi must have twisted a lot of arms and changed her mind. It is now being reported that HR 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021, and HR 2814, Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act of 2022, will considered today. The latter bill is the repeal of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

My feeling is that Pelosi was pissed off that the Senate Republicans stalled passage of the PACT Act and this is retribution. The problem for Republicans with the PACT Act, as I understand it, was not with the intent of the bill but the funding. Punchbowl News puts it that it was a move by Republicans in response to the Manchin-Schumer agreement on “build back better”.

NSSF sent this out by email:

CRITICAL ALERT REMINDER: ‘ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN’ VOTE TODAY
These Bills Could Be Voted on Today!
Contact Your U.S. Representative This Morning At (202) 224 3121! 

Anti gun leaders in the House called an emergency meeting last night to employ a seldom used tactic that would expedite consideration of both the so-called “Assault Weapons” ban, and the bill to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Both bills could be voted on by the full House of Representatives today!

It is unclear if Speaker Pelosi has the votes needed to pass the bills at this moment, so it is critical that you call your U.S. Representative TODAY and urge a “NO” vote on H.R. 1808, the so-called “Assault Weapons Ban” of 2022, and H.R. 2814, the so-called “Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act.”

The Firearms Policy Coalition was likewise warning about this last evening.

I am now reading that the rule allowing consideration of the bills has passed 216-205.

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Pelosi Puts AWB On Hold

July 28, 2022 by 2 Comments

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has put the vote on HR 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021, on hold.

Yesterday, she posted this:

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement on negotiations around a package of public safety bills the House will consider:

“For safer communities, Members have been working on a package of critical public safety bills.  As those discussions are continuing, it is clear that the House will reconvene in August in order to vote for the Reconciliation bill.  We are grateful to all our Members for promoting our shared values reflected in specific legislation that we can all support.

“Right now, we are preparing to take up the CHIPS and Science Act from the Senate and Members are engaged in advocating for the PACT Act in the Senate.”

In other words, she could not round up enough votes to pass the new AWB so Democrats are going to focus on the exposure of veterans to toxins. At least that will help those that served.

As Emily Miller observed:

It’s called whipping the vote. And when you whip and don’t have the 218 needed, you pull the bill to avoid a public relations debacle.  Pelosi had to yank the bill because a few Democrats from moderate districts didn’t want to vote on an unpopular gun grab bill months before elections. 

That said, Pelosi has during the break to twist arms. Don’t consider the bill as being dead.

From Stephen Gutowski’s The Reload:

The fact it doesn’t have the votes to pass the Senate regardless of what the House does has added to the difficulty of the election-year vote as well.

John Bresnahan, who has spent decades covering Capitol Hill and co-founded Punchbowl, said the bill isn’t doomed yet. He said Pelosi needs more time to try and please progressive members and those from the Congressional Black Caucus as well as moderates. The former want the ban and limits on how police funds can be used, while the latter are leery of the ban and pushing for the funding.

“I think the window is still open,” Bresnahan told The Reload. “When you get that close, you don’t just walk away from it.”

He said Pelosi can afford up to four defections from Democrats and still be able to pass the bill. With somewhere over 210 members already on record supporting the bill, leadership only needs to bring a few more on board. The failure to corral a vote before the recess is a notable setback, but Bresnahan said Democrats have until the end of September to figure out how to get their caucus to agree.

So keep writing and calling your representatives. This is especially true for those readers represented by a Democrat who might be on the fence. Remind them of 1994 and what happened to Democrats in that election.

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Democrats And A New AWB

July 21, 2022 by 7 Comments

…and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Vol. 1, Reason in Common Sense

Democrats in the US House of Representatives are struggling to find the final votes needed to pass HR 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021. While the bill does have 212 co-sponsors, it needs 218 votes to pass. As Politico notes, they are still trying to find the final votes needed to pass the bill. They might get a vote or two from Republicans like Rep. Adam Kinzinger (RINO-IL) and Rep. Chris Jacobs (RINO-NY) both of whom are retiring after this session. Even if it does pass the House, it will go nowhere in the Senate.

The last time Congress passed an assault weapons ban, the Democrats lost the both houses of Congress. The Republicans picked up 8 seats in the Senate and 54 seats in the House. Even House Speaker Tom Foley (D-WA) lost his seat.

Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), a six-term congressman who just lost his primary to extreme leftist, anti-gun, Liz Warren-endorsed Jamie McLeod-Skinner, did remember what happened after passage of the ’94 AWB. Moreover, it is not like Schrader is even remotely pro-gun.

From Politico:

“This is a bill that destroyed the Democrats in ‘94. I guess, do we really have a death wish list as Democrats?” said Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), who will not be on the ballot in November as he has already lost his primary.

The Oregonian centrist is one of more than a half-dozen Democrats either opposed to or undecided on the legislation, many from rural districts where gun safety laws are more contentious. Part of Schrader’s argument: Democrats would risk stomping on their latest bipartisan gun bill by passing something that goes further but will not become law: “It undermines what we already did and reemphasizes to all the people in America that are not hardcore urban Democrats that our party’s out of touch.”

The Republicans have long been referred to as “the stupid party” for their propensity to snatch defeat out of the mouth of victory. This time it looks like the Democrats are well on their way to being the stupid party. But, then again, as the Instapundit always says, “Don’t get cocky”.

UPDATE: The National Shooting Sports Foundation updated their estimate of modern sporting rifles in circulation. It is now over 24 million. That certainly meets the “in common use” standard.

Below is their chart showing a year-by-year estimate of the number produced, imported, and exported.