Rep. Carlos Curbelo

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Oh, Oh, Oh, I Know The Answer Mr. Kotter

December 28, 2017 by 1 Comment

For those who were fans of the old TV show Welcome Back, Kotter, you will remember the character Arnold Horshack. Whenever he’d raise his hand to answer a question, he’d yell, “Oooh, oooh, ooh”.

So it is with a story from Legal Insurrection regarding the 2018 House races. It featured three races with Republican incumbents that are expected to be very close. The Republicans mentioned in the story are Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), Rep. Mia Love (R-UT), and Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL).

While I can’t speak to Mia Love’s race for re-election, I do have an answer – or at least a partial answer – as to why Roskam and Curbelo might be on the bubble. They both voted against concealed carry reciprocity. Moreover, Curbelo is the sponsor of HR 3999 which would make it illegal “to manufacture, possess, or transfer any part or combination of parts that is designed and functions to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but does not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machinegun.” The way the bill reads this would mean not just bumpstocks and binary triggers but stuff like Geissele or Timney triggers.

Perhaps Roskam and Curbelo think playing to the gun control crowd will win them a few more Democrat or moderate Republican votes. I’d say it will also cause them to lose a lot more gun owners who might have provided them with the margin of victory.

I know my friend and Polite Society Podcast co-host Gary Daugherty who lives in Roskam’s district is quite angry over Roskam’s vote against HR 38. Given Gary helps organize town halls for ISRA in his area of Illinois, this does not bode well for Roskam.

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NRA Opposes Both Feinstein’s S.1916 And Curbelo’s HR 3999

October 12, 2017 by 5 Comments

The NRA announced yesterday that it opposed both Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s S.1916 and Rep. Carlos Curbelo’s HR 3999. These bills would ban any part that could increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic fire.

The opposition was announced via an interview with the Washington Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski.

“We are opposed to the Feinstein and Curbelo legislation,” Jennifer Baker, a spokesperson for the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, told the Washington Free Beacon.

The text for Sen. Feinstein’s S.1916 can be found here while the text of  Rep. Curbelo’s HR 3999 can be found here. The Trojan Horse in both bills is this language.

any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semi- automatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machinegun.

As I noted in earlier blog posts on the issue, this could be anything from a replacement trigger reset spring to a Geissele trigger to a lightweight AR bolt carrier to a heavier AR buffer. In other words, the BATFE Technology Division could use this to ban anything and everything related to a semi-automatic rifle short of the gritty mil-spec trigger.

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HR 3999 – The “Bipartisan” Answer To S.1916 Is A Trojan Horse

October 11, 2017 by 2 Comments

You knew it was only a matter of time before some spineless Republican – but I repeat myself – introduced a bill that mimicked Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s S. 1916 – Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) and Rep. Seth Moulton (R-MA) introduced the bill yesterday and it has 11 Democrats and 10 Republicans as co-sponsors.

Reading the wording of the bill, it is actually worse for the firearms community than avowedly anti-gun Feinstein’s bill. Her bill at least makes mention of bump fire stocks and trigger cranks. The operative wording on this bill says:

(a) PROHIBITION.—Section 922 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(aa) It shall be unlawful for any person—
‘‘(1) in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, to manufacture, possess, or transfer any part or combination of parts that is designed and functions to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but does not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machinegun; or
‘‘(2) to manufacture, possess, or transfer any
such part or combination of parts that have been
shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.’’.

I call this bill a Trojan Horse because it can mean anything and everything that the regulators at the BATFE and DOJ want it to mean. Improved triggers, springs, and heavier buffers than stock could all be included under the wording of this bill.

Here are the Republicans that have signed on as co-sponsors. Some are the usual suspects like Peter King; some should know better. I have put their NRA-PVF grade for 2016 after their names. Rep. Curbelo, the bill’s sponsor, was rated a B+ by the NRA_PVF.

Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-2]* F
Rep. Lance, Leonard [R-NJ-7]* A Endorsed
Rep. Meehan, Patrick [R-PA-7]* B-
Rep. Royce, Edward R. [R-CA-39]* A Endorsed
Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4]* C+
Rep. Paulsen, Erik [R-MN-3]* A Endorsed
Rep. Costello, Ryan A. [R-PA-6]* A Endorsed
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R-FL-27]* A Endorsed
Rep. Dent, Charles W. [R-PA-15]* A Endorsed
Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21]* A Endorsed

It disgusts me to see that seven out of the 10 Republican co-sponsors were “A Endorsed” candidates in 2016. While the NRA meant for their statement of bump fire stocks to be a delaying device, it has also become cover for these Republicans. The average voter isn’t going to go into the exact wording of the NRA’s statement. They are just going to say, “The NRA says bump fire stocks should be banned and this is what these Republicans are doing.” You know and I know that the NRA called for greater regulation which is much different than a ban.

With regard to the Democrat co-sponsors, they are all rated F with the exception of Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) who got a B-.

This bill needs to be stopped and stopped now. The Republicans supporting this bill need calls from their constituents and donors.