The time has come to review the legislation that your representatives will be voting on in the coming months. Many of you may have heard about a couple of these but unless you pay close attention to everything that congress does, you may be missing a few items of interest. I will attempt to inform you of the many (and I do mean many) proposed bills currently in debate. Like you, I am not likely to say yes or vote on any bill that limits the rights of the people, especially when it comes to anti-gun legislation. However, keep in mind that you do not get to vote on any of these bills. Your representatives will be doing the voting for you and if you want them to vote your way, you will need to make it clear to them which way you would like them to vote. With that said, here is a listing of each bill proposed that I was able to find and the summaries of what it means for you.
H.R.1022.IH: Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007
Many of you have heard of this one as being the revised/expanded assault weapons ban from 1994 which had sunset in 2004. Everyone should know by now that the original version of this, which was enacted for 10 years, did nothing to reduce crime in our nation. Well, here it is again and expanded it is. Obvious choices for this bill are the AK-47, AR-15, SKS, and of course any rifle that can be construed as a sniper rifle. But wait, what about your Hi-Point Carbine, Kel-Tec Sub-Rifle, M-1 Carbine, or even your Ruger Mini-14? Say goodbye to them as well. What about the pistols? Well, MAC-10's, TEC-9's and Uzi's are out. It does not specify any particular common pistol used for home defense, but does that make them safe from this bill? No! I will explain further momentarily. What about your shotgun? Well, the SPAS-12, Striker-12 and the Armscor 30 BG are mentioned, but the last mentioned shotgun expands the shotgun category to just about anything out there...the infamous street sweeper. In the definitions area of the bill, there is no mention as to what qualifies as a street sweeper, so now anything could possibly be a street sweeping shotgun. Why? Well, guess who gets to decide what is legal and what is not according to their own interpretation of the bill? Why none other than your attorney general, of course. Also, this bill will require all so called assault weapons to be transferred through a licensed FFL dealer. That means that you can not even sell your old Mini-14 to your buddy without going through a dealer. And if you have to transfer it through a FFL dealer than it becomes a new sale and therefore is not grandfather-claused making the gun illegal and confiscatable. Tricky? You expect less from the gun grabbers? What is the fine for a single violation of this bill? No less than 10 years for a single violation. How many firearms do you have that are in violation?
H.R.1141.IH: Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act of 2007
From what I have been able to decipher this bill introduces the idea of providing an amnesty period for veterans who have obtained firearms prior to October 31, 1968 during their service overseas and have since brought those firearms to their current residence in the US. This amnesty period would allow them to register their firearms and have it determined if they are legal by, yet again, the attorney general. If considered illegal, they would be confiscated and turned over to museums or destroyed. In the unlikely event they are considered legal, they would be allowed to keep them. However, when the congress decides that this bill is no longer valid and that you may no longer possess such firearms, they now know where to find them. On top of that, if they find out that you do have one of these firearms but did not register it in the time allotted for the amnesty period, you are again in violation and subject to fines and imprisonment. How much time is allotted you may ask? How's 90 days sound? Yes, 90 days to register your firearm that you were legal to have in the first place. Do you think the federal government can get to all the people interested in complying within the 90 day period? Keep dreaming.
S.376.IS: Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007
Normally, anything mentioning "Law Enforcement Officer Safety" sets off an alarm in my head. Usually, these are buzz words for, "we will take your guns for the safety of our officers." However, in this case the bill is actually about officer safety. This bill, if passed would allow for officers who are retired to carry a concealed weapon for as long as they can continue to qualify under the standards in firearms training for the state in which they reside. A federally mandated concealed carry permit allowable in all states. Sounds like a solution to me and we should all be so lucky. Could this be a precursor to the idea of expanding this to all law abiding citizens? We can hope. This one gets my vote for sure and I will be letting my senator know.
H.R.1399.IH: District of Columbia Personal Protection Act
Many of you have heard about the 2nd Court of Appeals decision that Washington, D.C.'s current legislation concerning firearms is unconstitutional and, more importantly, designated that the 2nd Amendment is an individual right and not a state right. Right after that decision, a bill to repeal the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 which makes illegal all firearms that are not in use by law enforcement. Let me give you an idea of how ridiculous this law was. Once, enacted in 1975, any firearm you had was still legal in the room it was being kept in at the time. However, if you transferred your own firearm to the next room to be cleaned or maintained, you are now in violation of this law. That's right, you can no longer move your firearm from one room to the next in your own home! Even if after the law passed you decided to move to another area, you are no longer able to even pack your gun up and move it to another state or area where it is legal because, well you can't move it. You now are left with the option of leaving it for the authorities to come and confiscate it. Do you see how asinine this law was? Under this new bill, this law would be repealed along with all the absurd regulations that were spawn from it. Again, it gets my vote and should get yours too. Let your congressmen know how you feel.
H.R226.IH: Non-resident concealed carry standard.
How many of you have more than one concealed carry license so that you may carry in most states that allow for such carry options? Most who currently carry concealed know that if you want to travel and carry concealed in other states that allow it may need to get between two and three licenses from different states to cover most of the states that allow concealed carry. Even this does not allow for all states that license for concealed carry. This bill would make a standard that if you meet the qualifications in your state of residence for concealed carry, you are now legal to carry concealed in all states that license for such carry options. Again, a nationwide standard for firearms owner rights. Sounds good to me.
Well, those are the first five legislation for the current session of congress to look over and decide what you as a firearms owner should be allowed to do. There are still more to discuss and I will cover these in future blog entries. Again, I would encourage all readers to contact their representatives from both the House and Senate and demand, not ask, that they vote your way. I say demand because if you ask them to vote your way they may send you a wishy-washy letter of reply letting you know that they are concerned with these issues but are also concerned for the safety of the nation, or that they support sportsman. Again, this is buzz wording for I am willing to take some of your guns away for now (and will take more away later). Do not allow a politician to push you around, they work for you and therefore are required to vote for what the majority of people are requesting of them. Don't forget that they are elected officials and can be voted out of office at the end of their term. Wave that in front of them and watch them scurry to vote for the majority.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at billy_the_kid43@hotmail.com