Take Action Time to Act
United States/Your State Legislature – -(AmmoLand.com)- Second Amendment supporters often think that when a state legislature (or Congress) is not in session, then our rights are relatively safe. After all, when they are not in session, anti-Second Amendment extremists can’t pass legislation.
legislation
What Are The Biggest Priorities For 2022?
Second Amendment Activist Protest Activism Take Action
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- It will not be long before state legislatures start their sessions for 2022. There is going to be a big question: What should Second Amendment supporters urge their state lawmakers to do?
Supreme Court Will Not Save Second Amendment, New Legislative Attacks
U.S. Supreme Court Image NRA-ILA
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- Assuming a favorable ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, many Second Amendment supporters think that the legislative battles will be over shortly. That would be a huge mistake. Anti-Second Amendment extremists won’t give up. If anything, they will take new approaches to attack our civil rights.
Below the Radar: Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act of 2021
Below the Radar: Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act of 2021
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- When it comes to our Second Amendment rights, the sad fact is that anti-Second Amendment extremists have a number of avenues to attack them. One of those that Second Amendment supporters have to keep a very watchful eye on are those that attack federal firearms licensees (FFLs), particularly the dealers.
In an ideal world, there wouldn’t be legal provisions requiring a license to deal firearms at either the federal, state or local level. It goes without saying, though, that we are not living in that ideal world. Those people who go through the process to get an FFL to become a dealer have chosen to make a living helping people exercise their Second Amendment rights. That said, your local gun store is a business, and it needs to be profitable while remaining within the provisions of 18 USC 922, 18 USC 923, and a host of state and local laws.
This is why the Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act of 2021 is a serious threat to our rights.
Introduced in the House by James Langevin as HR 4271, and in the Senate by Ed Markey as S 2320, this is a bill intended to make life harder for FFLs in a number of ways.
The least bad part of this bill is the increase in the number of compliance inspections from one a year to three a year. This is a lot of red tape and hassle, and Markey and Langevin want to triple it for FFLs. But this bill gets worse.
For instance, current law states that an FFL can only be revoked after a felony conviction becomes final. After all, there are cases in which convictions get thrown out on appeal. Well, Markey and Langevin are changing that – immediately on conviction the FFL gets revoked, and there’s no provision for reinstatement.
Dealers would also be required to conduct a physical inventory if 10 “crime guns” are traced to them. The definition of “crime gun” is very vague. That vagueness also comes into play when they apply for a license. The Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act of 2021 allows some bureaucrat to decide that a would-be FFL “is otherwise not suitable to be issued a license” – and the law leaves that provision very vague.
Current law requires willful violation of laws or regulations to trigger action. Markey and Langevin change that, empowering bureaucrats to go after dealers for honest mistakes. In other words, a dealer could face fines and jail time when he didn’t even intend to do anything wrong.
The sad thing is, there are current laws that can handle FFLs who go bad. They just need to be enforced. But Markey and Langevin aren’t interested in dealing with the FFLs who go bad. They want to create enough hassle and potential risk so that good FFLs, particularly the small businesses, decide to shut down.
The way things are right now, we need FFLs, particularly the local small businesses, to stay viable. That means we have to have their backs, especially when it comes to legislation. Second Amendment supporters need to contact their Representative and Senators and politely urge them to oppose both HR 4271 and S 2320. They also need to work to defeat anti-Second Amendment extremists like Markey and Langevin at the ballot box at the federal, state, and local levels as soon as possible.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
Below The Radar: Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriation Bills
Violent criminals will always ignore gun laws, just as they ignore the myriad other laws that make them violent criminals. IMG NRA-ILA
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- When it comes to appropriations bills, many Second Amendment supporters all too often don’t take much notice, other than to grumble about how Washington politicians are wasting our hard-earned tax dollars. While that is true, these bill often are used to attack our rights.
Remember the 1996 Lautenberg amendment? That was inserted into a consolidated appropriations bill for the fiscal year 1997. It is perhaps the most notorious attack on our Second Amendment rights via this process – simply due to how many gun owners who suddenly found themselves instant felons because of the ex post facto nature of that piece of legislation.
At Congress.gov, four bills, HR 4431, HR 4432, HR 4502, and HR 4505 have been introduced, respectively titled Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, and the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. These are all opportunities for the current anti-Second Amendment extremists to replicate what was done a quarter-century ago.
Other antics from anti-Second Amendment extremists have included a prohibition on funding the ATF’s “relief from disabilities” process. On the flip side, Second Amendment supporters have similarly used the appropriations process to halt biased research by the Centers for Disease Control. To date, anti-Second Amendment extremists are trying to bring back that funding, and it is not hard for Second Amendment supporters to understand why – given how health researchers favor attacking our rights.
This means that Second Amendment supporters need to keep as close an eye on these bills, and particularly amendments, as they possibly can. This can be very difficult, given that each of these bills are massive – HR 4431 is 104 pages, and the accompanying committee report is another 174 pages. HR 4505 is 138 pages long, and that bill’s report is another 220 pages. HR 4432 (a 148-page bill and a 409-page report) and HR 4502 (a 196-page bill and a 453-page report) dwarf those two, incidentally.
It’s hard to imagine just how members of the House of Representatives can understand what is in a bill before they vote. That makes it pretty easy for stuff to be slipped in – whether by our enemies or by Second Amendment champions. All of it depends, though, on who controls the appropriations committees in the House and Senate. That is why Second Amendment supporters should be working hard to ensure that anti-Second Amendment extremists are defeated via the ballot box at the federal, state, and local levels as soon as possible.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
Below The Radar: The PISTOL Act
Take Action Time to Act
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- A while back, we discussed the difference between the ideal and the achievable. It is a conundrum that many Second Amendment supporters have, whether it is legislation or candidates. Our enemies often have the same problem, so we can take some small comfort.
Just as Dianne Feinstein has introduced a fallback measure to the semiauto ban she really wants, the same approach is being taken with regards to the Biden-Harris regime’s attack on AR-15-type pistols (among others). We have discussed the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act on multiple occasions, and it is the ideal solution to address that attack.
However, as Second Amendment supporters have often learned, the ideal solution isn’t always possible.
In this case, removing short-barreled rifles from the purview of the National Firearms Act may not be possible at the present time. In fact, to be very blunt, seeing the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act become law in this Congress is a pipe dream, given who controls the committees and subcommittees.
This is not to say it’s a bad idea – introducing legislation and tracking the cosponsors is a good way to gauge what sort of support there is for efforts to restore our rights. That makes having a fall-back option a good idea. Enter HR 3823, the PISTOL Act.
What this bill, introduced by Representative Bob Good (R-VA), does is to maintain the status quo by stating that firearms like the AR-15 pistols with a stabilizing brace may not be placed under the National Firearms Act. This would end the present threat for the short term – provided that anti-Second Amendment extremists don’t increase their numbers in Congress.
This doesn’t come without trade-offs.
On the one hand, if the PISTOL Act were to be passed into law (say as an amendment to the appropriate appropriations bill), it may make it more difficult to pass the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act in the future. But given the realities that surround passing legislation, even taking a majority in the future won’t make passing the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act a given.
For one thing, the same filibuster that currently is preventing anti-Second Amendment extremists from packing the court and ramming through extreme legislation will be wielded by the likes of Chuck Schumer, Chris Murphy, Dianne Feinstein, and other anti-Second Amendment extremists to block pro-Second Amendment legislation. It cuts both ways, and before Second Amendment supporters contemplate nuking the filibuster to pass such improvements, remember that Harry Reid’s use of the “nuclear option” for nominations backfired to the tune of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett on SCOTUS.
The fact is, the PISTOL Act may be a suitable incremental measure in lieu of passing the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act, and Second Amendment supporters should contact their Senators and Representative and polite urge them to support this legislation. However, it is no substitute for defeating anti-Second Amendment extremists at the ballot box at the federal, state, and local levels.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
Below The Radar Handgun Licensing and Registration Act of 2021
Below The Radar Handgun Licensing and Registration Act of 2021 (Dave Workman photo)
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- While all the talk has been on gun bans – particularly in light of the Miller v. Bonta case – but let’s keep in mind that there are many attacks on our Second Amendment rights that could come aside from gun bans. One of the biggest avenues will be efforts to push licensing and registration.
Now, anti-Second Amendment extremists have long wanted licensing and registration. Take a look at statements Lyndon Baines Johnson made on two occasions during the passage and signing of the Gun Control Act of 1968. Already this year, we have covered various licensing and registration schemes, from bad pieces of legislation like the Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act to abominations like the Sabika Sheikh Firearms Licensing and Registration Act.
Falling in between these two bad bills is one from Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), who has introduced HR 3740, the Handgun Licensing and Registration Act of 2021. This bill, while not as intrusive as the Sabika Sheikh Firearms Licensing and Registration Act, still is quite ugly for those who wish to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
Her legislation would impose a federal license – unless a state had already set up its own version. However, it would require the fingerprinting of anyone who wanted to exercise their rights, a photo, and the longest term for the license would be five years. In addition, every handgun gets registered.
Incidentally, there is no provision for carrying firearms. Privacy protections are also non-existent – something that should be kept in mind when one thinks about how well the IRS has protected private tax data. In addition, there is no timeframe for the licensing process, meaning there could be endless waits. Ask Carol Bowne about that process. Being from New Jersey, Coleman cannot pretend that she does not know about what New Jersey’s laws did to Bowne, so it means that she couldn’t care less if others are killed waiting for permission to exercise their Second Amendment rights. There’s a host of other reasons to distrust the Biden-Harris regime with any new powers.
Let’s get one thing straight – the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own firearms.
These licensing schemes, with or without registration, are intended to be a way to reduce the number of people who exercise those rights by creating more and more hoops for people to jump through.
It goes without saying that Second Amendment supporters should contact their Senators and Representative to politely urge that they oppose this legislation. They also need to work to ensure that anti-Second Amendment extremists at the federal, state, and local level are defeated at the ballot box as soon as possible.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
Below The Radar Protecting the Right To Keep and Bear Arms Act of 2021
Second Amendment Activist Protest Activism Take Action
New York/United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- One thing that Second Amendment supporters need to take from the COVID-19 pandemic is the fact that public health can be used to really go after liberty. In fact, we know that more than anyone based on experience. Anyone remember the Handgun Epidemic Lowering Plan? Andrew Cuomo’s just unveiled measures now, including signing legislation that legalizes suing gun manufacturers.
It goes without saying that we could see an effort to target our Second Amendment rights via the declaration of a “public health” emergency. The good news is that Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) has introduced S 1916, the Protecting the Right To Keep and Bear Arms Act of 2021, cutting this move off at the federal level.
This legislation expands on a list of prohibitions passed in the wake of gun confiscation after Hurricane Katrina. It would make it illegal for the President to use a declaration of emergency or major disaster to enact gun control measures. In addition, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would be prohibited from using a declaration that a public health emergency exists to enact gun control measures by executive fiat.
Could we put it past the Biden regime to do that? We probably can’t, and it’s an open question about who really runs things. So, what needs to be done is to tie the hands of the executive – ideally before they can try such a stunt.
The good news is that the legislation is not that big of a read, two pages as a PDF. This makes it a very easy one to print out and share at your local gun club. More importantly, in an era where it seems that government officials act unilaterally, this legislation can help cut it off at the pass.
Second Amendment supporters should keep in mind that this only cuts off federal action. This sort of move could also be made at the state level, and Cuomo has demonstrated a known animus towards groups who try to protect our Second Amendment rights. But a federal bill is a good start.
As of this writing, 24 Senators have co-sponsored this bill. This list includes Senators Tim Scott (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Rick Scott (R-FL), all of whom could be seeking national office in 2024 or later years. On the flip side, a couple of purported Second Amendment supporters in the Senate, Jon Tester (D-MT) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) have not signed on yet.
Second Amendment supporters should politely urge their Senators and Representative to support this legislation. Those who live in Montana and West Virginia should ask a few pointed questions to Tester and Manchin in particular. Most importantly, they will need to work to defeat anti-Second Amendment extremists at the ballot box at the federal, state, and local level.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.
Below the Radar: Illegal Alien NICS Alert Act
Below the Radar: Illegal Alien NICS Alert Act
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- The National Instant Background Check System (NICS) has always been a flashpoint of contention among Second Amendment supporters. “No compromise” types viewed the push for NICS in 1993 as a sellout, while those who were of the incrementalist school of thought pointed out – justifiably – that NICS prevented a permanent waiting period.
Below the Radar: The HEAR Act Rears Its Ugly Head Again
Below the Radar: Making America Safe and Secure Act of 2019
United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- From now on, when an anti-Second Amendment extremist says they want to “regulate” something, you can take it to the bank that what they really want is a ban. One prime example of this is legislation introduced by Senator Robert Menendez and Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman.