BOHICA! New Import Ban?

feinstein is at it again.  This time, she's not trying to pass legislation.  No, that hasn't been working.  She is trying to get support to get BATFE to halt the importation of more "non-sporting" guns.  I guess the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the semi-auto import ban of 1989 weren't enough for her.

This is her "wish list" with my comments in red:

• Prohibit importation of all semi-automatic rifles that can accept, or be readily converted to accept, a large capacity ammunition magazine of more than 10 rounds, regardless of the military pedigree of the firearm or the configuration of the firearm’s magazine well. - To ban military-style firearms that aren't military firearms, which seems very contradictory.  This would stop the importation of the Century WASR-10 rifles and Draco pistols.
• Prohibit semi-automatic rifles with fixed magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. - I guess seeking to preemptively ban work-around guns with welded-in magazines and 20-round Mauser Broomhandle replicas?
• Prohibit the importation of the frame or receiver of any prohibited rifle, regardless of whether it is incorporated into a fully manufactured firearm.
• Prohibit the practice of importing assault rifles in parts and then constructing the rifles once they are in the United States by adding the requisite number of American-made parts. - No more AK parts-guns, wiping out 922(r) compliance, although I don't see how this is enforceable without a new law.  How can anyone tell whether the AK I built in my basement was built last night, or 10 years ago.  Without registration, you can't tell.
• Prohibit the use of a “thumbhole” stock as a means to avoid classification of a rifle as an assault rifle. - Closing a "loophole" in the 1989 ban.  Naturally, they wouldn't have written in the "loophole" if they could get it to pass without it.  At any rate, classification of an assault rifle depends on the firing mechanism and selector switch, and really has nothing to do with the stock.
• Prohibit the importation of "assault pistols," in addition to "assault rifles." - I have no idea what this is about.  The importation of assault rifles was part of the 1968 ban, and I don't think there is a definition of "assault pistol," at least in federal law.

Basically this would affect all AKs except for the Century Arms Centurion 39, which is entirely made in America.  Once the supply of parts kits and sporterized AKs already in the country dry up, Krebs Custom, Red Jacket and other builders would have nothing left to build with.  It would also affect the building of semi-only STEN guns, and PPSH pistols, and a whole lot of others.

Of course, this attempt hinges on the 2nd Amendment not protecting non-sporting firearms, and the Supreme Court has already stated with their U.S. v. Miller and D.C. v. Heller decisions that the 2nd doesn't only protect firearms for sporting-uses.

You can read some more at The Bang Switch.  If you haven't written to your senators in a while, this would be the time.

Daily Caller article with Feinstein's letter to Obama about restricting imports.

Or have RURDY4ITNEWS read it to you.

Semi-semiautomatic AR-15

No, I didn't type the title for the post with a stutter.  Southern Gun Company of Cornwall, England developed an AR-15 style 9mm rifle that locks the bolt back with every shot.  The shooter can then release the bolt with a lever put in place where the safety lever would normally be.  It probably sounds more awkward than it is in practice.  Check out the video of the SGC Unicorn rifle in action.

There shouldn't be a need for these shenanigans, but there are, regardless.  I find this solution to an unnecessary problem to be brilliant.  If I were stuck living behind enemy lines in a ban state, I would be trying to do something like this over a "featureless" build, or a bullet-button, or a fixed magazine, or any of that other nonsense.

Beats having to manually operate the bolt like a bolt-action rifle, which is what U.K. shooters have been doing with AR rifles.

Pennsylvania Residents, Write to Senator Casey

This is the response I received from Senator Casey after writing him about the proposed "assault weapon," and "high-capacity" magazine bans, with the now-obligatory bullshit about him being a 2nd Amendment supporter.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. I appreciate hearing from you about this issue. 

As you know, on December 14, 2012, an individual in Newtown, Connecticut forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire on teachers and staff in the building. In total, the perpetrator murdered 20 students between the ages of six and seven years old, as well as six adults, many of whom heroically sought to stop the shooter and save the lives of children. Like many Americans, I was deeply affected by the scope and brutality of this act. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. 

The motives that led to this senseless massacre will likely never fully be comprehended. However, I believe that all public officials have a responsibility to work to prevent such an event from occurring again. This incident reflects a complex problem that requires a comprehensive strategy, including funding for law enforcement officers and the mental health care system. Too many individuals with mental illness are not receiving the services they need and tragically, sometimes a small number of these individuals turn violent. I have supported access to affordable and accessible mental health services for all Americans and I will continue to review proposed solutions to improve our mental health system. 

As you may know, I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. Pennsylvania has a fine hunting and sporting tradition, and I will defend the right to bear arms as it is enshrined in our Constitution. However, I also believe that the attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School highlights very serious dangers posed to public safety by the misuse of certain weapons and technology originally developed for warfare. According to reports, the shooter was able to kill many children and adults very quickly because he possessed a military-style semiautomatic weapon. He also allegedly used magazines containing up to 30 rounds of ammunition and carried hundreds of rounds more. After much reflection and careful study of the issue, I have decided to support a federal assault weapons ban as well as legislation restricting high capacity clips. In light of what occurred at Sandy Hook, these are two measures that will lessen the chances that this will happen again soon.  (emphasis mine)

Our Nation has already begun a critical dialogue as we examine what steps must be taken to prevent this type of tragedy in the future. On December 19, 2012, President Obama announced the formation of an inter-agency task initiative, led by Vice President Biden, to study these issues and recommend possible actions. I look forward to reviewing these proposals, as well to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address this complex issue.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you. 

Sample Letter to send to Senator Casey
------------------------

I'll thank you for replying to my e-mail about the proposed "assault weapon" bill, but I feel that I must remind you of your two primary jobs as a senator.  You took an oath, swearing to "support and defend the Constitution," and if you are not going to abide by that, you need to resign.  Your other primary job is to represent your constituents in congress.

Let me quote, for you, the unabridged 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

You probably also know, but I will remind you, that when the 2nd Amendment was written, that all males over the age of 18 were considered to be members of the unorganized militia, and they were required to provide arms and ammunition for militia service.  The National Guard did not come about until over 100 years later.  The militia is the people, not the military or the National Guard.

So, we have established that the 2nd Amendment applies to all males of age, and through equal opportunities also applies to women.  There is nothing there about "sporting purposes" or hunting.  Nothing about "reasonable restrictions."  Certainly nothing about "conforming to global norms."  Keeping and bearing arms is not a privilege.  What it says, is "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

As your constituent, I want you to uphold your oath to defend the Constitution, including the 2nd and 4th Amendments.  The 4th Amendment?  Yes, the 4th also.  The 2013 Feinstein "assault weapon" bill requires that "assault weapons" and "high-capacity" magazines be transferred to the government upon the death of the owner, and can not be transferred to family or anyone else.  The 4th Amendment protects the people from unreasonable search and seizure.

No more gun bans.  None.  Don't compromise back to the terms of the 1994 ban, or something else  We have thousands of gun laws already, they just aren't prosecuted, and criminals break laws, by definition.

The 1994 Clinton "Assault Weapon" ban did not stop mass shootings.  The Columbine shootings, and the North Hollywood bank shootout both happened while the Clinton ban was in effect.  Connecticut already had an "assault weapon" ban, and was a "gun free" zone - a lot of good that did at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  I want you to fight against further restrictions of the right of law-abiding Americans, and I am really serious about it.  Guns do not cause crime any more than chairs, coffee cups, or the leaves on trees.

My Feinstein Ban, "Oh Shit!" Emergency Letter

Sorry, I wish I had something entertaining, gun porn, or something better to report.  I've also broken my rule of keeping language clean, because this shit is really fucked up.

Contact Your Federal Officials

Read about the gun ban that Feinstein is proposing, on her website.

Feinstein talking about her new bill.

Here's what I e-mailed my congressman, and the president (for all the good that'll do).

I've been working on a more detailed letter, however, time seems to be of the essence, and Senator Feinstein's 2013 "assault weapons" ban would affect far more gun owners than the 1994 Clinton "crime" bill.  The new bill requires grandfathered firearms to be registered with the ATF, and that registration will likely cost the taxpayers, all taxpayers, billions of dollars.  This registration requires fingerprinting and FBI background checks that will tie up local police departments and the FBI for many months.  Canada spent over two billion dollars on their gun registry, before finally admitting that it just wasn't working, and they just gave up on it.

The guns covered by the proposed 2013 ban are NOT machineguns.  Sales of real machineguns have been taxed, registered, and subject to serious FBI background checks since 1934, and further restricted by the manufacture ban of 1986.  The new Feinstein ban would cover ALL pistols of the type carried by police officers, and essentially all other semi-automatic firearms.  Basically every type of rifle, pistol, and shotgun designed since the beginning of the 1900's would be banned from manufacture, and the ownership and sales of existing banned firearms being heavily controlled.

There are times when great expense is justifiable.  This will not be one of them.  The 1994 ban expired in 2004 because "assault weapons" were used in less than 2% of crimes to begin with, and no amount of legislation on these guns will have a significant impact on crime.  A University of Pennsylvania study, commissioned by the National Institute of Justice, wrote of the 1994 Clinton "assault weapon" ban,  “We cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation’s recent drop in gun violence. And, indeed, there has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence.”  Crime rates have actually dropped since the expiration of the 1994 Clinton "Assault Weapon" ban.  The 1994 ban didn't stop the Columbine school shooting, and it didn't stop the North Hollywood bank shootout.  The problem with gun laws is that criminals break laws, by definition, and the gun laws only affect the law-abiding citizen.

Gun owners took note of who voted for the 1994 ban.  Thirty-three of the congressmen that voted for the Clinton ban in 1994 were defeated in the elections of 1994, and 6 more were defeated in 1996.  Bill Clinton and USA Today, to name two, largely blame the NRA advocacy in the wake of the the 1994 ban, for Gore's defeat in the presidential race of 2000.   Don't get yourself defeated in the next election, think of what that means for the rest of your personal agenda and objections to current policy.

Sign the petition to impeach Sen. Feinstein.  We're almost there folks.  Please take 4 minutes and sign it! 

Sign Petition: NBC David Gregory Broke D.C. Gun Law

Sign White House Petition to Press Charges against NBC Meet The Press host David Gregory, for breaking Washington D.C.'s "assault weapon" ban.  He held up, on camera, a 30-round AR-15/M-16 magazine, and stated, "Here is a magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets."  Oops!  D.C. gun laws say these magazines are not legal in the district.  It doesn't matter whether you have a firearm that it goes to or not.  Since Gregory is advocating a federal ban on these magazines, I think it's important that we hold him responsible for breaking the D.C. law.  I'm sure that he'd probably rat you out for doing the same, given the opportunity.

Screencap from NBC video (link posted below)

NBC has the episode posted on their website.  He holds up the magazine at about the 9 minute 45 second mark on the video.  You can skip to that point by dragging the triangle underneath the video.

You can read more about it on The Patriot Perspective WordPress page.  David Gregory Violates DC Gun Law On National TV —– Update: CNN’s Don Lemon Admits To Breaking Gun Laws, Too?  The text of the D.C. law is posted there, if you want to read it.

EDIT 12/26/12:  Not even half way there yet.

EDIT, early 12/27/12:  DC Police investigating MSNBC's David Gregory for possessing illegal ammo clip Mwahahaha!!

It seems that NBC asked about the magazine, the police told them it wasn't allowed, but they ignored them and carried on anyway.

I know that there's lots of stupid crimes, I've seen the TV shows and read the reports, but usually they don't involve asking the police beforehand, doing it anyway, announcing it, recording it on video, broadcasting it nationwide, and putting the video on the internet for the whole world to see. THAT is a kind of stupid, the likes of which I have not seen in a very long time!

Open Letter To Elected Officials

Brought to my attention by hickok45, on YouTube, posted by ammoland.com is a form letter to send to your representatives and senators.  Although I would have focused more on "criminals break laws, by definition," than "let's not give government complete control over our lives," I know that we are all busy to one extent or another, particularly around the holidays, and cutting and pasting the form letter is far better than doing nothing.

Find your elected officials.

If you find what you think is a better letter, please leave a comment with a link.