Gun Rights – Page 71 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Putting the Screws to NFA Owners

NFA trusts are becoming increasingly popular, as a means to possess NFA items. For one, it gets rid of the LEO sign-off requirement, which can often be a problem if you don’t have a friendly local chief. For two, it lets you put multiple people, like children and spouses, onto the trust to facilitate sharing and to ease inheritance. Because it eases the burdens of possessing NFA items, the Obama Administration is naturally cracking down on it, and making possessing NFA items through a trust as burdensome as through the individual tax stamp.

In the wake of Republican opposition to gun control measures in Congress, the Obama administration has had little recourse but to target guns through executive action.

Yeah, because criminals are totally getting into this NFA trust thing. They are well known to use legal constructs like this that generally require hiring attorneys and filling out a lot of legal paperwork.

This isn’t about stopping crime, this is about revenge. It’s the standard operating procedure for this President. Having derailed his gun control agenda and embarrassed him, we’re going to be made to pay… by hook or by crook.

Thursday News

I appreciate everyone’s patience through this week’s dry spell. In addition to work related matters, there just honestly hasn’t been that much news. Or maybe there has:

The training arm of Troy seems to have hired an anti-gun ex Chicago chief to be an instructor, which grassroots action quickly turned around.

OFA engages in more emotional blackmail to try to keep the issue of gun control alive.

Tam: “Note to Middle Eastern dictators: If you want the New York media establishment on your side, only nerve gas your own people during Republican administrations.” Word.

Glenn Reynolds sometimes helps promotes the books of readers. Here I will do the same.

Dave Hardy notes that Los Angeles Community College is even banning fake guns now. They made an exception for theatrical performances but not for gun safety instruction. Doesn’t sound content neutral to me!

Ace: “One day everything bad will be illegal and everything good will be mandatory.Â And won’t that be a pretty utopia then?”

Bryan Miller doesn’t seem to appreciate Chris Christie’s style. Miller is definitely trying to make a show of it.

Apparently Saturday is “Skip Starbucks” day if you’re an anti-gun activist. So head out for a double espresso on Saturday. Despite the fact that I’m trying to cut back on sugar and carbs to start losing some weight again, I’ll make an exception.

Jim Geraghty notes that the Colorado recall elections may have some legs. It’s critically important for every Colorado gun owner to be involved in some way, even if it’s just writing a check.

Megan McArdle wonders what happens if the Democrats lose their media edge, speaking of the decline of “objective” journalism and the rise of partisan journalism. Ilya Somin has more to add from a rational ignorance point of view. I don’t think political ignorance would be so much of an issue if the ignorant didn’t vote. But we tell people that voting is a civic duty. To me the civic duty is being informed.

Local Elections Matter

In Pennsylvania, we elect our judges. This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. One of the biggest issues is the fact that even the most informed voters often know nothing about the judges on the ballot before them. Add to that the fact that these judges are elected in off-year elections with very low turnout, and it’s both an opportunity and an uphill battle if you want to see meaningful change in the justice system.

Consider the case in Erie right now. Erie 4th Ward District Judge Tom Robie isn’t on the ballot again until 2015. He last won in an unchallenged race in 2009 with the support of both parties from the looks of one of the election results pages I found. Unfortunately for the citizens of Erie, that may not be such a good thing if Judge Robie’s reported actions in a recent gun possession case are any indication.

Pennsylvania has a pretty clear preemption law that doesn’t allow local governments to regulate possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens. The City of Erie violated the ban and passed their own ban on possession in city-owned parks. Several men were cited in violation of this illegal ordinance. And, according to social media posts by those involved in the case, the judge decided to find them guilty of violating the illegal ordinance anyway, despite the case law on the subject. I haven’t found a news story about the decision yet, but here is one with better background on the case.

For purposes of legal action, these guys can clearly appeal and hope that, at some level, they get a judge who cares about actually making sure that the laws are followed by both the government agents and citizens. However, even if that happens, the judge who ignored the case law on the issue gets to enjoy the perks of his taxpayer-funded job with few people caring that his cases may end up overturned because he appears to have opted to ignore the state’s preemption law and related established case law.

For election purposes, this is a great opportunity for local gun owners to get involved with local parties and start finding a replacement for Judge Robie on the next ballot. They can find him a primary challenger from either side. So, will local gun owners pick up this cause? It’s a long way to 2015, but since they need to find a candidate willing to take on this judge, the process needs to start early. But, if local gun owners would be willing to take up this cause, then it can send a clear message to many more local politicians – judicial or otherwise.

More on the Illinois Bill Signed by Governor

Thirdpower notes that they are playing up what they got as part of the concealed carry deal, trying to spin it as a much bigger victory than it really is. Specifically, private transfers in Illinois will continue to work as they have. The law specifically doesn’t apply any criminal or civil penalties for failure to comply. It’s all carrot and no stick.

Monday News Links

This week is going to be rough due to some self-imposed deadlines I am determined to meet for work. I’m mostly in documenting mode, and while you might think someone who bangs out five or more blog posts a day can probably bang out documentation just as quickly, I’m slow with documenting, unfortunately, at least partly because it’s necessary but thoroughly joyless and uninteresting work. But one must plan for the proverbial bus (which always seems to run over the IT guy). With that, there is still some news:

Rubber band gun with functioning slide and ejector. Very cool.

The difference between Massachusetts and Florida. Our opponents really do seem to think that violence that isn’t gun violence is somehow preferable.

Bloomberg gets a press conference talking about how New York City’s gun problems are blamed on other jurisdictions. He wants everywhere to be as strict as New York, which essentially bans firearms.

The Myth of the Atomic AR. Something is fishy with that claim. Unless the bullet hit a propane bottle, I can’t see how the fire would get going that fast. Even a gas line would give you enough time to get out.

Piers Morgan’s Misstatement on Virginia murder rates. “This is a teachable moment, because this is what rabid gun control proponents are prone to doâ€”to argue from emotion rather than reason and throw out numbers that have no basis in reality.”

Some interesting history regarding passing FOPA, on how we outfoxed Rep. Hughes to get the bill to the floor. Of course, Rep. Hughes had some last minute revenge waiting for the bill, which we are all familiar. Most people I’ve talked to in the FOPA fight think if it hadn’t been for that bill, they would have succeeded in killing off the gun culture.

Not gun related, but one of my favorites series on PBS (or Channel 12, as we called it) growing up was Connections, with James Burke. So I was delighted to find the whole thing posted online.

Further Proof the Background Check Issue is a Red Herring

Illinois passes more gun control, including ending private transfers. Keep in mind you need to have a license in Illinois to own a gun, and to sell a gun to someone else, they also need to have a license. It requires a background check to obtain a license, and they revoke those licenses if someone commits a crime or otherwise becomes prohibited from owning firearms. It is, under any rational way of thinking, a perfect substitute for instant background checks.

However, that wasn’t enough. The background check issue is a total red herring. The gun control movement pushes universal registration under that rubric because background checks poll a lot better than registration. That’s their true goal. It goes back to what Pete Shields, founder of Handgun Control, Inc. (now the Brady Campaign to Save our Phony Baloney Jobs), said in 1976:

“I’m convinced that we have to have federal legislation to build on. We’re going to have to take one step at a time, and the first step is necessarily â€” given the political realities â€” going to be very modest. Of course, it’s true that politicians will then go home and say, ‘This is a great law. The problem is solved.’ And it’s also true that such statements will tend to defuse the gun-control issue for a time. So then we’ll have to strengthen that law, and then again to strengthen that law, and maybe again and again. Right now, though, we’d be satisfied not with half a loaf but with a slice. Our ultimate goal â€” total control of handguns in the United States â€” is going to take time. My estimate is from seven to ten years. The problem is to slow down the increasing number of handguns sold in this country. The second problem is to get them all registered. And the final problem is to make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition â€” except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors â€” totally illegal.”

Emphasis mine. Once upon a time, they weren’t so concerned about hiding their end game from the public. Background checks don’t really help them get anywhere. In fact, it probably helps take them backwards in the sense that it would destroy some of their most effective rhetoric without really giving them anything in return. The only things that prevents universal registration is the fact that guns can be bought and sold by people who are not Federal Firearms Licensees. If all transactions were to go through an FFL, we’d have de facto universal registration of all firearms within a generation.

UPDATE: See here. It would seem the private transfer provisions of this law are meaningless, and are being played up to make it seem like they actually won something.

Telling Our Stories

One way that seems to calm reactive anti-gun attitudes that pop up from time-to-time when the media stirs the pot is to emphasize what new gun regulations do to us as individuals. It makes it much less likely that high school acquaintance will want to mindlessly rant and rave demonizing gun owners if they see pictures periodically of safe and lawful use by someone they know. If a gun owner gets out there to tell their story, it really makes an impact with people who otherwise don’t follow the gun debate or typically feel passionate about it one way or the other.

Smith & Wesson is embracing the same strategy within their community, and it has caught the attention of local media.

James Debney, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson, said it was time for the company to start telling its story and the story of the 1,500 people who work at the company with an annual payroll of $77.5 million. The local ads also explained that Smith & Wesson doubled the size of its work force since 2007 and spends $63 million a year on goods and services with other Massachusetts employers.

â€œEmployees have told us that they are proud to work for Smith & Wesson and pleased that the company is reaching out to the local residents to make our presence known,â€ Elizabeth A. Sharp, Smith & Wesson vice president for investor relations, said in an email response to questions. â€œWe have also been hearing from the community as well, more than ever before. Many reach out to tell us that our presence is appreciated, and that they were previously unaware of the size of the company and its impact on the local economy.â€

The entire story is worth reading, as they highlight the way that Smith & Wesson is also using this same type of publicity effort to motivate more activism against anti-gun bills.

Firearm Owners and Mental Health

Don’t go seeking help. We don’t have that luxury:

A.B., an honorably discharged combat vet, called a veteranâ€™s assistance hotline for someone to talk to. While the VA hotline worker did the right thing by having the police come out and check the situation, the police went too far.Â After he was taken in to custody and separated from his firearms, the police officers searched his home without a warrant or any exigent circumstance and illegally seized $20,000 worth of his firearms, bows, arrows, ammo, and first aid and protective equipment. Included was the Japanese Arisaka rifle that his grandfather brought back from WWII and the medical shears that this patriot used to cut two fellow Infantrymen from a HMMWV during an IED attack.

It’s not paranoia when they really are out to get you. The law be damned.

Christie Vetoes Remaining Gun Bills

I have to admit to being surprised. I did not have high hopes for a veto. From ANJRPC:

In a huge blow to anti-gun politicians and the gun ban lobby, today Governor Christie flat-out vetoed the fifty caliber ban (A3659) and conditionally vetoed two other bills – Senate President Stephen Sweeney’s “kitchen sink” F.I.D. card bill (S2723), and a bill that that would have forced theÂ State Police to breach confidentiality of protected gun trace data in violation of federal law (A3797).Â A fourth bill creating a task force to study school security issues was signed by the Governor (A3583).

AÂ “conditional veto” means that the legislation is dead, unless the legislature reconvenes to resurrect it throughÂ amendments that meet strict conditions imposed by the Governor. Whether anti-gun Democrats have the stomach to swallow those conditions (see details below) remains to be seen. Alternatively, the legislature could try to override any veto (conditional or otherwise) by a 2/3 vote of both houses, which is highly unlikely given the current composition of the legislature.

“After 7 months of intense battle over misguided legislation that won’t stop another crime or prevent another tragedy, we are grateful that Governor Christie has finally ended the discussion on the worst of the bills by tossing them onto the scrap heap where they belong,” said ANJRPC Executive Director Scott Bach. “These vetoes put gun-banning politicians on notice that exploiting tragedy to advance an agenda against legal gun owners, instead of punishing violent criminals, will not be entertained.”

Today’s actions come in the wake of last week’s signing of ten gun bills by Governor Christie (two helped gun owners, two were opposed by gun owners, and six were neutralized based on gun owner input but are appropriately very tough on violent criminals). New Jersey already has some of the strictest and most extreme gun laws in the nation.

The bill flat-out vetoed by Governor Christie today was:

A3659Â – the fifty caliber gun ban that would have: prohibited high muzzle-energy guns of any caliber; blocked heirlooms from family members; held grandfathered owners civilly liable for damages if their firearms were ever used in a crime; and forfeited the pending purchase orders of licensed gun owners for these $10,000+ firearms.

The notion that banning any particular tool makes society safer is demonstrably false, and ignores the obvious reality that someone intent on doing evil will not be stopped or deterred if one particular tool becomes unavailable. “If box cutters could take down the World Trade Center, does anyone really believe that banning box cutters will stop the next terrorist?” commented Bach. “The same is true of firearms – banning the fifty caliber or any other firearm will not stop someone bent on doing evil.”

The Governor’s statement on A3659 criticizes the scope of the ban, notes drafting errors that would defeat grandfathering, and observes that rather than combating crime and terror, the bill only serves to threaten law-abiding gun owners with imprisonment for lawful recreation.

The two bills conditionally vetoed by Governor Christie today are:

S2723Â – Senate President Stephen Sweeney’s “kitchen sink” FID card bill, a 42-page monstrosity universally despised by gun owners and sportsmen. The bill, touted by Democrats as the “centerpiece” of their gun bill package and a “national model,” would have: thrown out existing FID cards and replaced them with a privacy-invading driver license endorsement or other form of ID; suspended Second Amendment rights without proof of firearms training; ended firearms sales directly between background-checked licensed gun owners; and had numerous other impacts.

Under Governor Christie’s conditional veto, S2723 could only be resurrected if both houses of the legislature agreed to the following conditions:

Remove all provisions that would have created a new electronic FID cardÂ (keeps the existing permitting system in place);

Remove all provisions that would have suspended Second Amendment rights without proof of firearms training;

Remove all provisions that would have ended firearms sales directly between background-checked licensed gun owners; and

Add a provision requiring the State Police to develop and promulgate literature regarding safe firearms storage and ownership.

It is unknown whether Democratic legislative leadership would accept these conditions. While doing so would salvage what is left of their “centerpiece,” the final bill would be a gutted version, stripped of the most blatant attacks on legal gun owners, and very likely an embarrassment to Democrats.

Â If Democrats decided to swallow that bitter pill, other key provisions of the Sweeney bill that would be retained would include: requiring an FID card or other permit for all ammunition purchases; limiting shipment of online ammunition purchases to the address on the FID card; making it a 4^thÂ degree crime if injury or death results from the failure to properly secure firearms; making it a 4^thdegree crime for someone prohibited from possessing firearms to possess ammunition; requiring mental health screeners to inquire about firearms ownership of those being considered for involuntary commitment for mental health reasons; and revocation of NJ concealed carry permits upon conviction of a crime of the 4^thÂ degree or higher.

The Governor’s statement accompanying his conditional veto expressed support in principle for some of these provisions, yet also criticized the legislature as “shortsighted” for focusing on gun control instead of comprehensive violence solutions. The statement also noted the bill’s failure “to directly combat violence,” and the current unavailability of the technology that would be required to implement the digitized FID card.

A3797Â – conditionally vetoed because of one section that required theÂ State Police to breach confidentiality of federal gun trace data in direct violation of federal law that limits the data to law enforcement only. This was an attempt by frustrated gun banners to circumvent that federal law, so that idiosyncrasies of the ATF’s trace system could be exploited and manipulated to falsely suggest that law abiding citizens are a source of “crime guns.” ATF has opposed similar efforts to circumvent confidentiality, which could compromise ongoing investigations.Â If the legislature amends the bill to remove this illegal provision, the amended bill would then return to the Governor’s desk.

PLEASE THANK GOVERNOR CHRISTIE TODAY!Â

Please thank Governor Christie today for his actions on the fifty caliber ban, the Sweeney bill, and the trace data confidentiality bill. You can call the Governor’s office atÂ 609-292-6000, write him atÂ P.O. Box 001, Trenton, N.J. 08625, orÂ send an emailÂ using the online contact form (select “law and public safety” from the drop-down menu, then pick any sub-topic).

And thank YOU for weathering this 7-month-long storm of the worst attacks on gun owners in state history along with us. It is because of YOUR actions, YOUR calls and letters, YOUR attendance at hearings, and YOUR refusal to give up no matter what the odds, that today’s outcome was possible.

Although today’s action marks the end of a long and very arduous battle, the fight is far from over. The most oft-repeated statement by anti-gun legislators at hearings over the past 7 months was “these bills are only the beginning.” They will be back after the November elections, and will continue their relentless attacks on legal gun ownership – and it will be up to gun owners to continue to defend freedom.

Please watch for future alerts and updates!

UPDATE: Bryan Miller would seem to be a Sad Panda.

Is Your Town a MAIG Town?

Bloomberg has been digging in Uncle’s backyard. I know the feeling. I don’t live in a borough with a mayor, but the town I share a post office with has a MAIG mayor. Targeting mayoral races that have MAIG mayors is something we’ve wanted to do for a while, but gun owners just aren’t used to thinking on the local level. There’s also the issue whether it’s best to expend energy going after individual mayors, or just take a whack-a-mole approach and crush them when they run for higher offices where they could have some impact on gun policy. Nonetheless if you have a MAIG mayor in your town, I’d contact them and complain.