Gun Control Bills on the Move
We all knew it was coming and it seems as if the time is now here for the anti-gun politicians to make an attempt at ramming some gun control legislation through. I'm hearing chatter on all of the channels I follow and get news from who are saying that next week may be big for gun control politicians.
While we don't know exactly what they're going to attempt to push through, we're fairly certain that it won't be HR 127 at this point.
Instead, there are three bills that we are watching right now that were just introduced. Two of them are re-introductions of bills that have made it through the House in previous sessions but failed in the Senate.
The text isn't available for all of them as of yet, but we suspect that at least one of them will be rammed through the House before heading to the Senate with Chuck Schumer, where it hopefully dies.
At least a part of the problem is that they may have the support to push something through.
The bills are as follows:
HR 1454 – To amend title 18 of the USC to require firearm assembly kits to be considered as guns.
This one is bad for hopefully obvious reasons. To regulate something that is not yet a gun seems pretty stupid. And I have to wonder if it stops with “firearm assembly kits” or what the definition of one of those kits actually is.
Will it be 80% lowers? Will it be the 80% lower with the other parts that come with it? Will it be something like a lower parts kit that doesn't make a gun by itself but you can't finish a gun without?
See where I'm going with this? It's dangerous and has the potential to screw some stuff up for the parts industry.
Not to mention that most criminals would rather just steal their gun, instead of building one. Though I'm not naïve and am sure that some criminals do build guns.
HR 1446 – Enhanced background checks act of 2021
When they say “enhanced” they mean “delay.”
This one has a sneak attack in it. On the surface it seems innocent. But let's put out a hypothetical situation. Let's say you go to your FFL to buy a new gun, only to have a delay come back on the NICS check, instead of a pass or fail.
As of right now with current law you have 3 days that you'd have to wait. This bill would extend that waiting period for weeks, maybe indefinitely, depending on the situation.
Some folks are concerned that if a NICS check is good for 30 days and the delay runs over 30 days, that you may need to start the process over again, thus indefinitely barring you from buying a gun if you get that “delay” on the background check.
Remember, the “I” in NICS stands for “INSTANT” meaning that if you are in the system as a felon, you should not pass the background check. A delay doesn't necessarily mean you're a criminal, it may just mean that someone with a similar name may be and you are getting flagged for it.
HR 8 – Bipartisan background checks act of 2021
This bill would make it illegal for you to transfer a firearm to just about anyone, even if on a temporary basis, except for within very strict exemptions. This is meant to close the “gun show loophole” and the “sale of guns online,” both of which aren't as big of a deal as everyone makes them out to be.
The reason why is because nobody wants to be the guy to have sold a gun to a criminal. So, I've sold a gun to a stranger before when I lived in Pennsylvania back when FB used to allow that sort of thing. I requested that the guy meet me at the gun store to go through a background check before I gave him the gun.
Just about everyone does it this way because again, nobody wants to be the guy to sell to someone with ill-intent.
The problem, is that while there are certain exceptions, like between certain (but not all) family members, it bans the sale of guns between two otherwise law abiding citizens.
For example, if I have a best friend who is already a gun owner and he wanted to buy one of my guns he'd have to go get a background check done even though I know for a fact that he is clear and has his NC concealed carry permit, which ACTS as the background check in this state.
Some of the folks I follow are concerned that this is a precursor to a sort of gun registry, along with the recently re-designed 4473.
The problems —
There are a lot of issues with these laws. First, is that criminals have no intention to follow the law to begin with. So, once again, these proposals are only going to apply to those people who are planning to follow the law.
In other words, chances are excellent that these laws wouldn't do anything to stop “gun violence.”
The truth of the matter is that laws like the above-mentioned bipartisan baloney cannot be enforced unless there is a firearms registry, which is why so many red flags are being raised right now.
Any of the above will make it through the House with ease, just like two of the above proposals have already in previous sessions. The difference this time, is that they may have support in the Senate.
I strongly urge you to contact your politicians and tell them how you feel, ESPECIALLY if you live in West Virginia. Senator Manchin may be the deciding vote on this, and we need to make it to the mid-term elections to get these clowns out of office.
Conclusion:
We'll continue to monitor this and as things change we will make sure you're updated. Leave your thoughts on it in the comments below.