Conservative Libertarian Outpost

So, besides trying to take your money, raise fuel prices, and let invaders into the country without penalty, just what has the Congress been up to? Why, they want to take away your ability to resist their authoritarianism of course! Here is just a partial list of the shenanigans that they have been working on. At your expense!

http://www.gunowners.org
Jan 2008

FIREARMS LEGISLATION IN THE 110th CONGRESS

Analysis by Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102
Springfield, VA 22151
(703)321-8585, fax: 321-8408

House Bills

H.R. 73 (Bartlett): This bill would affirm the right of Americans to keep and bear arms for defense of themselves, their families, and their homes.

H.R. 96 (Castle, Shays, Kirk): This bill would require Instantchecks for private transactions at gun shows. If the sponsor “knowingly” fails to notify every attendee of his responsibilities under the Brady Law (new 18 U.S.C. 932(a)(2)(D) and new 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(8)(B)), every board member of the sponsor could be fined $250,000 for every person not notified and sent to prison for five years per violation. And, while the “knowing” requirement is an improvement over earlier versions, it is far from certain that a Brady-Law-pamphlet-distributing guard who intentionally leaves his post during a busy time for a bathroom break would not (1) be interpreted as “knowingly” failing to notify attendees, and (2) be interpreted as violating the law vicariously as an agent of every board member of the sponsoring organization. Obviously, at the hands of an anti-gun administration, this has the potential of permanently putting an end to all gun shows.

H.R. 171 (Lee and 16 others): This bill, which would authorize additional funds for school mental health counselors, makes a finding about the need to reduce the number of weapons in schools. Such a finding would demonize Utah teachers and administrators — who are allowed, by law, to possess firearms in schools — as well as, other heroes (such as Joel Myrick of Pearl, Mississippi) who have used firearms to stop school massacres and, thus, save the lives of students.

H.R. 203 (Rothman): This bill would interfere with the discretion of states by requiring that police seize firearms of persons suspected of domestic violence, based on “probable cause,” even though no court has heard the case. In addition, it allows a court to permanently bar an individual slapped with a “protective order” from possessing a firearm and to order a search of his home, even though, unlike current federal law, the order was an “ex parte” order with respect to which the individual had no notice, no right to be present, no right to be heard, and no right to an attorney.

H.R. 226 (Stearns): This is the NRA-backed reciprocity bill, which would set a “national standard” allowing persons who have obtained concealed carry licenses to be granted reciprocity in other states. Residents of Vermont, which does not require a license for concealed carry, would not be granted relief under this legislation.

H.R. 254 (Jackson-Lee): This bill would amend the hate crimes law — which prohibits using a firearm to cause bodily injury to any person on account of race or religion — to also include sexual orientation.

H.R. 256 (Jackson-Lee): This bill would:

extend current provisions of 18 U.S.C. 922(x) (making it virtually impossible to legally teach your children the safe and responsible use of firearms) by (1) raising the across-the-board age to 21, (2) covering semiautos, and (3) increasing the penalties;

require FFL’s (including small FFL’s) to keep guns in a government-approved storage facility;

require you to lock up all firearms (making them unavailable for self-defense) — or face a three-year prison sentence if a child gets hold of the firearm and causes bodily injury;

prohibit unaccompanied minors at guns shows; and

spend more money on anti-gun “education” programs.

H.R. 297 (McCarthy): This bill provides, in the form of grants, about $1 billion to the states to “provide the National Instant Criminal Background Check System [NICS] with all records concerning persons who are prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, regardless of the elapsed time since the disqualifying event.”

Covered under this bill are records pertaining to the Lautenberg misdemeanor gun ban, lists of persons under indictment, mental health records, records relevant to the identification of illegal aliens and other records.

NICS is the system used by the FBI to conduct a background check prior to a firearm sale by a federally licensed gun dealer. Most people are aware that NICS records include a list of convicted felons, but there are many other categories of persons who are prohibited from possessing firearms for which computerized lists may not be available. It is these categories that are targeted by this bill.

For instance, the bill expands upon the unconstitutional Lautenberg misdemeanor gun ban [18 USC 922 (g)(9)]. This gun ban, passed as an amendment to a 1996 omnibus spending bill and signed into law by President Clinton, was originally introduced by leading anti-gun Senators Frank Lautenberg, Dianne Feinstein, and Edward Kennedy.

Under the Lautenberg ban, people who have committed very minor offenses that include pushing, shoving or, in some cases, merely yelling at a family member can no longer own a firearm for self-defense. The Lautenberg gun ban should be repealed, not expanded.

The bill also seeks to computerize records of persons “under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” Such persons, though not even convicted of the crime in question, are prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The gun grabbers are seeking to force the states to provide the federal government all of these indictment records, updated quarterly. Given the maxim among those in the legal profession that prosecutors can get a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich,” this, too, is a gun prohibition that should be repealed, not expanded.

Mental health records are also covered under the McCarthy bill. This could have a significant impact on American servicemen, especially those returning from combat situations and who seek some type of psychiatric care. Often, veterans who have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder have been deemed as mentally “incompetent” and are prohibited from owning guns under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4). Records of those instances certainly exist, and, in 1999, the Department of Veterans Administration turned over 90,000 names of veterans to the FBI for inclusion into the NICS background check system.

Mental health records can also have a future impact on young people, as this country trends closer to mandatory mental health screening for students. In a 2003 report by a subcommittee of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the author states that “The problem of emotional disorders in children is large — 20% of all children are affected — and it seems to be growing.” It is unknown how these people will be categorized in the future.

The fact that metal health ‘experts,’ a notoriously anti-gun community, would have a say in who is allowed to possess a firearm is, quite frankly, frightening. Many in the profession would just as soon consider anyone who owns a gun as ‘mentally incompetent.’

Another sobering thought is how computerized data are often mishandled. Consider the disturbing news reports that 25 million Social Security number records of veterans were hacked. The more that our private data gets added into government computers, the more likely we are to have our identity compromised.

Perhaps the provision that would lead to the greatest number of ‘fishing expeditions’ is that related to illegal aliens.

Federal law prohibits illegal aliens from owning guns. The bill requires all relevant data related to who is in this country illegally. But what records pertaining to illegal aliens from the states would be relevant? Perhaps a better question would be, what records are not relevant?

In order to identify illegal aliens, “relevant” records could allow the FBI to demand state tax returns of all citizens, employment records, library records (we’ve already seen how these have been deemed relevant to terrorism investigations), DMV and hospital records — all in the name of making sure that you’re not an illegal.

The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, is one of the most virulent anti-gunners in the entire Congress. Of the 32 cosponsors of the bill in 2006, 31 were GOA “F” rated, one was rated “D.”

H.R. 354 (McCarthy): This bill would spend $965 million a year on trying to figure out why and remedy the fact that schools that ban guns are not safe from “gun violence.”

H.R. 428 (Towns): This bill would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban realistic toy handguns.

H.R. 623 (Rangel): This bill would allow a “nonviolent offender” to have his record expunged if he has complied with a variety of conditions, including obtaining a GED, performing a year of community service, staying free of substance abuse for a year, and not committing any other state or federal offense in the future. A “nonviolent offense” is one which does not involve “the use of a weapon or violence.”

H.R. 660 (Conyers): This bill would dramatically expand federal funding for law enforcement resources to guard federal and state judges, prosecutors, jurors, and other persons involved in the judicial process — and would expand criminal penalties for certain related offenses, including, for instance, placing a false lien on a judge’s home.

H.R. 861 (Stearns): This is the NRA-backed version of national concealed carry reciprocity. It would set “national standards” for recognition of concealed carry permits, but would provide no relief in cases of states like Vermont that don’t require permits as a condition of concealed carry.

H.R. 880 (Forbes, Wolf, Chabot, Coble, Franks, Gallegly, Goodlatte, Pence, Smith): This bill would subject guns to the same sort of mandatory minimum sentencing currently applied to organized crime. You would be sentenced to at least 10 years in prison if “a formal or informal group or association of 3 or more individuals” (such as your family), in relation to the group (e.g., protecting them), commit two or more “gang crimes,” one of which constitutes a “crime of violence” (which could include brandishing a firearm in order to protect your family from a robber). “Gang crimes” include driving within 1000 feet of a school with a firearm and training your kid how to use a handgun without first writing a letter of permission for him to keep on his person while you are training him. Other anti-gun provisions in this bill are section 109 (making it harder for a person charged with a “firearms offense” — including paperwork violations — to be released), section 114 (upping the mandatory penalties for simply owning a gun if you are convicted of a crime of violence — including trying to defend yourself when state law mandates that you retreat), and section 115 (allowing your kid to be prosecuted as an adult if you train him to use a handgun, but he fails to possess a written letter of permission while you are doing so).

H.R. 1022 (McCarthy): This bill would reauthorize the ban on semi-automatic firearms more or less verbatim. It would change the list of explicitly banned firearms to include:

a much broader list of named firearms which are banned;

a semi-auto rifle with detachable magazine capacity that has any one of the following: folding stock, threaded barrel, pistol grip, forward grip, or barrel shroud (the previous ban requires two of these features);

most semi-autos with fixed magazines with more than 10 rounds;

a semi-auto pistol with detachable magazine capacity that has any one of the following: second pistol grip, threaded barrel, barrel shroud, or detachable magazine capacity outside the pistol grip (the previous ban requires two of these features);

a semi-auto shotgun with a revolving cylinder or with folding stock, pistol grip, detachable magazine capacity, or fixed magazine capacity in excess of 5 rounds (the previous ban requires two of these features);

many frames, receivers, or conversion kits;

a military- or police-design semi-auto rifle or shotgun not suitable for sporting purposes.

It would also add four additional anti-semi-auto provisions. These would:

expand to semi-autos the provisions in 18 U.S.C. 922(x) making it virtually impossible to legally teach your kid the safe and lawful use of handguns (subjecting you and your kid to a prison sentence, for example, if he does not have a written permission letter from you on his person at the time you are training him);

expand and make statutory an import ban on semi-auto magazines;

require that transfers of semi-autos be through FFL’s; and

prohibit transfer of “any assault weapon with a large capacity ammunition feeding device” and require that an FFL transferring a grandfathered “large capacity ammunition feeding device” report to the Attorney General.

H.R. 1096 (Paul): This bill would (1) repeal the Brady law and the Instantcheck system; (2) repeal federal provisions discriminating against firearms which the government determines to have no “sporting purpose,” and (3) repeal the requirement that trigger locks be purchased by anyone purchasing a handgun from a dealer.

H.R. 1141 (Cannon): This bill would grant amnesty to any veteran with a pre-1968 unregistered automatic firearm.

H. R. 1167 (McCarthy): This bill would prevent anyone whose name turns up on one of the government’s secret “no fly” watch lists from possessing a firearm.

H. R. 1168 (McCarthy): This bill would reverse the Supreme Court’s U.S. v. Small decision by prohibiting firearms possession by any person who has been convicted of a felony in a foreign court, including political felonies by Nazi, Communist, and other totalitarian regimes.

H. R. 1399 (Ross, Souder): This bill would repeal the D.C. gun ban.

H. R. 1582 (Schiff, Bono): This bill would treat your family as a “criminal street gang” if you committed two gun-related offenses — including driving 1,000 feet from a school with a gun in your glove compartment.

H. R. 1592 (Conyers, et al.): This bill would reauthorize federal “hate crimes” legislation extending protections to homosexuals and transvestites and providing for a ten year federal prison sentence for anyone who uses a firearm to “attempt” to cause bodily injury.

H.R. 1593: This bill would reauthorize and expand upon transitional programs for reentry of prisoners into society, focusing particularly on drug offenders.

H.R. 1784 (Engel, McCarthy, Kennedy, et al.): This bill would essentially allow the Attorney General to ban most ammunition by defining as “armor-piercing” any ammunition which may be fired by any type of handgun and is “capable of penetrating body armor” — in accordance with tests in which the AG would solely determine the angle, the distance, the firearm, the number of shots, the quality of the body armor, and the number of penetrations required. H.R. 1791 (Gingrey, Paul, McCotter, Musgrave, Sessions, Rogers, Boozman, Jones, Goode): This bill would require BATFE to make videorecordings of firearms and ammunition testing. H.R. 1859 (McCarthy): This bill would reinstate the ban on “large-capacity” magazines. H.R. 1874 (Andrews): This bill would require firearms importers and manufactures to microstamp all firearms (or insure that they are microstamped), and would require ballistics resting of any firearm in the custody of the U.S. that is suspected of having been used in a crime. Such results would have to be computerized. H.R. 1895 (McCarthy): This bill would:

repeal current appropriations language prohibiting the disclosure of firearms trace information — thereby opening the door to new lawsuits against large firearms dealers;

require that all firearms used in crimes go into the trace database;

apply federal racketeering laws to “prohibited persons” violations.

H.R. 1897 (Paul): This bill would prohibit any federal regulation banning the possession or carrying of a firearm based in whole or in part on the fact that the possession or carrying occurs within a national park.

H.R. 2013 (Blackburn, et al.): This bill would make “technical corrections” in the current federal language prohibiting state regulation of toy “look-alike” guns and replicas.

H.R. 2074 (King of New York): This bill would potentially allow the Attorney General to make anyone on a federal “watch list” a “prohibited person” and to withhold information on why they are prohibited from possessing firearms.

H.R. 2093 (Meehan, Shays): This bill, which is almost identical to legislation GOA helped successfully defeat in the Senate as it pertains to GOA, would require reporting of “grassroots lobbying” (i.e., efforts to influence public opinion) by any group that hires a consultant to influence the public (by, e.g., doing radio broadcasts) and which spends an aggregate of over $100,000 a quarter to influence public opinion.

H.R. 2325 (Gohmert et al.): This bill would:

enhance and federalize crimes dealing with attacks against judges, court personnel, and their families;

allow judges and prosecutors to carry guns and insulate them from some types of liability.

H.R. 2424 (Paul): This bill would repeal the 1996 “gun-free school zones” law, which prohibits, in many instances, bringing a gun within 1000 feet of a school.

H.R. 2640 (McCarthy et al.): This bill would dramatically increase the number of personal records on Americans handed over to the FBI Instant check center in West Virginia and would, for the first time, statutorily make a battle-scarred veteran, a troubled school kid, or a senior with Alzheimer’s a “prohibited person” based solely on a diagnosis.

H.R. 2666 (Rush): This bill would require a firearms license for any person possessing a handgun or semi-auto (whether or not subject to the expired semi-auto ban). The license would be issued by the Attorney General, who would require a thumbprint, a certificate that the person has passed an exam, and a certificate that the firearm will be locked up, among other things. The license will have to be renewed after five years, and all information on transfers will have to be submitted to the Attorney General. Private sales of firearms without an Instant check would be outlawed. In addition, the bill provides for firearms lock-up requirements, unlimited inspections of FFL’s, various and sundry additional firearms-related crimes, and, of course, an exemption of police from its requirements.

H.R. 2726 (Forbes, Gohmert, Smith, Chabot, Buchanan, Boozman): This bill would expand, in modest ways, the circumstances under which current law enforcement personnel (e.g., Amtrak police) or retired law enforcement personnel (after 15 years of service, with firearms certification during the past year) are authorized to carry outside their jurisdiction (with the exception of machine guns and silencers).

H.R. 3142 (Reichert): This bill would:

establish civil penalties for FFL’s who engage in both “minor” and “serious” violations of federal gun laws;

dramatically expand penalties for gun offenses — increasing penalties for —

certain repeat “prohibited persons” offenses to twenty years (and a minimum sentence of 15 years in some cases);

“conspiracy” to commit a federal crime from five years to twenty years (unless this exceeds the penalty for actually committing the crime);

certain racketeering, illegal alien, murder-for-hire, and “other felony crimes of violence”;

expand the rebuttable presumption against release of persons (such as PTSD veterans charged with firearms possession) who have been charged with “firearms offenses,” but who have not been convicted of anything;

extend the federal statute of limitations for “violent crime offenses” and terrorism offenses to ten years.

H.R. 3156: This substantial rewrite of many provisions in the federal crime code would, inter alia, include “criminal street gang” language which would treat many minor gun offenses like criminal “racketeering” crimes.

H.R. 3305 (Paul): This bill would prohibit any federal agency from prohibiting a pilot from carrying a firearm in order to protect his craft.

H.R. 3436 (Reyes): This bill would allow courts to act more leniently with respect to firearms offense sentencing in cases of persons who are “authorized to carry” firearms in connection with their jobs.

H.R. 3462 (Lampson): This bill would:

expand penalties for violent crimes committed during drug trafficking crimes;

expand the rebuttable presumption against release of persons (such as PTSD veterans charged with firearms possession) who have been charged with “firearms offenses,” but who have not been convicted of anything;

extend the federal statute of limitations for “violent crime offenses” and terrorism offenses to eight or ten years, respectively.

H.R. 3474 (McNerney): This bill would expand funds (by $10,000,000 a year) for dealing with “gang crimes,” but would not expand substantive law to attack guns in the same way as other gang-related legislation.

H.R. 3547: This bill would include “criminal street gang” language which would treat many minor gun offenses like criminal “racketeering” crimes.

H.R. 3766 (Norton): This bill would authorize up to $100,000,000 a year for “gun buyback” programs.

H.R. 4128: This bill is a comprehensive rewrite of the federal criminal code, comparable to the one that was killed in 1982 by GOA and NRA because of its dramatic expansion of criminal liability for gun owners.

H.R. 4818 (King of New York, Rangel): This bill would:

impose a 20 year prison sentence on the sale of two or more firearms, e.g., to a “prohibited person” (such as a veteran with PTSD);

expand penalties for things like possession of a stolen firearm or a firearm with an obliterated serial number during the commission of a felony;

expand sharing of gun trace information.

H.R. 4900 (King): This bill would do the following:

Section 101: Current subsections 18 U.S.C. 923(e) and (f) allow BATF to revoke FFL’s, after notification and the opportunity for a hearing. Section 101 would create a bifurcated structure:

“non-serious” violations could trigger civil penalties of up to $1,000 ($5,000 per inspection) and a suspension of not more than 30 days;

“serious” violations could trigger $2,500 civil penalties ($15,000 per inspection), up to 90 days suspension, or revocation. “Serious” violations would consist of, inter alia, actions which could result in the acquisition of a firearm by a prohibited person or interfere with a criminal investigation. There would be a five-year statute of limitations, and there would be procedures for contesting penalties (before an administrative law judge in the case of minor penalties and before a court in the case of revocation). These procedures would be relatively pro-defendant — with a bar to bringing a civil charge after an unsuccessful attempt at a criminal prosecution.

Section 102: This section would allow an FFL applicant to supplement his application, in the case of problems, before final denial.

Section 103: One of the big battles in McClure-Volkmer was over “scienter” (state-of-mind) requirements. In particular, there has been a tendency to diminish what is required for an individual to act “knowingly” or “willfully.” This section would define “willfully” to mean “intentionally,” which is about the most culpable state-of-mind requirement in existence.

Section 104: This section would require BATF to establish guidelines for conducting investigations.

Section 105: This section would prohibit purchaser information concerning a non-prohibited person from being shared with any other agency –unless the agency agrees not to share it with anyone but a court, prosecutor, or law enforcement agency.

Section 106: This section would give an FFL with a revoked license 60 days (with the possibility of an extension) to liquidate his inventory.

Section 107: This section would allow more flexibility in permitting an FFL with a revoked license to transfer his business to another FFL without automatically assuming that the violation giving rise to the revocation continues — and with an opportunity for the acquiring FFL to cure any defects.

Section 108: This section would decriminalize a non-material (i.e., minor and irrelevant) “false entry” in FFL records.

Section 109: This section broadens federal supervision of state oversight of explosives.

Sections 201 through 210:

make minor non-controversial corrective changes to federal gun law;

allow testing and security corporations to test machine guns without getting a license;

make the Smith amendment permanent;

eliminate the provision of 18 U.S.C. 922(x) which would allow a parent to be prosecuted because his son possessed a handgun without a written permission slip — even if the parent were physically present;

limit sharing of trace information;

expand the ability to import gun parts; and

limit access to inactive licensee information.

Senate Bills

S. 77 (Schumer): Most importantly, this bill would allow the Attorney General to inspect gun dealers as many times as he wants for any purpose. In addition, the bill tweaks the Firearms Trace System on issues of confidentiality and coordination, and doubles many gun-related prison sentences for a wide variety of offenses.

S. 368 (Biden et al.): This bill would massively expand federal funding for (and hence control of) local law enforcement.

S. 376 (Leahy, Specter, Kyl, Cornyn): This bill would tweak the police concealed carry reciprocity law to, for example, (1) expand its provisions to retired police who had served 10 years (rather than 15), and (2) allow competency certification by “a certified firearms instructor” (as opposed to the state).

S. 378 (Leahy, Specter, Reid, Durbin, Cornyn, Kennedy, Collins, Hatch, Schumer): This bill would dramatically expand federal funding for law enforcement resources to guard federal and state judges, prosecutors, jurors, and other persons involved in the judicial process — and would expand criminal penalties for certain related offenses, including, for instance, placing a false lien on a judge’s home.

S. 388 (Thune, Nelson, Sununu, Inhofe, Coburn, Burr, Martinez, Crapo, Baucus, Cornyn, Dole, Craig, Lott): This is the NRA-backed version of national concealed carry reciprocity. It would set “national standards” for recognition of concealed carry permits, but would provide no relief in cases of states like Vermont that don’t require permits as a condition of concealed carry.

S. 456: Although differing in details, like H.R. 880, this bill would treat firearms offenses like Mafia crimes.

S. 607 (Vitter): This bill would create a 15-year prison for “forcibly… resist[ing]” law enforcement personnel during an emergency with a “weapon.”

S. 1001 (Hutchinson et al.): This bill would repeal the D.C. gun ban.

S. 1237 (Lautenberg): This bill would, at the sole discretion of the Attorney General, make you a “prohibited person” if he “suspects” you of being a terrorist. The Attorney General is specifically authorized to refuse to tell you why he has made you a “prohibited person.”

S. 1316 (Feinstein): This bill would overturn U.S. v. Small and would make persons convicted of felonies in foreign courts — including political offenses and actions not unlawful in the U.S. — a “prohibited person” unless they can affirmatively establish that the conviction violated “fundamental fairness” or that the activity would be legal (and not just a felony) anywhere in the U.S.

S. 1331 (Feinstein, Kennedy, Levin, Menendez, Mikulski, Clinton, Durbin, Boxer, Lautenberg, Schumer, Dodd): This bill would treat a rifle firing a .50 BMG caliber cartridge like a bomb, grenade, or missile for purposes of federal law.

S. 1860: This comprehensive crime bill contains a number of anti-gun provisions, including sections which would:

expand penalties for certain “prohibited persons” offenses;

expand the rebuttable presumption against release of persons (such as PTSD veterans charged with firearms possession) who have been charged with “firearms offenses,” but who have not been convicted of anything;

extend the federal statute of limitations for “violent crime offenses” and terrorism offenses;

include “criminal street gang” language which would treat many minor gun offenses like criminal “racketeering” crimes;

dramatically expand federal abilities to enact civil and criminal forfeiture.

S. 2237: This bill, which would dramatically expand the role of the federal government in going after ordinary street crime, contains, inter alia, “criminal street gang” language which would treat many minor gun offenses like criminal “racketeering” crimes.

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