Is gun ownership really down in America?
John Lott lays out the facts about trends in America relative to gun ownerships in this Fox News piece here…
Category: Gun Control
CCRKBA Blasts Anti-Gun Dems for “Pouring Gas on Grassroots”
BELLEVUE, WA – Anti-gun Capitol Hill Democrats just couldn’t resist further provoking the nation’s law-abiding gun owners with yesterday’s renewed push to ban ammunition even after the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had temporarily stepped back from such a proposal on Tuesday, and it’s time for the public to smack them down hard, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
“Even though BATF moved its ammunition ban proposal to the shelf, Democrats started lobbying the Obama administration to push forward with a ban just as we expected,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “New York Congressman Eliot Engel has introduced legislation, and others Capitol Hill want BATF Director B. Todd Jones to “use his ‘existing authority’ to keep ‘dangerous ammunition out of our communities,’ according to a report in The Hill.
“What do the Democrats hope to achieve, other than to keep 90 million gun owners hopping mad,” Gottlieb wondered. “This push merely reinforces the notion that Democrats are the party of gun control hysteria, and that while they claim to support the Second Amendment, they’re determined to erode it every way possible. Read more
Potterfields Donate $100K to NRA After M855/SS109 Decision and Issue Two Twenty Three Challenge
Larry and Brenda Potterfield, owners of MidwayUSA, will make a $100,000 donation to the NRA/ILA National Endowment for the Protection of the Second Amendment. The donation is being made in honor of NRA/ILA’s hard work in rallying NRA members and Congress to combat the ATF’s proposed changes to the M855/SS109 ammo exemption framework. The donation also celebrates ATF’s recent decision to refrain from seeking to issue a final framework at this time.
The Potterfields have also announced the Two Twenty Three Challenge. Issued specifically to organizations in the Outdoor and Shooting Sports Industry, the challenge is for each organization to have their own celebration and to make a contribution to NRA/ILA National Endowment for the Protection of the Second Amendment, at whatever financial level is appropriate. Read more
CCRKBA to ATF Director: “Step Down or Be Dismissed”
BELLEVUE, WA – In the wake of what can only be called a colossal blunder by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in its effort to ban popular rifle ammunition, ignoring the fact that the round was exempted from such regulation and the process may have violated the Administrative Procedures Act, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is today calling for the resignation or dismissal of ATF Director B. Todd Jones.
“I’ve put a lot more thought into this than the ATF apparently did when it suggested that the M855 ammunition should be re-classified,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “But when Jones took over the agency, first as an acting director in 2011 and then became the permanent director in 2013, the public, and especially the Second Amendment community, had high hopes that he would straighten out the ATF. This ammunition ban blunder clearly shows that he hasn’t.” Read more
ATF Rectreats, Will Not Move Forward on M855 Ammo Ban
Thank you for your interest in ATF’s proposed framework for determining whether certain projectiles are “primarily intended for sporting purposes” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(C). The informal comment period will close on Monday, March 16, 2015. ATF has already received more than 80,000 comments, which will be made publicly available as soon as practicable.
Although ATF endeavored to create a proposal that reflected a good faith interpretation of the law and balanced the interests of law enforcement, industry, and sportsmen, the vast majority of the comments received to date are critical of the framework, and include issues that deserve further study. Accordingly, ATF will not at this time seek to issue a final framework. After the close of the comment period, ATF will process the comments received, further evaluate the issues raised therein, and provide additional open and transparent process (for example, through additional proposals and opportunities for comment) before proceeding with any framework.
SAF Launches National Media Effort To Battle Obama Gun Control
BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation yesterday launched a nationwide television and radio effort to prevent President Barack Obama from using executive action to erode the right to keep and bear arms, which is the embodiment of a current plan by his Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to ban ammunition for the most popular firearm in America today.
“Last week,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “our general counsel warned in a letter to the BATFE that if it goes ahead with its plan to ban the popular M855 ammunition for modern sport-utility rifles, we would take court action.
“Today,” he added, “we’re firing up American gun owners at the grassroots level to send a message that should be loud and clear: Keep your hands off our guns, ammunition and our right to keep and bear arms.” Read more
California Gun Dealers Fire Back at AG With First Amendment Lawsuit
SACRAMENTO, CA — A number of California firearm retailers are firing back in a federal civil rights lawsuit against Attorney General Kamala Harris and the State’s Department of Justice.
The case was filed last November after the DOJ cited a Tracy, California gun dealer for having pictures of handguns in his store’s windows in violation of Penal Code section 26820. Plaintiffs include Tracy Rifle and Pistol, Sacramento Black Rifle, Ten Percent Firearms, PRK Arms, and Imbert & Smithers.
The plaintiffs say that the law, passed in 1923, is a ban on constitutionally-protected speech — speech that the dealers believe is protected under the First Amendment. Read more
SAF Authorizes Court Action if .223 Ammo Ban Implemented
BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has authorized court action if the proposed ban on .223-caliber ammunition is implemented by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the foundation’s general counsel has warned in a letter to BATFE Director B. Todd Jones.
Writing for SAF, general counsel Miko Tempski tells Jones, “This proposal is just an attempt to limit firearms rights because the President’s other such attempts have been blocked through constitutional checks and balances on his power.
“Should the BATFE lawlessly proceed on this path,” Tempski warns, “SAF intends to call on those checks and balances to stop the Administration’s executive overreach again.” Read more
Members of Congress Express Concerns Over BATFE Proposal to Ban Common Rifle Ammunition
March 5, 2015 (Washington, DC) – On March 4, 239 bipartisan Members of Congress, supported by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) leadership and including many CSC Members, signed on to a letter written by CSC Member Congressman Bob Goodlatte and Congressman James Sensenbrenner, to B. Todd Jones, Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The letter expressed concerns over the recently issued, “ATF Framework for Determining Whether Certain Projectiles are ‘Primarily Intended for Sporting Purposes’ Within the Meaning of 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(c).”
This proposed rule would eliminate the previous exemption that common M855 ball (5.56mm) ammunition received from the ATF’s “armor piercing ammunition prohibition” and would therefore make it illegal to manufacture, import, and sell this ammunition that is used in some of the most common modern sporting rifles and other rifle platforms currently owned and used by sportsmen and women throughout the nation.
The letter indicates that this Framework does not comport with the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act (LEOPA) of 1986, which was established in order to protect police officers from the hazards presented by “armor piercing” projectiles. “ATF should refocus its efforts on serious threats to law enforcement officers from specially designed armor piercing projectiles that are intended for use in the sort of handguns commonly carried and concealed by criminals. Under no circumstances should ATF adopt a standard that will ban ammunition that is overwhelmingly used by law-abiding Americans for legitimate purposes.”
The 239 Members of Congress signed on to this letter on behalf of millions of law-abiding Americans who enjoy hunting and recreational target shooting, and who are the financial backbone for the American System of Conservation Funding.
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New Concealed Pistol Legislation Heads to Gov. Snyder
GW: I’d be really surprised if Governor, Rick Snyder, doesn’t sign the new gun bill to streamline and revamp the current model. He doesn’t stand for the “piling on” tactic employed by politicians proposing new laws, by seemingly always adding carrots and concessions as a form of quid pro quo.
Part of the issue over the years, is that certain gun board members have remain opposed to the idea of law abiding citizens’ carrying concealed pistols. Before “shall issue” it was even worse and typically made an applicant prove why he needed a permit. Some of these self-anointed judges are still with us and do everything in their power to circumvent the Constitution. Just look at Washington, D.C., if you need a glaring example.
Sponsored by Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville, the bill would eliminate county gun boards December 1. Applicants will then be able to apply for permits through county clerks, submitting fingerprints and proof of certified handgun-use training and would receive permits, if they cleared state police and national law enforcement criminal background checks.
Let’s get on with it!