Category: Gun Control

Virginia Legislator Proposes Background Checks for Gun Rentals

Contact Your Elected Officials in Opposition to SB1250 Today

Virginia state Senator Creigh Deeds (D-25) offered Senate Bill 1250, which would expand background checks for firearm transfers to include rentals of firearms. As introduced, the legislation adds the term “rent” to “include a temporary change in dominion or control of a firearm for use at or on the premises of a dealer’s business location in exchange for money or other consideration.” Because federal law does not allow a NICS check for rentals, the legislation would allow the Virginia State Police to conduct a Virginia state criminal history record information check instead.

NSSF® opposes SB 1250 because a rental does not constitute a transfer as defined by federal law. Additionally, such a requirement would have a detrimental impact on ranges and the safe environment they create for those wishing to learn to use firearms and will overload the background check system for legitimate firearm transfers.

Please contact your elected officials today in opposition to SB 1250. Find out who represents you in the Virginia General Assembly here.

Gun Control

CCRKBA: Seattle’s 2020 Homicides Proves Gun Tax Fraud

BELLEVUE, WA – A 61 percent increase in homicides last year is proof positive Seattle’s egregious tax on firearms and ammunition sales amounts to a fraud and should immediately be repealed, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

“Seattle city leaders rammed through this gun tax over our objections back in 2015,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb recalled. “It has never come close to creating the tax revenue that was predicted, and the number of homicides and non-fatal shootings has not gone down. Claims that this tax would help reduce violent crime amounted to nothing more than a snake oil sales pitch.”

Published reports place the number of murders in the city last year at 50, up from the 31 posted in 2019. It is also up dramatically from the 32 killings in 2018 and 27 logged in 2017, according to Seattle Police Department data.

“The gun tax was an outrage when it was adopted and now it is officially a disastrous failure,” Gottlieb observed. “The tax literally drove business out of the city and into a neighboring county, resulting in a loss of revenue, and it’s pretty clear the actual intent was to push gun stores out and make it harder for Seattle residents to purchase firearms and ammunition. Obviously, when you do that, only criminals will be armed and crime will go up. Read more

Gun Control

SAF: Biden’s Tweet an Attack on Gun Owners

BELLEVUE, WA – Joe Biden’s Twitter message to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords may read like a threat against one gun rights organization, but it is really an attack on every gun owner in the nation, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

Biden pledged to work with Giffords on her extremist gun control agenda, and promised to “defeat the NRA,” in the process, but SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said that’s just cover for a bigger goal.

“Joe Biden has labored relentlessly for decades to reduce the Second Amendment to rubble,” Gottlieb stated. “He may attack one group by name, but his goal is to crush the rights of every gun owner in our country.

“By attacking the Second Amendment Rights of 100 million Americans,” Gottlieb continued, “Biden is not bringing us together but dividing us further. If people take to the streets in protest, if violence occurs it will be his fault and he should be impeached for violating our constitutional rights and inciting violence. Maybe it is time to ban him from Twitter and Facebook!” Read more

Gun Control

NSSF: Help Make Sure the FIND Act Becomes Law in Kentucky

HELP to Make Sure the FIND Act Becomes Law in Kentucky

In recent years, the firearm and ammunition industry has been the target of discrimination by the financial industry including banks, payment processing companies, insurance providers and others. On Wednesday, a bill was introduced in Kentucky to combat these practices. House Bill 175, the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act would ensure firearm industry members have fair access to financial services in the Bluegrass State. NSSF® thanks Rep. Savannah Maddox, Rep. Mark Hart, Rep. Phillip Pratt, and Rep. Brandon Reed for sponsoring this important legislation.

NSSF needs your assistance to make sure the FIND Act becomes law and there are two ways you can help:

  1. We need real-world examples to show legislators how common financial discrimination against our industry really is in Kentucky. If you have experienced financial discrimination because of your involvement in the firearm industry and would be willing to share your story with legislators via written or in-person testimony, please reach out to Chris Lee, our Midwest Director of Government Relations – State Affairs at clee@nssf.org or (203) 434-4330.
  2. Contact your state representative to ask that they sign on as a co-sponsor to House Bill 175. You can look up the contact information for your state representative by clicking here.
Gun Control

Washington State Legislature to Introduce ‘Large Capacity’ Magazine, Open Carry Bans

Washington State Legislature to Introduce “Large Capacity” Magazine Ban

What You Need to Know About SB 5078

Over the past few legislative cycles in Washington State, the firearm industry has been successful in narrowly stopping multiple efforts by the legislature to ban “large capacity magazines” and modern sporting rifles (MSRs) or what is being termed as “assault rifles.”

It appears 2021 will be more of the same in the Evergreen State. NSSF’s Government Relations – State Affairs team learned SB 5078 has been prefilled. If enacted, SB 5078 would make it a criminal offense to manufacture, possess, distribute, import, sell, purchase or transfer a magazine with a capacity greater than 10 rounds.

Additionally, SB 5038 was introduced and while mostly focused on banning an individual’s right to open carry, it also contains a troubling provision for retailers. It gives municipalities some authority to use zoning ordinances for the purposes of limiting the lawful commerce and location of firearm retailers. Read more

Gun Control

NRA Celebrates 150th Anniversary in 2021

Founded in 1871 by Civil War veterans, the National Rifle Association has led the way ever since to protect our Second Amendment freedom, teach marksmanship and gun safety and pass self-defense laws across the country. In 2021, the NRA celebrates a momentous 150 years of service as America’s oldest civil-rights organization.

“The NRA has diligently protected our right to keep and bear arms longer than any other organization,” NRA President Carolyn Meadows said. “We are humbled to serve our more than 5 million members and all law-abiding gun owners. We invite you to join our organization as we celebrate this historic milestone.”

Throughout its century and a half of existence, NRA has served firearm owners across the nation through training, legislative action and other initiatives aimed at promoting avenues for shooting, hunting and personal protection. Today, the organization encompasses a wide range of programs all aimed at bettering the experience of the American firearm owner, whether it’s through competitive programs, hunter education, political action and more. Read more

Firearms, Gun Control, Hunting, Self Defense

Admittedly, Biden has no Authority to Ban Guns

Joe Biden admitted he lacks “executive authority” to ban “assault weapons” when the subject was broached during a December 8, 2020, meeting with civil rights leaders.

An audio recording of the meeting was shared by The Intercept’s De-Constructed, and listeners can hear Biden respond to calls for aggressive executive action by assuring the leaders that where possible, he will use executive authority to “undo every damn thing [President Trump] has done by executive authority.”

Biden said, “But I’m not going to exercise executive authority where it’s questioned.” He then referenced doing away with “assault weapons” and said, “There’s no executive authority to do away with that.”

He added, “No one’s fought harder to get rid of ‘assault weapons’ than me, but you can’t do it by executive order. You do that and the next guy comes along and says, ‘Well, guess what, by executive order…everybody can own machine guns again.’”

Biden’s admissions about the limits of executive authority regarding firearms which Democrats label as “assault weapons” points to a scenario where he would have to rely on Senators and U.S. Representatives to pass a ban he could sign.

Breitbart News reported that Associated Press addressed this scenario, noting that Biden’s fight for gun control would be an uphill battle.

The “assault weapons” ban and other gun controls being sought by the left, with the exception of red flag laws, are basically the same controls Democrats have been pursuing since the early 1990s. “It will be a tall order to get a majority of lawmakers on board,” regardless of which party controls Congress.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

Gun Control

Open Carry Issues to be on the Table

From Jim Shepherd…

With the District of Columbia v. Heller decision in 2008 and the McDonald v. Chicago decision in 2010, the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the individual right to possess a firearm in the home for self-defense.

Since then, it’s been…crickets when it comes to the Second Amendment. Despite a wealth of contradictory lower court rulings creating potential Supreme Court review of everything from carrying guns in public to prohibitions on “assault weapons” or magazine limitations, the Roberts-led Court has essentially refused to take on Second Amendment cases.

It’s been the hope of the pro-Second Amendment groups that the confirmation of a third Trump-appointed Justice, Amy Coney Barrett, would compel Chief Justice Roberts to once again revisit the many open questions regarding the right to keep and bear arms. So far, that’s not happened.

So what’s ahead? What’s the potential for the Supreme Court being forced to hear Second Amendment cases, especially with a less-than-friendly administration poised to take occupancy of the White House?

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a webinar given by the Liberty & Law Center of the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University. During that webinar, Professor Nelson Lund and Associate Professor Robert Leader discussed a variety of topics, from the idea of “strict scrutiny” as the standard of 2A case review to the potential for executive actions being used against guns and gun ownership because legislative actions have proven to be a dead end for anti-gun groups.

Lund, author of The Future of the Second Amendment in a Time of Lawless Violence, says politicians hold too-narrow a definition of “public safety” and it drives some of the more unreasonable positions against guns. Instead, he writes, “the most practically important Second Amendment issue that is ripe for Supreme Court resolution concerns the scope of the constitutional right to bear arms in public.” Read more

Gun Control

Gun Rights Groups Challenge Maryland Gun Ban in Federal Court

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its sister organization, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state of Maryland’s ban on common semiautomatic rifles.

The lawsuit was filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and captioned Bianchi, et al. v. Frosh, et al. Partnering with SAF and CCRKBA in the case are the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), a commercial business and several individual citizens.

Individual plaintiffs are Dominic Bianchi and David Snope of Baltimore County, and Micah Schaefer who resides in Ann Arundel County, where Field Traders, LLC, the commercial plaintiff, is also located.

Named as defendants are Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh, State Police Secretary Col. Woodrow W. Jones III, and Sheriffs R. Jay Fisher of Baltimore County and Jim Fredericks of Ann Arundel County, in their official capacities. Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Nicole J. Moss, David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and John D. Ohlendorf with Cooper & Kirk PLLC in Washington, D.C., Raymond M. DiGuiseppe of North Carolina and Adam Kraut, director of FPC Director of Legal Strategy of Sacramento, Calif.

This makes the second federal challenge filed against Maryland gun laws in recent days. The earlier action challenges the state’s concealed carry law that makes it nearly impossible for average citizens to exercise their right to bear arms. At issue are Maryland’s laws that individually and collectively deny millions of people their fundamental right to keep and bear commonly-owned arms. That case is Call, et.al. v. Jones et. al.

“Maryland has instituted laws that ban scores of firearms simply because they look like other guns, and that cannot be allowed to stand,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “As we note in the lawsuit, the right to keep and bear arms includes, but is not limited to, the right of individuals to acquire, transport, possess, purchase, and receive common firearms for all lawful purposes, including self-defense. Maryland bans such firearms and there is no basis for such a ban, so we’re taking the state to court.” Read more

Gun Control

SAF, NRA File Appeal Brief in Federal Challenge of WA Gun Control Measure

BELLEVUE, WA – Attorneys representing the Second Amendment Foundation, National Rifle Association, two Washington state gun retailers and three private citizens have filed an appeal brief with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in their challenge of gun control Initiative 1639, a measure adopted two years ago in the Evergreen State.

The 45-page brief asserts I-1639 “infringes the rights protected by the Second Amendment and enjoyed by law-abiding adults of all ages. The interstate sales ban violates the Interstate Commerce Clause.” A district court judge in Tacoma dismissed the case in August, and plaintiffs promptly filed notice of appeal with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court in San Francisco.

The initiative prohibits young adults ages 18-20 from purchasing and owning so-called “semiautomatic assault rifles,” which it defined as literally any self-loading rifle, regardless of caliber. Tens of millions of semiautomatic rifles are in use today by law-abiding citizens of all ages for a variety of endeavors including hunting, competition, predator and varmint control, recreational shooting and personal/home protection. Read more

Gun Control
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