Category: Gun Control

FixNICS: U.S. Senate to Address Firearms Background Checks

Posted on

Share Button

Action Alert! Contact your senator today and ask them to vote “YES” on Senate Bill 2135 that will make the National Instant Criminal Background Check System more complete. You can contact your two U.S. senators by calling (202) 224-3121 and following the prompts or can email them using the Sportsmen’s Alliance Legislative Action Center.

The firearm industry and hunting organizations have united to support legislation to address deficiencies in the background-check system for the purchase of firearms. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was established 20 years ago to prevent those prohibited by law from obtaining a firearm. Unfortunately, the NICS system depends on states and the federal government to provide updates to the database, which has not always been done effectively.

To address this issue, the National Shooting Sports Foundation launched its Fix NICS initiative in 2013 to encourage and assist states to submit all appropriate disqualifying criminal and adjudicated mental health records. While the effort to Fix NICS has yielded a 200-percent increase in records submissions, the work is not done yet as many states still do not submit all appropriate records that would disqualify individuals from legally purchasing firearms.

Senate Bill 2135 provides incentives for states to submit up-to-date information to NICS and punishes agencies that fail to do so, while also holding the federal government accountable for including and processing those records in the background check system.

The “Fix NICS” act could be voted on in the U.S. Senate as early as this week.

All sportsmen want to make sure firearms are not sold to criminals and those with serious mental health problems. Please call your two U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to support S.2135. Read more

Gun Control

Airgun Video Channels Feeling Anti-Gun Pressure

YouTube, Facebook are canceling, closing and suspending accounts that include shooting-related content. Airgun Wire editor Tom McHale says he’s getting “a continuous stream of reports on sites that are summarily shut down or have received ‘strikes’ that will ultimately lead to a permanent shutdown.” He’s following the story- closely- and will have a full report and suggestions for actions shooting enthusiasts can take in today’s edition of the Airgun Wire. If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up for a subscription at http://www.airgunwire.com.
Gun Control

Dicks, Field & Stream Stop AR Sales, Call for “Common-sense Legislation”

Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) along with its Field & Stream Stores have stopped selling AR-style rifles. The immediate cessation was announced yesterday by Dick’s CEO Edward W. Stack who also announced the stores would also no longer sell “high-capacity magazines or firearms to anyone under 21 years old. Stack also called for “common sense gun reform” along with regulations that would ban “assault style weapons,” raise the minimum age for firearms purchases to 21, and require universal background checks that included “relevant health information and previous interactions with the law.”
NSSF Responds to Dick’s Decision

We respect the right of all companies to make the decisions they believe are appropriate for their business. Nonetheless, we are disappointed by the decision of Dick’s Sporting Goods to stop selling modern sporting rifles at its 35 Field & Stream stores, to cease sales of certain magazines and to raise the purchase age to 21 for all firearms at all its stores. We note that the Dick’s Sporting Goods announcement acknowledges the vast majority of gun owners are responsible and law-abiding. Indeed, they are and should not be penalized for the actions of criminals.

Members of our industry believe that unauthorized individuals should never have access to any firearm, of any kind, at any time. On behalf of our industry, NSSF supports effective solutions to achieve that goal, which is shared by all Americans. NSSF strongly supports and calls upon Congress to immediately pass the Fix NICS bill – named after our program of the same name – to increase the reporting of all disqualifying criminal and applicable mental health records to the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database to increase the effectiveness of the system on which our nation’s retailers depend. We will continue our work on that vitally important initiative, as well our other programs that work every day to help enhance public safety, including Project ChildSafe, the Don’t Lie for the Other Guy anti-straw purchasing program and Operation Secure Store programs that we conduct in cooperation with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Gun Control

Minnesota State Rep. Linda Slocum Introduces Extreme Gun Ban Bill

The bill includes:

  • A 2-day waiting period on all firearm transactions
  • The total ban on all private sales and transfers, including for inheritance, family, curio and relics, and antique firearms
  • Complete registration of all firearms
  • Bans all “assault weapons”, bump stocks, and large-capacity magazines
  • Makes suppressors illegal again – possession is a felony
  • Requires all ammunition to be purchased in-person from a dealer – all ammunition sales will be tracked and registered
  • Prohibits persons delinquent in paying child support from possessing firearms

Current owners of “assault weapons” may keep them if they are registered and stored in line with newly defined local regulations – and inspected annually by the police. Read more

Gun Control

An Honest Perspective on the Gun Issue

Today,  the first installment in a series from Steve Scott.

As stories of the Parkland murders continue to dominate the news cycle, public sentiment is being manipulated in a new and most disturbing way. In the media – both social and mainstream – responsibility for the tragedy is being shifted from the mentally unbalanced-premeditating-murderer of 17 innocents to the National Rifle Association – an organization whose primary purpose is to preserve and protect our individual freedoms.  And, while reactionaries cry for more feel-good legislation, over two centuries ago a litany of revered statesmen spoke thoughtfully of the very circumstance we face today.  Viewed through the long lens of history, wisdom and perspective may be gleaned by those willing to learn.

“The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”
– Samuel Adams

The promise of the 2nd Amendment was neither a blank check nor demand loan.  There are conditions to the right to keep and bear arms and Adams’ “peaceable citizens of the United States” definition applies still today.  Peaceable citizens do not get in fights, abuse animals, make threats, and they certainly do not murder their teachers and classmates.  It is hard to argue that the mind of a perpetrator of mass murder is not defective.  And, though there were ample warning signs and opportunities to either stop or mitigate the Parkland atrocity, numerous systems failed and 17 people died.  Clearly, changes need to be made to avert future tragedies, but unalienable means unalienable. Second Amendment rights are non-negotiable for a reason.

“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”
– Thomas Jefferson

“To disarm the people…[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them.”
– George Mason

Jefferson knew “debarring” citizens of firearms was the critical first step towards the loss of individual liberties; Mason took the thought it to its natural conclusion.  He knew shackles and chains were not the only way to enslave a society.  Our 1st Amendment provides, among others, the unalienable right to speak, assemble, and worship as we see fit.  These are foundational freedoms – the loss of which would effectively enslave us to the will of tyrannical rulers.  It is no coincidence that the Founders placed equal importance on the individual freedom to defend one’s rights, one’s self from physical harm, and importantly, from those powers who might seek to take away those rights.   Ben Franklin expounded on this theme very clearly:

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
– Benjamin Franklin

Ironically, one of the leaders on the other side of the American Revolution had similar thoughts on individual freedoms.

“Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” – William Pitt (the Younger)

An American statesman and British Prime Minister on opposite sides of a seismic conflict both recognized the same fundamental truth.  In the wake of Parkland virtually everyone agrees “something” should be done, but what and at what cost? It is never necessary to give up freedoms for the sake of a little temporary safety.   And would surrendering some of our 2nd Amendment rights yield society even temporary safety?  History’s conclusion is a clear “no”.

 “The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes…. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
– Thomas Jefferson

What was true in the 18th Century rings true today.  When citizens are denied their God-given right to proportional self-defense, the odds in the struggle between good and evil move decidedly in the favor of evil.  Citizens rendered defenseless by well-intentioned but short-sighted legislation banning firearms are significantly more likely to become victims of crime than constituents of jurisdictions that do not infringe 2nd Amendment freedoms.  It is no coincidence U.S. cities such as Chicago and Washington D.C. – cities with the most stringent restrictions on firearms – consistently report the highest incidence of gun violence.

Yet America’s problem remains, as our lack of empathy prevents engagement in any meaningful dialogue.

Tragedies like Parkland are a call to arms for both pro and anti-gunners to take extreme positions.  We demonize the opposition with no attempt to understand each other’s perspective and motivation.  Is it any wonder we are no closer to figuring out a solution?

The majority of people on the anti-gun side are not unreasonable.  They do not want to take our guns for fun or spite. They are good people who only want the violence to stop.  To their way of thinking, removing guns from society is the simplest way to achieve that end.  But neither the problems we face nor their solutions are simple.

Today’s public debate barely mentions the causation for a generation of mass murderers.  In addition to a mental health screening system that is clearly failing, discipline, family values, and personal responsibility are lacking in many households today.  The desensitization to human suffering and death promulgated by Hollywood and the video game industry are also issues we must address as a society in order to slow and eventually put an end to this epidemic of violence; but, that discussion is not likely to happen – not when liberal leaders pushing for more governmental control know it is much more effective to juxtapose dead children with an AR 15 and spent cases.

This is why so many of us stand with the NRA and fight like hell to protect the 2nd Amendment. I do not know the final answer to solving America’s gun violence problem but I do kow banning the modern sporting rifle is not.   History has proven the most important step in subjugating a nation is to take away its citizens’ ability to fight tyranny, which is often done under the guise of protecting children.

 “The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.” 
– Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

Can we all agree on at least this one thing?  #neveragain

— Steve Scott

Steve Scott is a reformed attorney, long-time university instructor, and producer and host of the Safari Hunter’s Journal and Outdoor Guide television series on air and online. (Editor’s note: Steve’s also going to be editing our new outfitters news service, but you had to read all the way through to know that).  www.SteveScott.TV

Gun Control

CCRKBA: Government Failures in Fla. Not the Fault of Gun Rights

BLAMING GUN RIGHTS FOR FBI, SHERIFF’S  FAILURES IN FLA. IS INSANE’ — CCRKBA

BELLEVUE, WA — The devastating revelation that a sheriff’s deputy stood outside while students were being murdered inside a Florida high school shows that the government failed massively, and efforts to blame gun rights for the tragedy are dishonest and insane, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said.

“Since last week’s horror in Parkland,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “the country has learned that the authorities had multiple warnings about the shooting suspect and repeatedly failed to act. The gun-free school zones law failed. And yet anti-gunners want to blame firearms and penalize law-abiding gun owners.

“Honest citizens and the Second Amendment are through being the national whipping boy for these abysmal failures,” he stated. “For years, we have endured the efforts of anti-gun elitists and their political lap dogs to erode our rights and hold honest gun owners responsible for crimes they didn’t commit. We have been slandered, marginalized and demonized.

“The feel-good fakery of gun control and gun-free zones has been exposed in the aftermath of the Parkland tragedy,” he said. “Enough is enough.

“Treating good people like criminals and creating victim disarmament zones such as schools, shopping malls, theaters and office buildings must cease,” he added. “The simple truth is that criminals and crazy people do not obey gun control laws. Read more

Gun Control

SCI President Paul Babaz Speaks Out Against Calls For More Gun Control

Hunters Unite!

      Safari Club International’s mission is to protect the freedom to hunt and to promote wildlife conservation worldwide. The operative word about hunting in that mission is “freedom.” This includes the equipment needed to exercise that freedom.

      With that in mind, our battles against anti-hunters have been augmented tremendously by a misguided social reaction to the school shooting in Florida recently.

I have kids of the same age and as a parent I am horror-struck and cannot even imagine such a nightmare.  But my kids, all girls, are also involved in hunting and target shooting. Many of their friends are also interested in both hunting and target shooting.

I completely agree that we need to find a way to stop this disease that has infected our society, but it is not by telling one of my kids that she can’t own a gun and go into the field if that’s what she wants to do.  Hunters are taught gun safety and firearm responsibility by their parents, adults in leadership positions, by the state agencies that run hunter education courses, and yes, by the NRA.

As parents, we need to take responsibility to instill good judgment and responsibility that comes with the lawful use of firearms, automobiles or anything else that could be used for evil purposes. No hunter would ever dream of doing what that twisted person did in Parkland.  It is unthinkable. Evil exists. It must be confronted in the most powerful ways possible and must be defeated.

      But there is no need to further exacerbate the tragedy by punishing those who not only had nothing to do with it, but who would have stopped it before it happened or when it was in progress had they had the chance. This is a social problem, not a gun problem. And yes, Modern Sporting Rifles (the actual rifles that so often are misidentified as “assault weapons”) are used for hunting.

      We have seen this sort of behavior before and I have always been vocal about SCI stepping up to speak up for our members who are gun owners.

      SCI opposes any legislation that infringes upon the Second Amendment right of law abiding young adults between the age of 18 and 20 by banning their right to purchase any long gun from a federally licensed retailer, by use of the federally regulated process that includes instant background checks.  We have laws on the books to protect the public, and those laws should be enforced to keep our children and families safe at home, school, movie theatres or wherever they go.

      I call on all hunters and especially fellow members of SCI to take a stand right here, right now. This is no time to duck and hide, no time to think that this is someone else’s concern. We are all involved whether we want to be, or not. The only question is whether we stand and fight, or whether we duck and cover. War has been declared against us and no war was ever won from defense.

      SCI-PAC, SCI’s Political Action Committee, will no longer support elected representatives who support increasing the age of those eligible to purchase firearms legally. They are speaking out of both sides of their mouths to get themselves reelected. We have a strong PAC and we need to support the representatives who will stand with our membership in good times and bad!

      I encourage all hunters, and especially SCI members, to unite in this battle to put sanity back into the public discourse that has been overwhelmed with mass hysteria. Please use any avenues you have individually to get the word out, to organize and to engage in the discussion. The world needs to know that there are many of us out here who oppose what some of the enemies of freedom are proposing. We cannot allow them to take perverted advantage of a tragedy to deny the rest of us our rights and to obliterate our hunting culture that has withstood the test of time since the beginning of mankind.

      Rest assured that I will do all I can to right this wrong that is being foisted upon us by the enemies of freedom. I welcome all to join me. Together, we can help right what otherwise could turn into a terrible wrong. Thank you.

Paul Babaz

SCI President

Safari Club International – First For Hunters is the leader in protecting the freedom to hunt and in promoting wildlife conservation worldwide. SCI’s approximately 200 Chapters represent all 50 of the United States as well as 106 other countries. SCI’s proactive leadership in a host of cooperative wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian programs, with the SCI Foundation and other conservation groups, research institutions and government agencies, empowers sportsmen to be contributing community members and participants in sound wildlife management and conservation. Visit the home page www.SafariClub.org, or call (520) 620-1220 for more information.
International Headquarters Tucson, Arizona · Washington, District of Columbia · Ottawa, Canada
www.SafariClub.org

 

Gun Control

President Directs Attorney General to Regulate Bump Stocks

President Trump has signed a memorandum directing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to regulate the use of bump stocks. The memo directs the Attorney General to “dedicate all available resources” to completing a review of more than 100,000 comments received from December through January on a notice of proposed rule making. A Justice Department spokesperson says the department “understands this is a priority for the president and has acted quickly to move through the rule-making process.”
Gun Control

Florida Teacher Nails It and Blames Weak Parenting

A Teacher of the Year at a Florida middle school posted a Facebook message that has since gone viral saying parents need to “step up” when it comes to their kids’ behavior.

“Okay, I’ll be the bad guy and say what no one else is brave enough to say, but wants to say,” Kelly Guthrie Raley, who was named Eustis Middle School Teacher of the Year 2017-2018 last month, said in a now-viral Facebook post following the mass shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Raley said she’ll “take all the criticism and attacks” for her opinion because, as a teacher with two decades of experience, she has to worry about an active-shooter situation on a daily basis.

The middle school teacher said over her almost two decades as an educator that she’s seen an increase in violence and a lack of compassion among students.

“Until we, as a country, are willing to get serious and talk about mental health issues, lack of available care for the mental health issues, lack of discipline in the home, horrendous lack of parental support when the schools are trying to control horrible behavior at school (oh no! Not MY KID. What did YOU do to cause my kid to react that way?), lack of moral values, and yes, I’ll say it – violent video games that take away all sensitivity to ANY compassion for others’ lives – as well as reality TV that makes it commonplace for people to constantly scream up in each others’ faces and not value any other person but themselves, we will have a gun problem in school,” the sixth-grade language arts teacher wrote.

Questions emerge over whether officials missed warning signs about Nikolas Cruz; reaction on 'Journal Editorial Report.' Video

Why so many missed warning signs in the Florida shooting?

Raley, who loves hunting and four-wheeling in her spare time, added that she grew up with guns in her home.

“But you know what? My parents NEVER supported any bad behavior from me,” Raley said.

She said when she began teaching 20 years ago, she never had to worry about calling a student’s parents and getting cussed out, told to go to hell, or threatened with a public shaming all because she was calling out their child’s behavior. Something, she said, has got to change.

“Parents, it’s time to step up!” Raley urges. “Be the parent that actually gives a crap! Be the annoying mom that pries and knows what your kid is doing. STOP being their friend. They have enough ‘friends’ at school. Be their parent. Being the ‘cool mom’ means not a damn thing when either your kid is dead or your kid kills other people because they were allowed to have their space and privacy in YOUR HOME.”

She doubles down that she had guns in her home.

“But you know what? I never dreamed of shooting anyone with his guns. I never dreamed of taking one! I was taught respect for human life, compassion, rules, common decency, and most of all, I was taught that until I moved out, my life and bedroom wasn’t mine…it was theirs. And they were going to know what was happening because they loved me and wanted the best for me.”

Raley concludes her post by adding that she never brought up gun control.

“This post wasn’t about gun control,” she said. “This was me, loving the crap out of people and wanting the best for them. This was about my school babies and knowing that God created each one for greatness, and just wanting them to reach their futures.”

Raley said the only thing she holds dearer than teaching students is her faith and family, and that her father, a military hero, and her mother, a retired school teacher, inspired her to be who she is today.

Gun Control

CCRKBA: Don’t Penalize Gun Owners for Government Foul-Ups

BELLEVUE, WA – The bombshell admission by the FBI that it was tipped about the suspect in Wednesday’stragic school shooting, and yet did nothing, provides damning evidence that it is the government that should be blamed, not American gun owners, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

“The FBI has admitted that it received a tip about the suspect’s disturbing behavior and comments on social media back in January, but didn’t follow up on the information,” noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “On top of that, the public has learned that police in Broward County had been called to the suspect’s residence more than 30 times over the past few years. Read more

Gun Control
1 … 70 71 72 73 74 … 143