Category: Gun Control

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

Ammunition, Gun Control

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.

Ammunition, Gun Control

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

Firearms, Gun Control

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

Gun Control

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

Ammunition, Gun Control

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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Ammunition, Gun Control

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!

 

Gun Control, Self Defense

Calguns Foundation Remains “Absolutely Committed” to Handgun Roster Case

SACRAMENTO, CA— In response to a federal district court decision released today on the constitutionality of the State of California’s “Unsafe Handgun Act” handgun roster and microstamping laws, The Calguns Foundation released the following statement:

“We are disappointed that the district court sidestepped a clear violation of Second Amendment civil rights in its decision today. However, we are absolutely committed to litigating this case as far as necessary to reverse this incorrect ruling and restore the right to keep and bear modern handguns in the Golden State.

It is difficult to understand how the Supreme Court’s landmark District of Columbia v. Heller decision could be so badly mis-applied. Laws that ban law-abiding people from acquiring virtually all modern handguns following a rigorous background check have no constitutional basis and must be overturned.

It is utterly preposterous that a Federal Court would rule that a ban on all new semi-automatic handguns does not burden Second Amendment rights. Such a decision conflicts with Ninth Circuit precedent, much less the Supreme Court’s holdings in Heller and McDonald v. Chicago. Read more

Gun Control

NJ Prosecutor Overrules Sheriff on Flintlock Prosecution Case

Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae has indicating she was dismissing the charges against 72-year old retired teacher and military academy graduate Gordon Van Gilder. Van Gilder made international news after being arrested and charged by Cumberland County Sheriff Robert Austino for possession of a flintlock pistol dating back to the 1700’s – a “crime” carrying up to 10 years in prison under the Garden State’s nonsensical gun laws.

The prosecutor’s press release undoubtedly came in reaction to intense public outcry as Van Gilder’s story went viral. While the press release warns gun owners generally not to possess firearms in a vehicle, it states “upon careful review of the circumstances in this case, I am exercising prosecutorial discretion to dismiss the…charges in the interest of justice…”

Van Gilder was stopped in November (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiI-2RD19q0) by a Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy for a minor traffic violation. When he volunteered that he had a nearly 300-year-old flintlock pistol with him, he was initially released but then arrested the next morning at his home and charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, a felony.

Several NJ lawmakers have introduced legislation to exempt possession of antique guns from prosecution (Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Assemblyman Robert Andrzejczak). Please watch for additional updates.

Gun Control
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