Sorry for the light posting on my part, something about being crazy busy with a kiddo coming along in the next day or so (she was due on Friday)…
Just a quick note, at this point things are looking good at the federal level for us not getting a new AWB or capacity limit, but things are NOT looking good right now for background checks. 2/3 of my “representatives” from AZ appear poised to sell us down the river (McCain and Kirkpatrick) on so called “Universal Background Checks”. We have to keep up the pressure on these folks.
Your representatives need to be hearing from you weekly at minimum, daily would be even better. Being an NRA member (GOA, SAF, etc) is NOT enough. These organizations do some great work, but their real success comes from their members getting off their bums and doing something.
On a more local level, AZ is looking good as far as our anti-gun bills are concerned. It appears they’ve all been tabled in committee, and it is my understanding we’ve passed the date for bills to make it out of committee. Not all of the pro-rights bills made it forward, but per AZCDL here’s what is moving forward:
The good bills that are still moving are:
HB 2234 – An AzCDL-requested bill that would standardize the definition of firearms in ARS 13-105 and remove duplicate and/or conflicting definitions in other statutes.
HB 2326 – Would prohibit maintaining information on a person who possesses, purchases, transfers or sells a firearm except in the course of a law enforcement investigation.
HB 2433 – Would eliminate the statutory age cap (currently 45 years old) on who is a member of the state militia (i.e., all able-bodied citizens capable of bearing arms).
HB 2455 – An AzCDL requested bill that would clarify that firearms voluntarily surrendered to a state or local entity cannot be destroyed and must be sold.
HB 2554 – An AzCDL-requested bill that would require operators of a public (i.e., state and local government) property, wishing to ban weapons, to do more than slap up a cardboard sign. They would be required to provide real security (e.g., restricted access, armed guards and metal detectors) as well as storage lockers. If an operator of a public building does not comply with the security requirements, the prohibition of firearms would not be enforceable.
SB 1112 – Would prohibit enforcement, by state and federal officials, of federal laws relating to a “personal firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition, that is owned or manufactured commercially or privately in this state and that remains exclusively within the borders of” Arizona. This bill also provides that the Arizona Attorney General may defend a citizen of Arizona who is prosecuted by the feds for violation of related federal firearms laws.
SCR 1015 – A Resolution that the members of the Legislature support the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and reject the consideration of new legislation that would infringe on this constitutionally protected right.
SCR 1016 – Would add to the 2014 general election ballot the question of whether to amend the state Constitution to allow the people of Arizona to reject a federal action that the people determine violates the U.S. Constitution by passing an initiative or referendum, passing a bill, or using any other available legal remedy, and to prohibit the state from using any personnel or resources to enforce or cooperate with a federal action that the people reject.
If you live in a state where your rights are being threatened, keep fighting. Do not give up.
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Know what I never understood?
Anti-gun people want more background checks.
Pro-gun people (might) want it to be easier to get an FFL for the average person.
So why don’t they just make it easier to get an FFL for the average person, which means they HAVE to do a background check on every gun they sell, which is good for the anti-gun people, and also means that pro-gun people can get cheaper prices from distributors on bulk deals. Like a club gets together and the club member who has an FFL takes a list of all the firearms people want, and the money, then buys the guns from the distributor, and gives them out to the people who bought them, doing the mandatory background check on each one?
It would also close the “gun show loophole” as the guys with a lot of used guns could increase their market and goods by being able to buy online through auctions and have the guns sent to them and remove the fee some gun stores charge for transfers of guns.
Both sides can return to their followers and say “Look what we did!” and both sides would be happy.
@David W. – I obviously don’t speak for everyone, but I’m not aware of too many people that are frustrated with the current FFL requirements / see a need for change. That said, I’m sure those people are out there.
It’s an interesting concept, but I don’t think the anti-gunners would compromise like that because they aren’t content to compromise, they only want to take.
I’m of the type that would love to see the whole FFL thing done away with and have us return to something resembling actual freedom. That said, libertarians and others like me [I'm a bit of a lot, really, but libertarian is the closest single word] would be satisfied for now with seeing the status quo on guns kept and not losing any more of our freedoms. Not that we wouldn’t push for me, just that step one is not letting them take away any MORE of our rights.
@Mussorgsky – It’d be cool to go back to that. Having never personally experienced those days, it sounds like this mythical world of rainbows and sunshines. Guns from the Sears-Roebuck catalog straight to your front door? YES!
Agreed that we ensuring we don’t lose anything should be the big goal right now.
@ David W.:
I think you’ve misunderstood what the anti-gun/anti-rights crowd really wants, a ban on firearms ownership by civilians. As part of the Clinton administration’s anti-gun push, they sought to reduce the number of FFLs. I believe new interpretations of BATFE regulations caused at least a 79 percent reduction in the number of FFLs. This was viewed as a effective way to reduce the availability of firearms.