GunLinkBlog
Are you ready for #GunVote 2016?
Every election is, of course, important and we hear the “most important election ever” rhetoric in just about every election cycle. This one, however, is quite important for gun owners. Not only because we are electing the next commander in chief and we want the POTUS to be a solid supporter of gun rights as proscribed in our country’s founding documents, but because – provided that Mitch McConnell isn’t completely full of it – the next President is guaranteed to nominate at least one Supreme Court justice.
Being a well informed voter and being active in helping others to be the same is paramount and, for gun owners, there is a great resource to help with that: the NSSF #GunVote voter education initiative.
The crowded GOP field is still narrowing itself down and there are some solid (and not so solid) pro-gun candidates. The democrat presidential candidate for the general election will almost certainly be Hillary Clinton.
Despite making a lot of noise about enacting gun control measures, the current president has proven himself to be an inexperienced, politically impotent empty suit who achieved nothing more than stirring up a few uninformed rabble rousers who complained enough to get their coffee shop posted as a gun-free criminal protection zone. The running joke among… pretty much everyone… is that he is the Gun Salesman of the Century thanks to the ensuing panic buying every time he picks up his pen and his phone. Clinton, on the other hand, has been engaged in politics for more than five decades, including being part of the administration that enacted the 1994 so-called “Assault Weapon” Ban, which outlawed many of the most popular firearms based on cosmetic features. Continue reading
Brownells New Product Week in Review :: March 11, 2016
Brownells Product Manager Paul Levy introduces new items available this week.
- Howa Barreled Actions – Available in a wide range of calibers and barrel profiles, complete actions include 2-stage trigger, internal magazine and bolt, and are ready to drop into a compatible stock, sold separately. Actions are drilled and tapped for scope mounts, and come in Blue or Cerakote Gray finish in Short, Long and Mini sizes. FFL required.
- Battle Arms AR-15 Titanium Gas Block – Gas block fits barrels that are .750″ in diameter and gives very low profile combined with ultra-lightweight titanium construction. Helps keep an AR-15 rifle or carbine fast and maneuverable, and fits underneath almost any handguard.
- Streamlight TLR-1 HL – Popular weaponlight is now available in new colors to match firearms with Flat Dark Earth or Brown finishes. Fits onto Picatinny or Universal rails and gives up to 630 lumens of brilliant white light. Runs on two CR 123 lithium batteries and has intuitive, ambidextrous controls for momentary- and constant-on.
ATF Releases 2015 FFL Theft and Loss Report
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) is responsible for investigating instances where firearms are lost or stolen from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). Part of ATF’s core mission is to protect the public from violent crime involving the use of firearms. Stolen firearms are used by violent offenders in the commission of crimes, and pose a substantial threat to the public and law enforcement.
FFLs must report each lost or stolen firearm within 48 hours of discovery of the loss or theft by completing and forwarding a Federal Firearms Licensee Theft/Loss Report to ATF. In addition, the FFL must also report the firearm loss or theft to the appropriate local law enforcement agency.
There was a total of 14,800 lost or stolen firearms reported nationwide last year from FFLs. Of those firearms, 8,637 were reported as lost. Firearms are considered lost when an FFL takes a firearm into its inventory and later cannot account for the disposition of the firearm from its inventory during an inventory reconciliation.
There were 6,163 firearms reported stolen in 2015 by FFLs. Stolen firearms are broken down into three reporting categories: larceny, burglary and robbery. Continue reading
NRA Dues Have Gone Up but Supporters Still Have Time to Save
As you are certainly aware by now, NRA membership dues have increased as of March 1st. New members who join the National Rifle Association and existing members who renew directly through NRA will pay the new rates. Despite the rising cost of pretty much everything else, these increases mark the first time that NRA dues have gone up in over two decades.
When the dues increases were announced, NRA recruiters – such as Team GunLink – were notified that we would be authorized to continue offering the old discounted rates until further notice. That notice has now been given and the cut-off date for the old discounted rates is May 1, 2016. After that date, we will still be able to help patriots join in the fight for Second Amendment rights with lower rates than those available directly through the NRA, but the big savings will be gone. We can offer our special rates if you see us in person at shows, shoots, shops, out on the street, or anywhere else in person, or through the online sign-up form here.
NRA membership dues still include the same benefits, including helping to fight for the right to keep and bear arms, a subscription your choice of NRA magazines, entry for you and your family into the NRAAM, discounts, and more.
Finally, to be crystal clear since there has been some confusion since the price hikes were announced, current NRA Life members – whether they are fully paid up or are still working on Easy Pay Life plan – will NOT have to pay any additional dues that they have already agreed to. If you are a fully-paid life member, you are still fully paid. If you are making EPL payments, you will continue to make the same number of payments for the same amount as you would have otherwise. Life members who wish to upgrade to Distinguished Life or other higher-level Life membership will now have to pay the higher rates for the upgrade.
What NOT to Wear to the Airport
Do you long for the days when people used to dress up for air travel? That big fella in the next seat wearing sweat pants and clipping his toenails isn’t the only one committing fashion faux pas at the airport.
TSA Public Affairs spokesperson Lisa Farbstein recently tweeted out an example of what NOT to wear when traveling by air.
A passenger at Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) recently came to TSA security checkpoint with high-heeled shoes with heels designed to look like revolvers and bandoliers of ammunition around the sides. And, of course, since accessorizing is important, the passenger also had a couple of bracelets with similar bandolier-like appearance.
According to Farbstein’s tweet, the passenger, unsurprisingly, experienced some delays in passing through the checkpoint.
Per federal regulations in regard to flying with firearms, realistic replicas and toys are not permitted in carry-on bags and must be checked. It may be debatable whether or not the shoes and bracelets are realistic, but this is undoubtedly why the passenger got held up at the checkpoint.
Is this taking things too far? Does TSA have better things to do? Or is this a reasonable stop? Share your comments below.
GunsAmerica Moves to Fill Void Left by Facebook Gun Group Shutdown
If you’re a firearms enthusiast and you’re on Facebook, chances are good that you might have belonged to one or more groups for discussing, buying, selling, and trading firearms. If so, you are probably also aware that Facebook recently waged a misguided war against such groups because they facilitated legal face-to-face sales between members (think ‘online gun show’). As of now, every gun group that Team GunLink members were in have been shut down and I haven’t talked to anyone who still has an active group (although they may be playing by Fight Club rules).
The shutdown of these groups has left a big void for individual private sellers to advertise their personally owned firearms for legal sale. There are options such as the GunLink Marketplace and the GunLink Local Boards, where users can post their items that they want to sell, buy, or trade, and we have seen former members of our groups scrambling to start up new sites to replace the groups. Now, according to their news release, GunsAmerica is tossing their substantial hat into the ring by offering free local listings that allow users to sell their firearms without fees to buyers within a 50 mile radius. Continue reading
