Support HR 3799 to Remove Silencers from NFA
As announced last week, a new bill has been introduced in the House to “provide that silencers be treated the same as long guns.” That is, to essentially remove them from the purview of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and ease the cumbersome process of acquiring one of these valuable safety devices – a process that involves a lengthy wait and a $200 tax on top of the cost of the device.
Matt Salmon (R-AZ), introduced HR 3799, the Hearing Protection Act of 2015, to the house on October 22nd. There, it was Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and to the Committee on the Judiciary for consideration. The full text of the bill, as well as updates about its progress, is available here.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) announced almost immediately their full support of the bill. GunLink also fully supports HR 3799 and urge everyone to contact their representatives and ask that they also support the bill, which is co-sponsored by Frank Guinta (R-NH), John Carter (R-TX), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Chris Collins (R-NY), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Mia Love (R-UT), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Chris Stewart (R-UT), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), and Bruce Westerman (R-AR).
An easy way to contact your representatives is to use the tools at the PopVox HR 3799 page. From there, HR3799 proponents can choose to support the bill. Be sure to include a personal message about why you support the bill. By including your personal message about why you support the bill, you guarantee that the PopVox system will generate a physical letter of support that will be hand delivered to your representatives’ offices.
You can also discuss the Hearing Protection Act of 2015 on the GunLink forums.
Why Support HR 3799?
Aside from the fact that Continue reading
NRA Backs Hearing Protection Act
Fairfax, VA – The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) announced its support today for the Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 3799).
Sponsored by Congressman Matt Salmon (AZ-05), the legislation removes suppressors from regulations established under the National Firearms Act of 1934.
“Suppressors significantly reduce the chance of hearing loss for anyone who enjoys the shooting sports,” said Chris Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “On behalf of the NRA and our 5 million members, I want to thank Rep. Salmon for his leadership on this important bill.”
Prevailing regulations requires buyers to send an application to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), pay a $200 tax, and pass an arduously time consuming ATF background check. Under Salmon’s bill there will be no application, no tax, and buyers would be required to pass the same National Criminal Instant Background Check (NICS) as law-abiding guns owners.
As a leading voice in the industry, the American Suppressor Association has provided valuable insight to the creation of the Hearing Protection Act. “Suppressors benefit all involved in hunting and the shooting sports. It’s time to bring the law in line with modern technology,” said Cox.
It is currently legal to hunt with a suppressor in 37 states. 41 states allow private ownership of suppressors. Continue reading
The Top 535 People You Should Contact to Oppose Gun Control
Recently, a checkout-lane magazine popular with the American Idol crowd posted – amidst the latest dish on which famous couples are splitting up or which male celebrities are getting Botox treatment – an online article urging people to contact their representatives to “do something” about madmen killing people. Of course, echoing the president’s recent knee-jerk emotion-based plea, the implication is that the firearms are to blame and that more regulation is the cure. This despite the fact that the unconstitutional regulations for which they are calling would not (or, in some cases, did not) do anything to prevent such violence from being visited upon the lunatics’ disarmed victims.
They did, however, make one good point: that we should contact our representatives to make our opinions heard. Facts, real common sense, and – despite what some doctored propaganda pieces may say – public opinion is on the side of 2A rights. A few loudly complaining anti-gun zealots are hoping to be the “squeaky wheel” that warrants legislative grease while the silent majority of gun owners sit idly by. To make things easier for their readers to contact their reps, they list the contact information for all 435 US House and 100 US Senate members.
Great idea. Below is the list of those 535 voting members of the United States Congress. Scroll down to (or search the page for) your state and find your representatives and contact them to let them know what you think about the proven-ineffective (and often detrimental) gun control schemes that are being pushed. Continue reading
NRA-ILA: BATFE To Ban Common AR-15 Ammo
M855 ‘Armor Piercing’ Classification Could Drastically Impact Ammunition Availability
In a move clearly intended by the Obama Administration to suppress the acquisition, ownership and use of AR-15s and other .223 caliber general purpose rifles, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives unexpectedly announced today that it intends to ban commonplace M855 ball ammunition as “armor piercing ammunition.” The decision continues Obama’s use of his executive authority to impose gun control restrictions and bypass Congress.
It isn’t even the third week of February, and the BATFE has already taken three major executive actions on gun control. First, it was a major change to what activities constitute regulated “manufacturing” of firearms. Next, BATFE reversed a less than year old position on firing a shouldered “pistol.” Now, BATFE has released a“Framework for Determining Whether Certain Projectiles are ‘Primarily Intended for Sporting Purposes’ Within the Meaning of 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(c)”, which would eliminate M855’s exemption to the armor piercing ammunition prohibition and make future exemptions nearly impossible.
By way of background, federal law imposed in 1986 prohibits the manufacture, importation, and sale by licensed manufacturers or importers, but not possession, of “a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely . . . from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium.” Because there are handguns capable of firing M855, it “may be used in a handgun.” It does not, however, have a core made of the metals listed in the law; rather, it has a traditional lead core with a steel tip, and therefore should never have been considered “armor piercing.” Nonetheless, BATFE previously declared M855 to be “armor piercing ammunition,” but granted it an exemption as a projectile “primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes.”
Now, however, BATFE says that it will henceforth grant the “sporting purposes” exception to only two categories of projectiles: Continue reading
NFA Lawsuit Filed – Holder, Jones Summonsed
UDATE 11/24/2014: The DOJ has filed an Entry of Appearance naming Eric J. Soskin as counsel for the defendants.
UPDATE 11/5/2014: Holder and Jones have both been officially served with their summons as of 5 November, 2014 at 5:22AM. The 60-day clock is ticking.
We recently posted about the Mississippi attorney who was seeking crowd funding for a lawsuit or lawsuits to challenge certain aspects of the gun control regulations laid out in the National Firearms Act, Gun Control Act and associated legislation, ATF rulings, etc.
The complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in Hollis v Holder et al. was filed yesterday with the goal of either declaring the de facto ban on machine guns to be unconstitutional or finding that 922(0) does not prohibit unincorporated trusts from manufacturing or posessing a machine gun manufactured after the 1986 date created by the Hughes Amendment to FOPA. From the introductory section of the Hollis v Holder complaint:
1. This is an action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from 18 U.S.C. §922(o), 26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq. and the implementing regulations 27 C.F.R. § 479.105(a). These statutory and regulatory provisions generally act as an unlawful de facto ban on the transfer or possession of a machine gun manufactured after May 19, 1986. By imposing such a ban on an entire class of weapons, the statutes and regulations exceed the power of the United States under Article I of the United States Constitution; violate the Second Amendment rights of the Plaintiff and all similarly situated individuals; violate the Ninth and Tenth Amendments and the United States Constitution’s principles of federalism and dual sovereignty; by arbitrarily “disapproving” an already approved Form 1, Defendants’ actions violate Plaintiff’s Fifth Amendment right to due process and is an unjust taking; and violate the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
2. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against the unconstitutional provisions contained in 18 U.S.C. § 922(o), 26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq. and 27 C.F.R. § 479.105(a); declaring the ban on machine guns unconstitutional under the Second, Ninth and Tenth Amendments and in violation of Article I of the United States Constitution and declaratory and injunctive relief prohibiting Defendants from unjustly taking property without Due Process.
3. In the alternative, Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief finding that 18 U.S.C. § 922(o) does not prohibit an unincorporated trust from manufacturing or possessing a machinegun manufactured after May 19, 1986 and/or that the Defendants lack the authority and are thus prohibited from revoking or denying the validity of Plaintiff’s approved tax stamp #RM34755.
The summons notifying recently-resigned Attorney General Eric Holder and BATFE directory B. Todd Jones of the lawsuit, has been issued and is available online specifying that if the defendants fail to respond within the 60 day deadline, judgment by default will be entered against them for the relief described above.
Unlikely Federal Agencies Creating Large Ammo Stockpiles?
Amidst efforts led by Senate democrats to limit ammunition sales to citizens, some unlikely federal agencies have recently been soliciting bids for huge quantities of ammunition. Coupled with other recent solicitations for items like quantities of riot gear and bullet-proof checkpoint booths, some are wondering if the feds are gearing up for some sort of anticipated domestic troubles.
In one solicitation the NOAA’s National Weather Service solicited a bid for 46,000 rounds of 180 grain JHB .40 S&W ammunition to be delivered to various locations including Maine, Massachusetts, Florida and New Jersey – whose NJSA 2C:39-3f(1) limits citizens’ possession of such ammunition with the following language:
Any person, other than a law enforcement officer or persons engaged in activities pursuant to subsection f. of N.J.S.2C:39-6, who knowingly has in his possession any hollow nose or dum-dum bullet […] is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
After word of the solicitation began making waves, it was later modified to indicate Continue reading
