Tuesday, March 3, 2009

HR 45

Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.45:

Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked. Prescribes license application, issuance, and renewal requirements.
Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system.
Prohibits:
(1) transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions;
(2) a licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this Act;
(3) failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours;
(4) failing to report to the Attorney General an address change within 60 days; or
(5) keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury.
Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions covered by this Act.
Directs the Attorney General to:
(1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse;
(2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries; and
(3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer.
Authorizes the Attorney General to certify state firearm licensing or record of sale systems.
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/show

Tracking...
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-45

Now that the libbie-loos have America's banks well on the road to nationalization, it's time to shift the focus to other ways of abridging Americans' freedoms.

It might well be a renewed push for gun control.

There's been somewhat of an enjoyable respite from gun-control fanaticism for the past few years. But now it appears ready to rear its ugly head once again. This could be the roughest four years in a long time for those who advocate upholding the Second Amendment.

Take, for example, H.R. 45, introduced in January in the U.S. House of Representatives as "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 ... To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes."

The bill was introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Illinois.

Possibly the most ominous part of this bill is the definition of firearms covered by the legislation:

"SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

"(a) In General - In this Act:

"(1) FIREARM; LICENSED DEALER; LICENSED MANUFACTURER; STATE - The terms 'firearm', 'licensed dealer', 'licensed manufacturer', and 'State' have the meanings given those terms in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.

"(2) QUALIFYING FIREARM - The term 'qualifying firearm' has the meaning given the term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection (b) of this section.

"(b) Amendment to Title 18, United States Code - Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

"(36) The term 'qualifying firearm' --

"(A) means ---

"(i) any handgun; or

"(ii) any semiautomatic firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device; and

"(B) does not include any antique."

As you might have noticed, that pretty much covers everything except your repro Civil War musket and your potato gun.

If there's any good news, it's that the bill appears stuck in committee.

And speaking of Democrats and Illinois, state Rep. Kenneth Dunkin wants all gun owners to be forced to carry at least $1 million in personal liability insurance.

Ever checked out new Attorney General Eric Holder's attitude toward the Second Amendment? The Volokh Conspiracy, a Web site focusing on the courts and legal system, lists some Holder stances when he was deputy attorney general. He:
# advocated federal licensing of handgun owners;
# proposed a three-day waiting period on handgun sales;
# backed the rationing of handgun sales to a maximum of one per month;
# advocated giving the federal government the power to shut down gun shows;
# favored national gun registration.

This from someone who has sworn to uphold the Constitution and yes, that still includes the Second Amendment.

A Democratic initiative in New Jersey that would have limited handgun purchases to one every 30 days per individual failed by just one vote in the Senate. Waaaaay too close.

That's just a little bit of what's going on as gun-control zealots dust themselves off and try to gauge how far they can go in and with this new administration.

Did you notice what might be the scariest part of H.R. 45? It talks about the implementation of licensing and acquiring sales records for firearms ... "and for other purposes."

"Other purposes" could easily become handy catch-all way for any federal agen cy to collect any information it wanted on anyone it wanted. It could be effectively argued that such is already the case, but "other purposes" would sure make information-gathering a lot easier.

H.R. 45 is a measure that is absurd in its sweep, but absurdity too often rules the day in the halls of Congress. It appears that H.R. 45 shouldn't have a chance of passing out of committee, but stranger things have happened.

To help keep stranger things from happening, call your senators and representatives and tell them what you think of H.R. 45.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_11802727

This bill isn't being covered in print or on TV, but the argument over "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009" (HR 45) is building steam, and could become quite a distraction.

It is named for Blair Holt. Holt, the 16-year-old son of a Chicago police officer, was killed in 2007 while shielding a female classmate during a gang-related shooting on a Chicago city bus.

It was introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democrat. According to Wikipedia, Rep. Rush went A.W.O.L. from the Army in 1968, and founded Illinois' Black Panther Party. In 1969, he did six months in prison on a firearms conviction.

He is the only person to defeat Barak Obama in an election for public office, and said, of Obama, "Barack Obama went to Harvard and became an educated fool. Barack is a person who read about the civil-rights protests and thinks he knows all about it." Nevertheless, he supported Obama in the Presidential Primary, after it became politically expedient.

The bill would require individuals to obtain a federal license before they could possess a firearm. It would require the registration of all firearms, and for the owners thereof to report the sale, transfer, loss or theft of a firearm to federal authorities within 72 hours. The license would be a photo ID, complete with thumbprint, would be accompanied by training requirements and fees, and could be revoked for any number of reasons. The bill also provides criminal penalties for those in violation.

If permission/license is required to exercise a right, it ceases to be a right and becomes a privilege.

Murder is already illegal, and Chicago already restricts gun ownership. This did not stop the criminal who killed Blair Holt from doing so, and HR 45 won't prevent crime.
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_144398.asp

Read the following article written by Robert A Waters in 2003, and keep one thing in mind: this is a true story. If you don’t think this can happen here, think again.
http://spktruth2power.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/hr-45-family-protection-a-crime-where-we-are-headed/

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