The new Congress has begun, and so has the fight for our right to keep and bear arms. Based on bills introduced on the first day of the 113th Congress, we clearly face the most serious threat to our fundamental Second Amendment rights in the last twenty years, and law-abiding gun owners need to act now to ward off an unprecedented onslaught on our rights.
While introduction of Senate bills won’t start until January 22, press reports indicate some of the targets of anti-gun Representatives in the U.S. House. (Please note that the links below will not have complete information on these bills for a few days.)
Anti-gun Democrat Carolyn McCarthy (N.Y.) introduced four bills:
- H.R. 138 would ban transfer or possession of standard capacity magazines, targeting those that hold more than 10 rounds.
- H.R. 141 would impose federal regulation of gun shows. This legislation would require background checks on all gun sales at guns shows, and impose addition federal regulations on these traditional local events.
- H.R. 142 would ban Internet or mail order ammunition purchases, require a federal license for all ammunition sellers and mandate reporting of “bulk” ammo purchases. The record keeping and licensing requirements included here will place a serious burden on buyers and sellers and vastly increase the cost of ammunition—which is why the previous federal recordkeeping requirements were repealed in the 1980s.
McCarthy also introduced H.R. 137, which according to press reports would create a national database of people “prohibited” from buying a firearm. Since the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is already supposed to be just such a database, the purpose of the legislation is currently unclear.
Anti-gun Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) has reintroduced his legislation to ban all private firearm transfers. In the 113th Congress it is now H.R. 21. This bill would make it illegal, for example, to give a firearm as a gift, even to a close family member, without involving a federally licensed dealer.
Reps. Bobby Rush (D- Ill.) and Rush Holt (D-N.J.) have each introduced gun registration bills, H.R. 34 and H.R. 117 respectively. Federal law has prohibited the establishment of a firearms owner registration system for decades. These bills would override these longstanding protections of gun owners’ privacy.
While each of these bills is a serious threat to our rights, we know that this is just the beginning. We are sure to see semi-auto bans and many other anti-gun bills in the next few weeks.
These bills have just been introduced, so we will soon be assessing their full impact, but gun owners should act now to let their U.S. Representative know that you oppose all these anti-gun bills.
As noted earlier, Senate bills can’t be introduced until January 22, and we will report on those bills as soon as we have information. However, do not wait to contact your Senators and tell them you oppose all new restrictions on your Second Amendment rights.
To find contact information for your elected officials, you can use the "Write Your Reps" feature at www.NRAILA.org. You can also reach your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121, and your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121.
And of course, keep watching the Grassroots Alert for more details as we enter a truly trying time for all who care about the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
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