Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Who Are the Real Extremists?

Friday, January 18, 2019

Who Are the Real Extremists?

NRA is often vilified by the gun-ban community and its supporters in the mainstream, legacy media as an “extremist” organization because of its steadfast defense of our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. A simple look into the anti-gun agenda, however, will show that proponents of restriction on a right protected by the U.S. Constitution are the true extremists.

In Oregon, we see just how extreme the anti-gun legislative agenda has become, thanks to state Senator Rob Wagner (D-19) and his proposal, Senate Bill 501.

SB 501, which Wagner proudly touts as having been drafted with the help of high school students, seeks to enact a number of draconian restrictions on Oregon’s law-abiding gun owners. Among the restrictions are standard anti-gun proposals like permits for all gun owners, waiting periods, mandatory storage, and penalties for failing to report lost or stolen firearms. The deadline for reporting a lost or stolen firearm has been arbitrarily set at 24 hours.

But when you turn over the responsibility of creating new laws to children, you can expect some real doozies, and SB 501 delivers in spades.

This truly extreme bill, should it become law, would establish magazine capacity limits and ammunition restrictions that only a child with little knowledge of the practical, lawful use of firearms could envisage.

Magazine capacity would be set at five rounds, which would be the lowest standard in the nation, and there is no grandfather clause. Perhaps the author is unaware that even the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, certainly not the friendliest court to the Second Amendment, found a seven round magazine limit unconstitutional.

If you own a magazine that holds six or more rounds, which is the vast majority of them, you must get rid of it in one of the manners prescribed by the legislation.

So much for self-defense and property rights.

The ammunition restrictions are even more extreme.

SB 501 sets a limit for purchasing ammunition at 20 rounds in any 30-day period. You read that right; 20 rounds.

Law-abiding gun owners commonly purchase ammunition in large quantities to save money. Not to mention the fact that most law-abiding gun owners own more than one firearm. Should SB 501 become law, you would be expected to not only be less frugal, but to portion out your ammunition purchases to a monthly trip every time you want to restock ammunition for a particular gun.

At 20-rounds per trip, however, the term “restock” is used very loosely.

The only exception for ammunition limits is for ammunition purchased and used at a range. As most gun owners know, range ammunition is usually there for convenience, and carries a premium price. Again, no more frugality for bringing your own ammunition.

To make matters worse, the law isn’t clear as to what it means when it offers the exception for “ammunition purchased and used at a target shooting range.” Are you required to use all the ammunition you purchase? Are you in violation of the law if you decide you have spent enough time at the range before you exhaust the more expensive ammunition you purchased, and go home with a few rounds? Is the range responsible for monitoring every visitor to ensure they expend every last round that has been purchased?

Then there are those who hunt birds and other small game. They regularly go through far more than 20 rounds on a hunting trip, especially one that covers several days. If they have not stockpiled ammunition with monthly purchases of 20 rounds, they are, presumably, simply out of luck once they run out. Oregon may become a bastion for out-of-state hunters, as they will not be affected by purchase limits, and in-state hunters will likely become frustrated and hunt less.

Competitive shooters? You better plan a few years in advance before you consider entering a competition.

The most egregious aspect of the ammunition limits, however, is that the more you shoot, the safer and more proficient you become. This legislation, sold as “gun-safety” bill, could actually make law-abiding gun owners less safe, as they will undoubtedly practice less. Especially those who do most of their practicing in a lawful, safe manner, but not at a “target shooting range” sanctioned by the gun control crowd.

Beyond the legislative extremism of SB 501, anti-gun extremists seem to wish that we would abandon the concept of self-defense altogether. Chicago police reported that a 19-year-old man with a firearm accosted a woman while she was at a bus stop. The woman struggled with her assailant, drew her own firearm, and shot him in the struggle.

While most would consider it completely justified for a woman, who had a permit to carry her concealed firearm, to use lethal force when facing an armed, violent attack, Think Progress editor Zack Ford didn’t see it that way. Ford fired off a tweet in response to the incident, shaming the victim when he wrote, “That’s not how justice works. The penalty for theft is not death, nor do we want it to be.”

What Ford ignores is the fact that the violent attacker was armed with his own firearm and he wasn’t simply attempting to commit theft. He was, in fact, committing aggravated assault and armed robbery (among other crimes).

Ford seems to think that a crime victim confronted with an armed assailant must believe that she is in no real danger of being harmed unless the assailant affirmatively announces such an intent. Fortunately, American self-defense law doesn’t work that way. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes put it “Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife. Or in this case; gun.

So, we ask you, who really are the extremists in the debate over firearms? Those who defend rights protected by the U.S. Constitution? Or, is it the people who propose legislation that would eviscerate those rights and try to shame crime victims for defending their lives?

 

 

IN THIS ARTICLE
Oregon Legal
TRENDING NOW
Colorado: General Assembly Continues to Follow California's Lead; Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled For Hearing

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Colorado: General Assembly Continues to Follow California's Lead; Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled For Hearing

The Colorado General Assembly continues to follow California's lead when it comes to gun control, this year already pushing for an 11% Excise tax on firearms/ammunition and now pursuing a ban on commonly owned semi-automatic ...

Wisconsin: Legislation Updating the Definition of Muzzloader Signed by Governor Evers

Friday, March 15, 2024

Wisconsin: Legislation Updating the Definition of Muzzloader Signed by Governor Evers

Yesterday, the governor signed Wisconsin Act 116, formally Senate Bill 587, into law. This legislation establishes a new definition for “muzzleloaders” that would allow for the use of innovative technological advancements that could benefit sportsmen, ...

Maine: NRA Fires Back Against Gun Grabbers

Friday, March 15, 2024

Maine: NRA Fires Back Against Gun Grabbers

For months, anti-gun politicians and gun-grabbing groups have been running wild in Augusta, spreading misinformation about firearms in a desperate attempt to pass the most extreme gun-control in the country. The proposals carry the same theme, ...

Delaware: Senate Passes Maryland-Style Permit to Purchase Scheme

Friday, March 15, 2024

Delaware: Senate Passes Maryland-Style Permit to Purchase Scheme

Last night, the Delaware Senate passed Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) by a vote of 15 to 6. This extreme legislation will impose a Maryland-style “handgun qualified purchase card” and a handgun transfer ...

Virginia: More than a Dozen Anti-Gun Bills Sent to the Governor!

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Virginia: More than a Dozen Anti-Gun Bills Sent to the Governor!

The newly elected Virginia General Assembly has prioritized restricting law-abiding citizens' Second Amendment rights and has made good on that priority this session. This year, dozens of anti-gun bills have been considered in both chambers ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Introduced in General Assembly

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Introduced in General Assembly

Anti-Gun extremist State Reps. Tim Hernandez (D-04) and Elisabeth Epps (D-06) introduced House Bill 24-1292, a bill banning the manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of so called “assault weapons”. 

Washington Post’s Somewhat Pro-Gun Column Inadvertently Exposes Problem with Mandatory Storage Laws

News  

Monday, March 11, 2024

Washington Post’s Somewhat Pro-Gun Column Inadvertently Exposes Problem with Mandatory Storage Laws

We generally don’t expect to see the Washington Post say anything positive about firearms or law-abiding gun owners, although there are occasional Op-Eds from pro-Second Amendment lawmakers, unbiased researchers and Constitutional scholars, and the like.

Appropriations Bill Passes with Language Protecting Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights

News  

Monday, March 11, 2024

Appropriations Bill Passes with Language Protecting Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights

Last week, Congress approved a package of legislation to fund various government agencies that corrects a longstanding and shameful practice that had been depriving American veterans of their Second Amendment rights since 1998.

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes Committee and Hearings Postponed Due to Weather

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes Committee and Hearings Postponed Due to Weather

Today, HB 24-1348 which mandates how firearms must be stored in unattended vehicles, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee and is now eligible for a final vote on the House Floor. Please contact your lawmakers by using the ...

Utah: Governor Cox Signs Legislation Protecting Financial Privacy of Gun Owners!

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Utah: Governor Cox Signs Legislation Protecting Financial Privacy of Gun Owners!

Today, Governor Spencer Cox signed HB 406, legislation that provides important financial privacy protections for gun owners when purchasing firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition. The NRA would like to thank Governor Cox for signing this ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.