While many conservatives are distracted, if not overwhelmed by news of the illegal alien
invasion, the assault on freedom of speech and election integrity in HR 1, and the vast sums of money being funneled to favored Leftist causes and politicians in the so-called COVID relief bill, Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her Far Left anti-gun and anti-Constitution allies in the House are preparing to sneak through Congress their first round of assaults on the Second Amendment.
The first two bills on their agenda to be voted on this week are:
H.R. 8, which will impose a Universal Background REGISTRATION system by requiring FBI screening for every firearms transfer (with very few exceptions); and,
H.R. 1446, which will open up the background check process to very lengthy delays (as it would remove the 3-day limit that an FFL must wait before transferring a firearm).
These anti-constitutional bills are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg, said our friend Erich Pratt of Gun Owners of America. The Washington Free Beacon reported yesterday that H.R. 1446 would “steer taxpayer dollars to a leading gun-control ally to consult on a federal study of the background check system.”
As Michael Hammond observed in a recent article for Ammoland, on the original Brady Law, Republicans fought hard to prevent the FBI from blocking all gun transactions by simply refusing to give its approval to a Brady Check. If the FBI REFUSED TO TAKE ANY POSITION on a gun purchase for three business days, the 1993 compromise provided the transfer could go ahead. So how’d that work out?
For the last 25 years, gun grabbers in the government have bludgeoned sellers to refuse to deliver a firearm after 3 days even if they legally could. And now Congress will soon be forced to vote on a bill (H.R. 1446) that solidifies the compromise entirely and replaces it with language that allows the government to hold up your constitutional right to purchase a firearm weeks and weeks for NO REASON.
And the results of needless delays have been measured in lives.
Remember Carol Bowne of New Jersey who was forced to wait for weeks to purchase a handgun? On the day her estranged boyfriend murdered her in 2015, she was still waiting for approval to purchase a handgun, which she needed to protect herself from the very man who killed her!
And as Mr. Hammond asked rhetorically: How many residents of riot-torn inner cities are huddling with their families, as we speak, because bureaucrats have used delay tactics to deny gun owners their rights for weeks, months, or even years? And they’ve done so for no other reason than that the bureaucrats hate guns and don’t believe anyone should own them?
What’s the bottom line on these bills?
Ammoland’s Mr. Hammond says Republicans and conservatives should not get suckered into trying to “fix” these Democrat gun-grabs.
H.R. 8 cannot be enforced without a federal gun registry, will not prevent crime, and will turn otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals for simply loaning a firearm to a friend or many family members. Common firearms transfers would become crimes under this bill, resulting in penalties of up to one year in prison and/or a $100,000 fine.
Likewise, H.R. 1446 would turn a constitutional right into a privilege and eliminate the necessary three day proceed to sale provision under the federal background check system. In its place would be an indefinite delay on exercising a constitutional right simply by the inaction of the government. The three-day default transfer window is a deliberate safeguard of a constitutional right, not a loophole. Adding arbitrary and indefinite delays will wrongly affect millions of people and make it more difficult for law-abiding Americans to defend themselves and their families.
We urge conservatives to call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard (1-866-220-0044) to tell their Representative and Senators that H.R. 8 and H.R 1446 cannot be “fixed” and they must be voted down to preserve our God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
CHQ Editor George Rasley is a certified rifle and pistol instructor, a Glock ® certified pistol armorer and a veteran of over 300 political campaigns, including every Republican presidential campaign from 1976 to 2008. He served as lead advance representative for Governor Sarah Palin in 2008 and has served as a staff member, consultant, or advance representative for some of America's most recognized conservative Republican political figures, including President Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. A member of American MENSA, he served in policy and communications positions on the House and Senate staff, and during the George H.W. Bush administration he served on the White House staff of Vice President Dan Quayle.
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