DiFi's Gun Control Bill: More Of The Same Old Tricks

The full official text of Senator Diane Feinstein’s (known affectionately as DiFi to Californians) gun control bill won’t be available until it’s assigned a legislative I.D. number. Until then I respectfully caution everyone to hold off on either the hand wringing or partying until the devil in the details has been fully vetted.

But for now we have the “official summary from Senator Feinstein’s website, so we can at least see where the bigger bar fights (pun intended) are going to occur. So let’s get started.

 Assault Weapons Ban of 2013

Mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora, and Tucson have demonstrated all too clearly the need to regulate military-style assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines. These weapons allow a gunman to fire a large number of rounds quickly and without having to reload.

Rebuttal-1.  The guns used in all three examples were merely tools used by the perpetrators. In the liberal world of instant gratification (ironically fostered by internet video games) it’s all too easy to simply blame and ban guns as a quick fix to a far deeper problem. In all three cases there were either plenty of warning signs or an overwhelming failure of systems already in place, or enforcement of laws already on the books. Even in the worst case of Sandy Hook, the logic, or lack of it, professing the banning of so-called assault rifles will forever prevent such a horrid event from happening again… makes about as much sense and has the intellectual vacancy as professing the banning of sports cars will prevent DUI fatalities.

Let’s say Obama and DiFi got their fondest wish. That at midnight tonight, every citizen-owned bullet, magazine, and firearm vanished off the face of the planet – POOF! And the next day, every manufacturer decided either to close shop or never again produce civilian weapons of any kind. Okay, so when the first kid walks into a classroom and throws gasoline bombs, sets off homemade internet recipe explosives, or detonates a five gallon propane tank, then what are you going to scream, cry and exploit little children in front of a TV camera to ban? Because it will happen!

Say what you want about teenagers, but as a whole they don’t just wake up one morning to the idea of killing their entire family, mass murdering a school full of children and then committing suicide by shooting it out with a SWAT team! No, there is a much deeper problem. And perhaps we should start with looking into the people who would expel from school a six year old for playing cowboy with an index finger/thumb gun. A little girl of five who told a classmate she wanted to shoot soap bubbles from a non-gun like bubble maker that was still at home. Or another little girl who threw away a piece of torn white paper that needed far too much imagination to even consider it looking like a real handgun. And then, brought up in front of the class and “FRISKED” TSA style? For what, paper bullets?

In today’s news there was a story of a Columbus Ohio School district changing 5300 student grades from fail to passing. With one principal even admitting to changing over 500 grades personally. Another story was how the Washington D.C. school district is seriously considering dropping all “CIVICS CLASSES”, because that silly old Constitution, even just the first ten or so amendments is just too hard to teach and for the kids to learn. So what happens when those kids can’t cope and are ridiculed in high school, trade school, or if they’re lucky to enough get there, flunk out of college. But then if you don’t even know you have 1st, 2nd, 4th or 5th Amendment rights… you also won’t know when they are taken away.

The legislation bans the sale, transfer, manufacturing and importation of:

 All semiautomatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one military feature: pistol grip; forward grip; folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; barrel shroud; or threaded barrel.

Rebuttal-2. 

1.  Hand drills have pistol grips; kitchen food mixers have pistol grips. A pistol grip is simply ergonomic and has no effect on function or rates of fire. Pistol grips are also preferred by shooters suffering from arthritis and other functionality limiting conditions. Can you say A.D.A.?
2. The term “forward grip” is highly subjective. Unless the full text has an exact description, any piece of wood or plastic attached to the forward end of the firearm could be declared a forward grip. And just how does a “forward grip” make any gun shoot faster or create criminal or psychotic tendencies?
3. A telescoping or adjustable stock is simply that. It’s an easy way to properly fit a rifle to one or more shooters.
4. A barrel shroud is simply a heat shield. Nothing more, nothing less. Yes, they look cool, but they tend to get in the way when doing maintenance.
5. A ROCKET OR GRENADE LAUNCHER??? REALLY??? Aside from TV and the movies, when and where have you ever seen one? Name me one case where a grenade or rocket launcher was used in a crime? And where would anyone get the grenade rounds or rockets to begin with? The ninety-nine cent bazooka store?
6. As for the “can accept any detachable magazine”. That’s like banning from import any car that has a gas tank!
7. Nearly all rifle barrels are threaded or grooved on the end to fit muzzle breaks, flash suppressors and front sights. Unless the full version has text that specifies threading solely for the mounting of an already illegal suppressor, any rifle barrel could apply.

 All semiautomatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one military feature: threaded barrel; second pistol grip; barrel shroud; capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip; or semiautomatic version of an automatic firearm.

Rebuttal-3.

1. “… or semiautomatic versions of an automatic firearm” is code for make the entire Beretta 92 series / Glock 17, 19, 22, 23, 34,35 pistols (pretty much the most popular pistols on the market) all illegal to own or possess, without actually writing or admitting it within the bill. Why? Because the Beretta 96 and Glock 18 look just like their civilian versions. Words mean things and this section is just plain sneaky political subterfuge. This would be like banning any car that has a NASCAR body lookalike.
2. A handgun shroud is not only a heat shield, it’s often how sights & scopes, especially those designed for and used in shooting sports like the “OLYMPICS” are mounted.
3. As above, the definition of threaded is subjective unless specified.
4. This one is just plain silly because proper handgun shooting technique goes right out the window with a forward grip. Even more than a grenade & rocket launcher on rifles, forward grips on handguns, even for show are rare. And that also goes for forward grips that can store a spare magazine.

 All semiautomatic rifles and handguns that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.

Rebuttal-4.  Honestly, I can’t think of one modern firearm on the market that meets this description, so this must be a “just in case someone makes one” provision. So with so many Americans out of work, the bad economy and people in New Jersey living in tents without heat, power, water or sewer in the dead of an East Coast winter… U.S. Senators spending time coming up with ways to ban guns that someday might be made… That’s just so wrong on too many levels!

 All semiautomatic shotguns that have a folding, telescoping, or detachable stock; pistol grip; fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 5 rounds; ability to accept a detachable magazine; forward grip; grenade launcher or rocket launcher; or shotgun with a revolving cylinder.

Rebuttal-5.

1. Several popular tube-fed semi-auto shotguns designed and sold for home defense and competition shooting stack six rounds standard. Many competition shotguns also have tube extensions to bump up to ten rounds for scenario shoots. And again depending on the full bill text, trading out the tube plunger for a longer one to restrict to five rounds may not legalize these shotguns, because they will still be “CAPABLE” of loading six shells. So this is just another sneaky nanny state politician way to ban guns that have rarely, if ever been used for criminal purposes.
2. The revolving cylinder restriction is obviously meant to ban the so-called “street sweeper” shotguns. However this section also bans a really neat saddle gun known as the Taurus Circuit Judge that chambers five rounds of either .410 shot shells or .45 Long Colt. It’s not an overall large gun, so it would make either a great protection gun for a woman or first rifle/shotgun for a young beginning hunter. Not to mention the revolving action makes it extra safe for new shooters.
3.  As for the “able to accept a detachable magazine”. Just what’s the problem with someone owning a detachable magazine-fed shotgun? Although I have to admit the ones I’ve test fired didn’t cycle anywhere near as fast as advertised, the mags were heavy to carry, clumsy to change, and the gun itself was extremely overpriced for the home protection market. And with the slow or jam rate of fire, I can’t think of any competitor who would want or use one!
4. As stated above, a pistol grip is simply ergonomic and has no effect on function or rates of fire. Pistol grips are also preferred by shooters suffering from arthritis and other functionality limiting conditions. Can you say A.D.A.?
5. As above, the term “forward grip” is highly subjective. Unless the full text has an exact description, any piece of wood or plastic attached to the forward end of the firearm could be declared a forward grip. And just how does a “forward grip” make any gun shoot faster or create criminal or psychotic tendencies?
6. As above, a telescoping or adjustable stock is simply that. It’s an easy way to properly fit a rifle to one or more shooters.
7. 7.      Anyone starting to see a pattern here?
8. As above, a ROCKET OR GRENADE LAUNCHER??? And again, REALLY??? And why would anyone mount a launcher to a shotgun when 12 gauge Sabot and military & Police door buster loads are much more effective.

 All ammunition feeding devices (magazines, strips, and drums) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.

Rebuttal-6.

1. First my thanks to all Californians who wrote letters, called, tweeted and otherwise made it very clear to DiFi her earlier seven round magazine restriction just wouldn’t fly. No way, no how!
2. Having taken their lead from the Clinton Assault Weapons Act, several states (like California) enacted their own ten round magazine restrictions. This in turn prompted the firearms industry to voluntarily produce a sizeable variety of ten round mags to meet the market demand. So for states like California the effects of a national ten round restriction would be negligible.
3. Let me say here and now I totally respect the right of those in states allowing civilians to own magazines with a higher capacity than the ten we are allowed here in California. But I do have a problem with the “pry my mags from my cold dead fingers” attitude. If a “from now on” ten round mag limit is the carrot that brings the common sense negotiators to the table, then as long as you get to keep the hi-caps you have and buy up what’s left before the ban takes effect, I say let’s talk. And this is going to get me in trouble with a few friends, but in all my time as a competitive shooter, I never loaded more than ten rounds into any firearm, including so-called assault rifles. And that includes competitions held in hi-cap legal states.
4. Drum mags may look cool, but they have a thin flat wire spring that has to be wound while loading. And more often than not the spring gets overwound (or under wound) to the point where multiple jams and failures repeatedly occur. And with their average price, even the Chinese imports are in my opinion far too expensive to simply look cool.

 157 specifically-named firearms (listed at the end of this document).

Rebuttal-7.   As predicted, this ban names the straight stocked non-accessorized Ruger Mini-14 Tactical Rifle by make and model. However (again big kudos for all the calls and letters) the Mini-14 Ranch Rifle remains perfectly legal. With the only difference between the two being a composite plastic stock instead of wood, vintage “peep” sights instead of Ruger’s standard open sights, and a nostalgic M-1 muzzle break. Pretty much the Mini-14 Tactical was built to pay homage to the famous Garand Tanker that some believe was the rifle that won WWII.

The legislation excludes the following weapons from the bill:

 Any weapon that is lawfully possessed at the date of the bill’s enactment;

 Any firearm manually operated by a bolt, pump, lever or slide action;

 Assault weapons used by military, law enforcement, and retired law enforcement; and

 Antique weapons.

Rebuttal-8.   Again, I’m going to reserve comment until I can digest the full official text.

The legislation protects hunting and sporting firearms:

 The bill excludes 2,258 legitimate hunting and sporting rifles and shotguns by specific make and model.

Rebuttal-9.   Once again, these are all rifles and shotguns that would shoot exactly the same, regardless of the addition or lack of any cosmetic accessories.

The legislation strengthens the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and state bans by:

 Moving from a 2-characteristic test to a 1-characteristic test.   

o The bill also makes the ban harder to evade by eliminating the easy-to-remove bayonet mounts and flash suppressors from the characteristics test.

 Banning dangerous aftermarket modifications and workarounds.

Rebuttal-10.   Will someone please explain how having or not having a spring clip and/or a fancy cutout on the muzzle will in any way spur crime? Or for that matter, end violence as we know it?

Again, this ban only deals with an aversion to non-functional cosmetic features. This makes as much sense as telling a woman she can’t match both her purse and shoes to her dress, for fear that matching both might cause her to drive drunk.

o Bump or slide fire stocks, which are modified stocks that enable semi-automatic weapons to fire at rates similar to fully automatic machine guns.

Rebuttal-11.   As far as I’m concerned they can have this one. Dang things are too expensive and the ones I tested never worked anyway!

o So-called “bullet buttons” that allow the rapid replacement of ammunition magazines, frequently used as a workaround to prohibitions on detachable magazines.

o Thumbhole stocks, a type of stock that was created as a workaround to avoid prohibitions on pistol grips.

 Adding a ban on the importation of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines.

 Eliminating the 10-year sunset that allowed the original federal ban to expire.

Rebuttal-12.  Even Obama has admitted that nothing in this bill or his 23 E.O.s would do anything to prevent another Sandy Hook or other crimes.

The legislation addresses the millions of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines currently in existence by:

 Requiring a background check on all sales or transfers of a grandfathered assault weapon.

o This background check can be run through the FBI or, if a state chooses, initiated with a state agency, as with the existing background check system.

Rebuttal-13.  The average cost of such background checks is $150.00. Who’s going to pay for them all? Which budget are all those computers, servers, new agents and infrastructure costs coming out of? Which also means this bill is but another unfunded mandate from big brother to the cash strapped States. But then I guess the government can simply print more money to cover it.

 Prohibiting the sale or transfer of large-capacity ammunition feeding devices lawfully possessed on the date of enactment of the bill.

Rebuttal-14.  This is just dumb. There is no way humanly possible to track or prove who owned what when, or for how long. This section only serves to create an underground black market magazine trade impossible to police.

 Allowing states and localities to use federal Byrne JAG grant funds to conduct a voluntary buy-back program for grandfathered assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices.

Rebuttal-15.   I like gun buy-back programs. They get guns away from people without the common sense or level of responsibility required to own one in the first place.

 Imposing a safe storage requirement for grandfathered firearms, to keep them away from prohibited persons.

Rebuttal-16.   Fine. But how about a 100% income tax deduction for the purchase of a gun safe and installation such as being bolted down to a concrete foundation?

 Requiring that assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices manufactured after the date of the bill’s enactment be engraved with the serial number and date of manufacture of the weapon.

Rebuttal-17.  All this will do is increase the value of “matched set” firearms and do nothing to prevent crime.

Once again the full text of the bill has yet to be publicly published and I fully expect even more intellectual dishonesty, political double speak and creative wording intended to purposely confuse and defraud “We The People”.

Epilogue.  The thing to keep in mind is that Senator Feinstein is in an uber-safe district. So much so that like Pelose, DiFi could pass away in office and still get re-elected, TWICE!  This makes her the only member in either house that could offer this bill and get away without a massive uproar from constituents. However, your Congress and Senate representatives really do need to hear from you. And be specific. Nothing scares a politician more than an informed voter. There may also be Town Hall meetings you can attend and stand up to the liberal bullies who so fear those of us who continue to “cling to our guns and religion”. Print this summary, take it with you and don’t let them intimidate you with their pious, better and so-much smarter than you attitudes! Challenge them with reason, common sense and critical thinking. They have no defense against that.

The balance of this summary is liberal self-supporting propaganda and gun lists that will take days to go through. If you are interested in going there, the balance of the summary is included below with my compliments.

Assault Weapon Bans Have Been Proven to Be Effective

The 1994 Assault Weapons Ban was effective at reducing crime and getting these military-style weapons off our streets. Since the ban expired, more than 350 people have been killed and more than 450 injured by these weapons.

 A Justice Department study of the assault weapons ban found that it was responsible for a 6.7% decrease in total gun murders, holding all other factors equal.

Source: Jeffrey A. Roth & Christopher S. Koper, “Impact Evaluation of the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994,” (March 1997).

 The same study also found that “Assault weapons are disproportionately involved in murders with multiple victims, multiple wounds per victim, and police officers as victims.”

 The use of assault weapons in crime declined by more than two-thirds by about nine years after 1994 Assault Weapons Ban took effect.

o Source: Christopher S. Koper, “An Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Impacts on Gun Markets and Gun Violence, 1994-2003” (June 2004), University of Pennsylvania, Report to the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice.

 The percentage of firearms seized by police in Virginia that had high-capacity magazines dropped significantly during the ban. That figure has doubled since the ban expired.

o Source: David S. Fallis and James V. Grimaldi, “In Virginia, high-yield clip seizures rise,” Washington Post, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/22/AR201101... 

 When Maryland imposed a more stringent ban on assault pistols and high-capacity magazines in 1994, it led to a 55% drop in assault pistols recovered by the Baltimore Police Department.

o Source: Douglas S. Weil & Rebecca C. Knox, Letter to the Editor, The Maryland Ban on the Sale of Assault Pistols and High-Capacity Magazines: Estimating the Impact in Baltimore, 87 Am. J. of Public Health 2, Feb. 1997..

 37% of police departments reported seeing a noticeable increase in criminals’ use of assault weapons since the 1994 federal ban expired.

o Source: Police Executive Research Forum, Guns and Crime: Breaking New Ground by Focusing on the Local Impact (May 2010).

List of Firearms Prohibited by Name

Rifles: All AK types, including the following: AK, AK47, AK47S, AK–74, AKM, AKS, ARM, MAK90, MISR, NHM90, NHM91, Rock River Arms LAR–47, SA85, SA93, Vector Arms AK–47, VEPR, WASR–10, and WUM, IZHMASH Saiga AK, MAADI AK47 and ARM, Norinco 56S, 56S2, 84S, and 86S, Poly Technologies AK47 and AKS; All AR types, including the following: AR–10, AR–15, Armalite M15 22LR Carbine, Armalite M15–T, Barrett REC7, Beretta AR–70, Bushmaster ACR, Bushmaster Carbon 15, Bushmaster MOE series, Bushmaster XM15, Colt Match Target Rifles, DoubleStar AR rifles, DPMS Tactical Rifles, Heckler & Koch MR556, Olympic Arms, Remington R–15 rifles, Rock River Arms LAR–15, Sig Sauer SIG516 rifles, Smith & Wesson M&P15 Rifles, Stag Arms AR rifles, Sturm, Ruger & Co. SR556 rifles; Barrett M107A1; Barrett M82A1; Beretta CX4 Storm; Calico Liberty Series; CETME Sporter; Daewoo K–1, K–2, Max 1, Max 2, AR 100, and AR 110C; Fabrique Nationale/FN Herstal FAL, LAR, 22 FNC, 308 Match, L1A1 Sporter, PS90, SCAR, and FS2000; Feather Industries AT–9; Galil Model AR and Model ARM; Hi-Point Carbine; HK–91, HK–93, HK–94, HK–PSG–1 and HK USC; Kel-Tec Sub–2000, SU–16, and RFB; SIG AMT, SIG PE–57, Sig Sauer SG 550, and Sig Sauer SG 551; Springfield Armory SAR–48; Steyr AUG; Sturm, Ruger Mini-14 Tactical Rife M–14/20CF; All Thompson rifles, including the following: Thompson M1SB, Thompson T1100D, Thompson T150D, Thompson T1B, Thompson T1B100D, Thompson T1B50D, Thompson T1BSB, Thompson T1–C, Thompson T1D, Thompson T1SB, Thompson T5, Thompson T5100D, Thompson TM1, Thompson TM1C; UMAREX UZI Rifle; UZI Mini Carbine, UZI Model A Carbine, and UZI Model B Carbine; Valmet M62S, M71S, and M78; Vector Arms UZI Type; Weaver Arms Nighthawk; Wilkinson Arms Linda Carbine.

Pistols: All AK–47 types, including the following: Centurion 39 AK pistol, Draco AK–47 pistol, HCR AK–47 pistol, IO Inc. Hellpup AK–47 pistol, Krinkov pistol, Mini Draco AK–47 pistol, Yugo Krebs Krink pistol; All AR–15 types, including the following: American Spirit AR–15 pistol, Bushmaster Carbon 15 pistol, DoubleStar Corporation AR pistol, DPMS AR–15 pistol, Olympic Arms AR–15 pistol, Rock River Arms LAR 15 pistol; Calico Liberty pistols; DSA SA58 PKP FAL pistol; Encom MP–9 and MP–45; Heckler & Koch model SP-89 pistol; Intratec AB–10, TEC–22 Scorpion, TEC–9, and TEC–DC9; Kel-Tec PLR 16 pistol; The following MAC types: MAC–10, MAC–11; Masterpiece Arms MPA A930 Mini Pistol, MPA460 Pistol, MPA Tactical Pistol, and MPA Mini Tactical Pistol; Military Armament Corp. Ingram M–11, Velocity Arms VMAC; Sig Sauer P556 pistol; Sites Spectre; All Thompson types, including the following: Thompson TA510D, Thompson TA5; All UZI types, including: Micro-UZI.

Shotguns: Franchi LAW–12 and SPAS 12; All IZHMASH Saiga 12 types, including the following: IZHMASH Saiga 12, IZHMASH Saiga 12S, IZHMASH Saiga 12S EXP–01, IZHMASH Saiga 12K, IZHMASH Saiga 12K–030, IZHMASH Saiga 12K–040 Taktika; Streetsweeper; Striker 12.

Belt-fed semiautomatic firearms: All belt-fed semiautomatic firearms including TNW M2HB.