The Power of The Gun Lobby

Buried in the fine print of the government appropriations bill now heading for passage is a potent measure of the gun lobby's muscle in the Republican-controlled Congress. There, amid the reams of routine housekeeping necessities, is a provision designed to gut the current requirement that gun dealers maintain their records of customers' identity checks for 90 days. In the name of the privacy rights of American sportsmen, the change will let records be expunged after 24 hours, making it that much more difficult for law enforcement to track guns that have been used in crimes.

I did not see this posted here when it originally came out. Sorry if it is a duplicate.

No author is listed, but the "article" is one of the most misleading and factually flawed rants I have ever seen from a "mainstream" publication!

"a provision designed to gut the current requirement that gun dealers maintain their records of customers' identity checks for 90 days."

The author has no clue what they are talking about, the provision they are outraged about losing NEVER EXISTED in any manner remotely close to what they describe.

What the bill does do is to restore the relevant federal law to what it was intended to be when the "Brady Law" was passed.

What the autor is trying to reference is a manipulation by the Clinton administration and Janet Reno to create a virtual permanent data-base of gun buyers, in direct violation of provisions contained in the MV-86 Firearms Owners Protection Act.

Reality check, the referenced budget bill provison ONLY changes the time frame that the Fed. and State Gov. is allowed to keep the information generated on gun buyers who have PASSED their back round check. The change will make it more difficult for Gov. Org. to flaunt the law in an effort to create an illicit database of gun owners.

It makes no change regarding purchase attempts by persons who FAIL the check.

It makes NO change in how long gun dealers must maintane their sales record forms, which are the yellow form #4473 that has been in use since 1968.

Firearm dealers must still keep those records in their company files for TWENTY YEARS!

The passage whining that the "AW" ban is likely to expire only reinforces the authors ranting bias.

The budget bill has been passed, but I have not heard weather or not the provision eliminating records being kept for "90 Days*" remained in the bill.

*Permanently, since such records are routinely backed up for redundant storage.

Yep, MSNBC had a 'special' on tonight about .50 BMG rifles and militias, trying to revive the 'radical wacko right wing anti-government terrorist conspiracy'.

They even cited the attack on President Regan (which was conducted from less than 15 feet with a .22 pistol) to show 'how much more deadly these rifles which can kill from a mile away' are. (Funny, no one brought up the fact that Hinkley is going on unsupervised visits to his parents.)

Interview with Waxman (Gack!) and BATF types, showing a 1 mile range circle and a map of D.C.

They probably assembled the militia part of it from Clinton-era interviews. I really wish people wouldn't feed these twits a bunch of militant sounding drivel to quote on TV. Threatening to start a shootin' war won't collect any prizes from the sheeple, just guarantee they think someone is wacko.

Unfortunately, that does not stop congresscritters like Waxman from lobbying the public for their pet causes.

The BATF can get by with pseudo documentary presentations of evidence and claim they are not lobbying, let the commentators do that part.

Allegedly the chap on there who sold parts sets which would facillitate manufacturing a .50 BMG rifle was 'manufacturing firearms' for sale. His defense was that he was selling parts sets, not firearms, and as such did not need to do the licensing bit with the BATF, nor put serial numbers on the parts sets, nor do the associated recordkeeping. Apparently that was upheld.

Since that ruling, some jailhouse snitch claimed he conspired to harm the Judge who handed down the initial ruling, and he was incarcerated for conspiracy.

You can legally manufacture non-fully automatic firearms which conform with NFA standards and the rest of federal (and State and Local) law for your own use, so long as you do not sell them, and you do not have to have serial numbers or manufacturer's name on them.

But the president has made no call for renewal, even in his poignant State of the Union passages about protecting America's children from harm. Rather, the House majority leader, Tom DeLay, has made the true state of this issue clear, reassuring the gun lobby that there is no way renewal will be passed by his chamber.

Everything hinges on Tom Delay and the Republicans who know that gun Rights is the way to stay in office. If we can get past this and the sunset occurs, there may be a time when all 80 million gun owners will support the Republican Party. If that happens the anti-Rights, Anti-gun dem party will cease to exist.

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BANG!