Posted on 03/10/2014 8:28:17 AM PDT by Kaslin
>The latest gun control law in Connecticut has crossed a very frightening line. A standoff has been created between the government and tens of thousands of gun owners now considered felons. It marks the beginning of an Orwellian new phase. Gun owners saw it coming, as evidenced by their recent adoption in recent years of the defiant expression “molon labe.” The phrase originated from Spartan General-King Leonidas, who reportedly responded with “Come and get them!” to Persian Emperor Xerxes’ demand that the Spartans surrender their weapons at the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartans fought valiantly, but were ultimately defeated. With the prequel to the Hollywood bestselling movie 300 just released last week, Americans are now even more aware of the phrase.
Until now, gun control laws hadn’t mandated the confiscation of weapons; generally, banned guns were grandfathered in under previous laws so their current owners could continue to legally own them. The Connecticut law changes all that. Passed last year in response to the Sandy Hook shooting, SB 1160 bans so-called “assault weapons” - certain rifles, more recently known as AR-15s, that have been singled out based on purely cosmetic criteria - and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
The firearms have been banned based on how “scary” they look, not their actual usage in crimes. According to a study from the BATF that came out a few years ago, none of the top 10 guns used in crimes in the U.S. were so-called assault weapons; they were all pistols or revolvers. In fact, the #5 gun used in crimes was a shotgun, which Vice President Joe Biden advised Americans last year to use for self-defense.
The only way to legally retain one of these newly banned firearms or magazines in Connecticut now is to register it - but most gun owners do not want their name on a government list. They are well aware that a list of gun owners can someday be used by the government for confiscation. If gun owners didn’t register their firearms or magazines prior to the December 31, 2013 deadline mandated by the legislation, their firearms will be subject to confiscation and the owners considered guilty of a felony.
So far, it appears that the vast majority of gun owners affected by the legislation did not register their guns prior to the December 31 deadline, making between 50,000 and 350,000 gun owners felons. This is frightening, considering the law doesn’t just make the violation a misdemeanor, it makes it a felony, which could result in a prison sentence. Fewer than 50,000 gun owners registered their firearms by the deadline to comply with the law.
Gun owners who sent in their applications for registration after the deadline have reported already receiving letters by the government instructing them to get rid of their guns. The Hartford Courant notes that the government has records of gun owners who went through background checks in order to purchase AR-15s. The government could potentially go after any of those gun owners who failed to register their guns.
There is shock that gun owners are showing defiance. "I honestly thought from my own standpoint that the vast majority would register," said Sen. Tony Guglielmo, R-Stafford, the ranking GOP senator on the legislature's public safety committee. "If you pass laws that people have no respect for and they don't follow them, then you have a real problem."
On January 30, Federal District Court judge Alfred V. Covello upheld the law in Shew v. Malloy. While he admitted that it placed a substantial burden on the Second Amendment, he claimed that it “substantially related to the important governmental interest of public safety and crime control.” It is astonishing that a judge would use that as justification, considering even Congress sunsetted the federal assault weapons ban due to a lack of evidence showing it was effective.
Many judges come up with rulings based on their personal political views, or are pressured into a certain decision by outside special interests. Judicial activism is nothing new. Judicial activists have successfully forced a tortured, restricted interpretation of the Second Amendment over the years, in order to diminish its validity. Covello’s disappointing decision is currently being appealed, backed by the powerful NRA.
Trying to prosecute 50,000 to 350,000 gun owners would be insanity. The liberal activist politicians who passed the foolish legislation in response to an emotional response to the Sandy Hook Shooting do not represent the will of the people who elected them, who want the Constitution upheld. In many ways, the Second Amendment is our most important right, because without it, we cannot protect any of our other rights. There is a reason why it is the Second Amendment, not the 30th Amendment.
Requiring gun owners to register their firearms puts them on a fast track with sex offenders, who are required to register with the government so they can be monitored for the rest of their lives. If gun owners fail to register for tracking, they are then treated like criminals, just like sex offenders. This is bizarre, considering lawful gun owners are merely patriotic Americans concerned about protecting their cherished rights. AR-15s aren’t guns used in crimes, but are popular guns for self-defense and target shooting.
Connecticut Carry, a leading gun rights organization in the state, is daring the government to come after gun owners. The stage is being set for massive civil disobedience unless the law is changed. Many prosecutors and law enforcement officers are not going to uphold a law this heavy-handed; nevertheless, this ill-conceived legislation, pushed through by gun-control activists, is going to pit many law-abiding law enforcement officers against thousands of patriotic, American freedom-loving gun owners. It is terrifying that here in America, innocent gun owners would be put in the same category as sex offenders, turning them into felons. Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy (D), who signed SB 1160, seems to have become another King Xerxes. This time around, will the Spartans in Connecticut prevail?
LOL!!!!
I imagine it would depend on whether they brought the "evidence" with them and how they communicated their displeasure with illegitimate and unconstitutional laws.
You can hear the sheep baaing across the river on the PA side of the Walt Whitman Bridge.
They have probable cause to believe that you considered purchasing a weapon and started the paperwork. They have no proof that you completed the purchase, let alone that you still own the weapon or that it is stored at that address.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
They do not have real probable cause to believe that a felony has been committed or that a particular place should be searched for a particular thing. Of course, that's only if the 4th Amendment is taken seriously, and that restriction on FedGov is out of date now that America has been fundamentally transformed.
26. Manufacturer or Importer
27. Model
28. Serial Number
29. Type
30. Caliber or Gauge
Some jurisdictions require similar information to be filed with state or local law enforcement who may not be precluded from maintaining transfer records. And, we've all seen the reports of atf showing up at gun shops with a portable scanner and copying their records.
U.S. District Judge Alfred Covello
>>In the next decade or two? That’s hilarious... we don’t have a decade or two, we might have two years before everything is up crap creek without a paddle. We have a very small window to right the ship or it’s sunk.<<
Here’s an interesting number, that should help you sleep better.
>>”By comparison, in the United States, there are 310 million guns in private hands, with only 3.85 million possessed by the military and police forces.”<<
They are outnumbered 100 to one. Nobody is stupid enough to fight against those odds.
Wow! I just now saw that section.
(Once I get past to the point of, “Transferor (Seller) Continue to Next Page,” I stopped reading.
I did not know that, though. Thank you for the info.
However, the phone conversation between my FFL and the BATFE did not include the information about the firearms I purchased, and they are required to destroy such paperwork after a certain period here in Colorado.
(Which, knowing my FFL guy, he does NOT hesitate to do)
Good to know, what you posted here.
(A little Yoda-speak there)
Other firearms purchasers should ask those kinds of questions about their purchases, too.
Again, thanks, kitchen.
Knowledge is power.
It's true the same 4473 can be used for several firearms. However, on Page 3, Section D, all the relevant information (type/model/SN#/caliber) on the firearms is listed and is a part of the permanent record. At least that's how I read it.
The FFL must keep it for 20 years and if he goes out of business he must turn it in to the BATF. There is no way they are going to throw it out...
LOVE IT!
Agreed. But by THAT time......
It’ll be too late.
The war will be in full swing.
“Of course, that’s only if the 4th Amendment is taken seriously, and that restriction on FedGov is out of date now that America has been fundamentally transformed.”
The 4th amendment? I can think of a whole lotta instances where the 4th is routinely violated. I don’t think for a minute that the cops, judges and courts in Connecticut will let a little ole civil right stand in their way.
It’s already been done! Sipsystreetirregulars.com posted the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the state legislators who voted for this bill. And they are freaking out. A number of them have already been asking for security for their homes and families.
The US Constitution applies to the federal government.
And where exactly are the “untied states”?
FFL Record Retention Reference Guide from the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It lists the retention period for Form 4473 as 20 years. Any dealer closing their business before the 20 year cycle is supposed to forward the forms to atf.
This is not good.
So then states could force citizens to house soldiers or National Guard?
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