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?
I hope Henry Bowman has woke his lazy butt up and is on the way to CT. He has some appointments to make.
A branford CT cop “can’t wait to kick your door in”
http://www.branfordseven.com/news/local/article_b9001a90-a7eb-11e3-9579-001a4bcf6878.html
This will indeed be the start of CW-II.
In prep, hopefully ALL addresses of the pieces of Obamastuff that perped the law will be published.
A visit to one gun owner’s home should rightfully be reflected by visits to those homes.
They will run out of cops before Connecticut runs out of guns.
Civil disobedience is morally justified here and is absolutely required. It is a must. People need to stand strong and we must stand with them and support them in any way possible.
He might be getting a bit long in the tooth by now, but I’m sure he can still set up a scenario to his advantage.
Can you say Lexington and Concord? Is it time?
I really have not followed this issue too much. It wasn’t until I read this thread that I caught the single reason this is such a big deal:
The deadline passed months ago and the state KNOWS that hundreds of thousands of citizens refused to comply and risk being felons.
This is a VERY big deal.
You’re going to see more and more passive civil disobedience in the next decade or two. Not just with guns but with the culture,Obamacare...
Those hundreds of thousands have committed the huge “crime” of
DEFIANCE.
Libs can’t stand defiance.
This shows that LEO and Elected Officials are, in fact, afraid to do so.
It also shows they are unable to get a warrant based on the fact that somebody purchased one of the banned weapons at sometime in the past.
My guess: They'll pick off these folks as opportunity presents itself. WHEN LEO encounters one of these weapons in the normal course of police work they'll confiscate and charge.
They really have not other choice.
how much is the state of connecticut paying for this confiscation. you can take without compensation.
So what happens when the govt storms the homes of the alleged gun owners and no guns are found? Will the owners have standing to sue? I sure hope so!
Those hundreds of thousands have committed the huge “crime” of
DEFIANCE.
Libs can’t stand defiance.
> “If you pass laws that people have no respect for and they
> don’t follow them, then you have a real problem.”
You mean like the immigraton laws?
You mean like the Defence of Marriage Act?
You mean like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act?
You mean like the subject-to-change-without-notice Affordable Care Act?
Why is this IDIOT “shocked” about people refusing to obey an UNLAWFUL act when the state and federal governments don’t obey the laws?
The Spartans were defeated, but they became a rallying cry for the rest of the Greeks.
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