Illinois Law Makers Continue Attacking 2nd Amendment Rights
March 16, 2013
I just heard that Illinois House Bill 815, which previously passed through committee, failed to get out of the House by a very slim margin of 2 votes earlier this week. This is a small victory for Illinois citizens but the fight is not over. This NRA article summarizes the impact of these Illinois gun control proposals.
These proposals are NOT about reducing gun violence or solving a violent crime problem. They very clearly would make criminals of people who fail to comply with these extreme measures or who practice civil disobedience by refusing to comply with them. Consider this:
* You can stand on a street corner and witness a violent assault or murder within feet of you, choose to take no action to prevent the crime, and not be a criminal because you're not obligated by law to take action. We've all known this to happen in our society and there are psychology books written on the topic. You can witness a crime from afar or even be the victim of a violent crime and refuse to testify or press charges, and you're within your rights. But with this proposal if you fail to report the loss or theft of an inanimate, harmless object, you could be convicted of a felony, fined, imprisoned and lose your 2nd Amendment rights for the rest of your life.
* Since when is the State Police expert on building design, construction and operation? When they have an indoor shooting range built, do they design that themselves or do they contract that work to engineers, architects, designers and construction professionals? This has NOTHING to do with gun crime!
* More taxes. More fees. More REGISTRATION. Anything to make it more expensive to freely exercise your 2nd Amendment rights.
* An adult cannot take another person to a shooting range to give them the experience of firing a gun without that person being a REGISTERED gun owner? (For those not in Illinois, a FOID is a Firearm Owners Identification Card. For decades in IL, one has been required before being allowed to purchase a firearm.)
It's okay to be on the side of reducing gun violence and violent crime. These proposals do not do that. Illinois citizens need to act by voicing their opposition to these and any other gun control legislative proposals. These gun control advocating politicians have proven they cannot be trusted to approach the real problems objectively; they cannot be entrusted with our constitutional rights; and are not fulfilling their oaths to 'support and defend the Constitution of the United States'. They are VERY clearly intending to "infringe" upon that which "shall not be infringed" in every way they can think to do so.
Among other things, House Bill 815 would:
- Prohibit anyone without a FOID card from using a commercial shooting range, which in many cases would make it impossible to introduce new shooters to the safe and responsible use of firearms.
- Grant the State Police broad discretion to impose design, construction and operation standards that could shut down most commercial shooting ranges.
- Ban possession of magazines and other feeding devices that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. A "grandfather clause" would require registration by owners of such devices and give the State Police discretion to impose and charge fees. Registration would require "proof of ownership" that could be impossible for most people to provide, and even registered owners could not transfer magazines within Illinois, except to an heir or a licensed dealer. Transfers of "grandfathered magazines" would have to be reported to the ISP.
- Violations of this magazine ban would be a felony. Failure to report theft or loss of a magazine would be a misdemeanor until the third violation, which would be a felony.
House Bill 1263 would:
- Ban, at a minimum, all detachable-magazine semi-automatic rifles and pistols. Remington 7400 deer rifles, Ruger 10/22 squirrel guns, Glocks, 1911s, etc. This ban would include about 80% of handguns now sold in the U.S.
- Possibly ban all semi-automatic rifles and even revolvers or single-shot pistols with the capacity to accept muzzle brakes or compensators.
- Ban "assault weapon attachments," so possession of a thumbhole stock, a pistol grip,or a fore-end (a "shroud" that "partially or completely encircles the barrel") would be a crime even if you didn't possess a firearm.
- Ban all .50 BMG rifles.
- Contains "grandfather" provisions that would require registration by owners of devices and give the State Police discretion to impose and charge fees. Registration would require "proof of ownership."
- Create felony penalties for violation of this ban on guns or attachments.
- Create lost and stolen penalties that would criminalize victims of gun theft.
http://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2013/1/illinois-gun-and-magazine-ban-and-registration-schemes-pass-in-senate-public-health-committee-tonight-in-springfield.aspx?s=%22magazine+ban%22&st&ps
No comments:
Post a Comment