Geeks With Guns » NRA

Federal Judge Won’t Halt BATFE Rifle Sale Rules

donttreadonme — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:08:43 +0000

In a setback for gun dealers in four U.S. states bordering Mexico, a federal judge on Thursday refused to temporarily block new rules requiring them to report the sale of multiple semi-automatic rifles.

Judge Rosemary Collyer said the dealers, backed by the National Rifle Association, had not sufficiently shown they would suffer irreparable harm without a preliminary injunction. She scheduled an October hearing on a permanent injunction.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ordered more than 8,000 gun dealers in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California to report the sale within five business days of two or more rifles to the same person.

The Obama administration issued the reporting requirements to try to stem the flow of weapons across the border to violent drug cartels in Mexico. Mexican officials have complained bitterly about guns illegally coming from the United States.

The gun industry says the rules will not affect the cartels’ efforts but rather burden law-abiding retailers.-[source]

57 Senators Protest U.N. Small Arms Treaty

donttreadonme — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 02:35:41 +0000

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) joined his colleague Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and 43 other Senators in expressing grave concern about the dangers posed to Second Amendment rights by the United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty. In a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, the 45 senators said they would oppose ratification of an Arms Trade Treaty that in any way restricts the rights of law-abiding American gun owners. This is enough to block the treaty from Senate passage, as treaties submitted to the U.S. Senate require approval of two-thirds of Senators present to be ratified.

“Our Second Amendment is non-negotiable,” said Hatch. “We don’t need a bunch of bureaucrats at the United Nations dictating our liberties and freedoms. This Treaty should not be ratified and I will fight it tooth and nail.”-[source]

Perry Blasts New Federal Rules For Gun Dealers

donttreadonme — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:48:47 +0000

Gov. Rick Perry Wednesday lambasted new DOJ reporting requirements for gun dealers in states on the U.S.-Mexico border, calling the new rules “misguided” and “constitutionally questionable.”

The new requirement from the BATFE, announced Monday, means firearms dealers from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California will have to notify the federal government whenever an individual buys two or more semi-automatic rifles. Gun dealers are already required to notify the government of multiple handgun purchases.-[source]

WI: Governor Signs CCW Legislation Into Law

donttreadonme — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:58:39 +0000

Today, National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and the NRA`s Institute for Legislative Action Executive Director Chris W. Cox joined Governor Scott Walker as he signed the Wisconsin Personal Protection Act into law. This makes Wisconsin the 49th state to give law-abiding citizens an option to carry a concealed firearm for personal protection.

“For everyday crime victims, Right-to-Carry is the difference between no chance and a fighting chance. That is why the NRA`s commitment to freedom, the Second Amendment and the self-defense rights of good people everywhere never wavers,” said LaPierre. “Today`s signing ceremony is proof of the value of the hard work, dedication and perseverance of NRA members in Wisconsin.”

“This is an historic day for the Right-to-Carry effort not only in Wisconsin, but across the country,” said Cox. “The fundamental, individual, God-given right to self-defense must be respected. I’d like to thank Senators Galloway and Zipperer, Reps. Mursau and Suder and Gov. Walker for their dedication to freedom.”-[source]

Media Blames NRA For ATF Gunwalker Scandal

donttreadonme — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:55:09 +0000

I don’t know what it is about gun issues that makes people lose their minds, but this editorial from the Washington Post is pretty incredible. The post acknowledges that the ATF flooding Mexico with 2,500 weapons which were used in a variety of crimes — including the murder of a U.S. border agent — was pretty questionable, but the real culprits are the NRA who has dared to criticize the agency or something:-[source]

NRA Boss: Nobama’s Gone In 2012

donttreadonme — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:37:41 +0000

The National Rifle Association has a rich history that goes back to shortly after the Civil War, when in 1871, Union veterans created it to train city-slicker troops who couldn’t hit the side of a barn with their musket shots. But as the 4 million-strong group readies its fight to oust President Obama in 2012, it has to go back only 11 years for a battle plan. That’s when the Second Amendment advocates mounted their biggest political effort ever to defeat then Vice President Al Gore by targeting key pro-gun Democratic states he needed to beat George W. Bush, like Arkansas. “We actually knocked out a presidential candidate,” says new NRA President David Keene.-[source]

Open Or CCW? Wisconsin Gun Owners Decide

donttreadonme — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:25:21 +0000

When Wisconsin’s law allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons goes into effect, Shawn Winrich is likely to take advantage of it. But if he does, he’ll do it grudgingly.

Winrich, a 34-year-old Madison resident and a member of the gun rights group Wisconsin Carry, likes to carry his Glock 17. He’s done it openly for about a year, but he doesn’t like the idea of paying a permit fee to carry it concealed.

“The bill is somewhat reasonable,” says Winrich. “But it still doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a violation of the constitutional rights that are secured by the state Constitution, which says (you can carry firearms for) ‘any lawful purpose’ and the U.S. Constitution says ‘these rights shall not be infringed.’ But yet the state still thinks it can regulate and impose a tax on guns. And that’s just not right.”

The law is not ideal in the eyes of the National Rifle Association and other gun groups, either.-[source]

Colo Court To Decide CCW On Campuses

donttreadonme — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:10:59 +0000

Opponents of a campus gun ban at the University of Colorado told the state Supreme Court on Wednesday the ban is illegal because it was not approved by the Legislature.

Jim Manley, representing a group of students promoting concealed carry of firearms on campus, said lawmakers would have listed universities as exceptions in a law passed in 2003 if they wanted guns banned on campus.

The Concealed Carry Act prohibits local governments from limiting concealed carry rights, with the only exceptions being K-12 schools, places where federal law bans it, public buildings with metal detectors and private property where owners object to concealed weapons.

Manley told the seven-member court the law was designed to fix a patchwork of confusing local laws.

“Clearly the Legislature wanted to create one statewide rule,” Manley said.-[source]

71 Million Americans May Have Guns Registered

donttreadonme — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:08:14 +0000

If you’re one of the nearly 71 million Americans who live in the four southwest border states, some of your gun purchases could soon be reported to the federal government. If you don’t like that—and no gun owner should—read on, because this may be our first big head-on gun control battle against the Obama administration.

he fight began with a bureaucratically worded “Emergency Notice of Information Collection Under Review,” published in the Dec. 17 “Federal Register”—the daily publication where all proposed federal rules make their debut. It announced that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives plans to require federal firearms licensees in the border states to begin reporting all transfers “of two or more rifles within any five consecutive business days with the following characteristics: (a) Semi automatic; (b) a caliber greater than .22; and (c) the ability to accept a detachable magazine.”

In other words, a dealer would have to tell the government every time a deer hunter in Sacramento or Amarillo finds a good deal on a pair of semi-auto .30-06s like the popular Remington 7400.-[source]

WI:Homeowner Protection From Criminals

donttreadonme — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:52:13 +0000

It would be easier for Wisconsin homeowners to protect themselves from intruders, under a new bill in the state Legislature.

Freshman Senate Republican Van Wangaard of Racine is sponsoring a measure in which homeowners would no longer have to prove their lives were threatened if they kill intruders in self-defense. Also, injured intruders would lose their right to sue the homeowners — and the families of those killed while committing burglaries could no longer win damages in court.

Wangaard says homeowners are often reluctant to act — and in some cases, homeowners’ relatives are left to wonder if their loved ones feared to protect themselves. But the State Bar calls the bill a solution in search of a problem — and it could protect domestic abusers who act against the spouses they’ve attacked. Even so, Wangaard’s bill is getting support from both parties in Madison as well as the National Rifle Association.-[source]