By Larry Keane
NEWTOWN, Conn –-(Ammoland.com)- The news came Tuesday that Senator Dianne Feinstein’s ban on modern sporting rifles and factory standard magazines may not be end up as part of “base bill” gun control legislation that will be considered by the U.S. Senate.
That means she will have to try to amend her gun and magazine ban into the bill, rather than defend against an amendment to strip it out. The former will be more difficult procedurally.
But this is by no means a done deal. Senate Democratic leadership could still change their mind and include the gun and magazine ban legislation in the final bill.
And this may be an effort by Senator Feinstein to pressure her leadership into doing just that.
Until the final language of the bill is released for floor consideration, we won’t know for sure. Even if the ban on guns and magazines is not included in the base bill, it will still be considered as an amendment, and the position of many Senators on this issue is still up in the air.
Even in a best case scenario, the Senate still plans to take up legislation requiring background checks for all transactions between private sellers. NSSF opposes this plan for a variety of reasons, including the administrative burden it would place on our members and the fact it would open the door leading toward national registration of all firearms.
That’s not my conclusion – President Obama’s own Justice Department has said that universal registration of all firearms would be necessary to effectively implement so-called “universal background checks.” And let’s also note that the NICS system is currently overburdened as it is. Adding millions of new transactions without additional staffing and infrastructure is a recipe for crashing the entire system. That’s just one of the reasons that more than 85% of FFLs are telling us they oppose “universal background checks” in an industry survey we are currently conducting. Watch this space for more details on this subject when the survey is complete.
Our work here is not done. At the end of this week, Senators will head home for a two-week Easter recess, and it’s entirely possible that Feinstein’s announcement is merely a feint, intended to deflate the grassroots opposition to her bill. We are having an impact and we can’t let up now. Gun owners’ efforts throughout this process have been very effective.
Action in the Senate could come as soon as the week of April 8th 2013. Gun owners would be well advised to keep contacting their two Senators and encouraging friends and relatives to do the same. Ask them to oppose new restrictions on our Second Amendment rights, and instead support much needed improvements to NICS so we can prevent unauthorized access to firearms of any kind – not just the ones that Senator Feinstein finds scary.
About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 6,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.
So we all agree that this bill like many others is an attack on the Constitution.
What are law abiding citizens going to do when the laws they are to abide by are illegal under the Constitution?
The Political elite all 535 of them no longer represent the PEOPLE. They are an illegitimate entity creating illegal action and labeling it as lawful.
How long are you going to put up with it?
NO politician that voted for this ILLEGAL usurpation of our God given rights should be allowed to remain free they have ALL VOIDED their oath of office and ignored the constitution.
Gun control targets the victim.
Holy crap!! Its a walker! From The Walking DEAD!! LOL
Kevin your spot on! She even stated on National TV that this ban is a ” passion of hers” I would like to know WTF the Cali voters are smoking?? To keep re electing the ” Crypt Keeper” time and time again! She is Senile and needs to go the hell home! If she wants to ban guns let her do it in the state that voted for her repeatedly and stop shoving her twisted reality views down peoples throats and states who didnt vote this Hag in office!!
You should be skeptical of any parasite who makes their living off of other people’s taxes.
And the second amendment comes into effect when they try to usurp it.
Feinstein has been on this crusade for over 20 years: clearly needs a psychological examination.
Doesn’t she look like the devil’s wife? Wouldn’t you just love to wake up beside that ugly bitch every morning? My dream! No, nightmare. Make no mistake. They will try to weasel in gun control through anyway they can. By hook or by crook. They will look like they are surrendering and giving up. Throwing in the towel. Always look for the peace offering as a coiled snake. Just when we let our guard down will be their finest hour. Never believe they are done and giving up. It is always better to over estimate your enemy than to under… Read more »
Trojan Horse: yup, gigantic lie to say the bill won’t be voted on to get us to not pay attention while slipping in small sound bites that say ‘well, we may amend it to something else’ This type of hypocrisy and lying is the kind of thing that is wrong with our system, politicians are not afraid to lie on television to the public as no one in the media will confront them and most democrats will keep voting for the D anyway.
It is a trojan horse they already said they would try and attach it to another bill with an amendment to the bill. They could sneak it in anywhere now. Healthcare bills,Military spending, heck even firearms protection bills. You name it they’re going to try and slip it in.