berenson@cookie.enet.dec.com (Coffee: Nature's Productivity Tool 21-Jun-1991 0915) (06/22/91)
For those who don't regularly follow the firearms politics, here are two
pieces of news that should chill you to the bone. Note that there is
still time to call your senators about S. 1241!
As usual, followup discussion should be directed to talk.politics.guns or the
firearms-politics mailing list.
Hal
=============================================================================
Neal Knox Update
(June 20) -- After a full day of desultory floor debate on the
Biden Crime bill, S. 1241, and furious behind-the-scenes
negotiating, the Senate voted 56-40 early this evening against
substituting a modified version of the Bush crime bill.
The Bush/Thurmond substitute had dropped the original bill's
magazine ban and registration provision, as well as the original
section allowing illegally seized firearms to be used as evidence.
Failure of the substitute leaves all six gun sections in the Biden
bill, but there will be one or more votes trying to take them out,
either entirely or with a Staggers-type amendment. The delay gives
you and your friends time to contact your Senators.
There will be debate tomorrow and Monday on various amendments, but
there will be no votes until 11 a.m. Tuesday when Sen. Thurmond
will begin trying to substitute the three main sections of the Bush
crime bill: death penalty, exclusionary rule and habeas corpus
reform.
The initial rejection of the Bush bill raises the question whether
President Bush will veto the crime package. It depends upon how
much of his bill he might get. If it includes most of what he
wants I have no doubt he would sign it, including the gun sections.
But I doubt that he will get everything he wants.
The NRA has informed the Senate that it considers the six major
firearms section in S. 1241, the Biden bill, to be "the most
comprehensive and restrictive anti-gun legislation since the 1968
Gun Control Act." I agree.
Title VII of S. 1241 is the DeConcini ban on 14 military-style
semi-automatic firearms, including the Colt AR-15 used in the
National Matches. Those guns differ only cosmetically from popular
semi-auto hunting rifles. If they can be banned, all guns can be
banned.
Title XII, Subtitle C bans over-15-round magazines, requires
registration of all such mid-capacity rifle or pistol magazines.
Title XXVII, the Mitchell/Brady bill is the House-passed Brady 7-
day waiting period plus cash inducements for states to enact
legislation requiring background checks. If a person is wrongfully
denied permission to buy a handgun, there is no provision for
appeal, and there is a new section prohibiting local law
enforcement officers from being held liable for their actions.
Title XII, Sec. 1237, requires that BATF be notified when two or
more handguns are purchased within 30 days, instead of the present
five days. Further, local law enforcement would also have to be
notified of those purchases, without any restrictions on how that
information may be used.
Title XII, Sec. 1223 allows a person to be held without trial on
even minor or technical firearms violations.
Title XII Sec. 1245 expands the list of those prohibited from
firearms ownership to include many misdemeanor offenses, even some
property crimes, no matter how many years since the conviction.
I urge you to call your Senator at (202) 224-3121. Insist that he
vote against any version of the crime bill containing these anti-
gunowner measures.
------------------------
On June 13 House Crime Subcommittee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-
N.Y.) held a "hearing" to protest the BATF's approval for importing
semi-auto sporting rifles that are only "cosmetically different"
from the military-style rifles on which they are based. Rep. Steve
Schiff (R-N.M.) fired back that "cosmetic differences" are the only
thing that distinguishes between non-importable gas-operated,
detachable box magazine, semi-automatic "assault weapons" and
functionally identical conventional hunting rifles. Rep. Schumer
grumbled that the only way to ban "assault weapons" was to ban all
semi-autos, which is what was advocated by police officer Neil Carr
of Philadelphia.
Schumer made it quite clear in a committee report last
November that the Brady Bill is merely the first of a series of gun
laws that he plans to ram through the 102nd Congress. His major
immediate target, the report states, is elimination of the
prohibition against BATF using dealer sales information to create
a centralized national registration system.
.............................................................................
Hal Berenson
Home: 71640.3535@compuserve.com OR oldcolo!berenson@csn.org
Work: berenson@cookie.enet.dec.com
-- Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are my own, not my employer's! If
I happen to communicate with you from work rather than home, its just
for convenience (just like asking for a "daytime phone number") and should
not be construed as representing the views of my employer or its
employees, officers, directors, or stockholders. --phil@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Phil Howard KA9WGN) (06/22/91)
Somewhere along the line from congresscritter to usenet, someone is getting copies of these bills, such as S. 1241. What I'd like to know is if anyone is able to scan in, edit and correct, and if not post, at least make available by server somewhere, the full copy of the bill text, including all statutory changes referenced. I feel I could do a better job of contacting my congresscritters if I had actual text. I would prefer writing a letter explaining how a particular wording or statute might be bad, as opposed to simply saying "I am opposed to such and such section". I want to arguatively discuss the very nature of what the laws are, and for that I certainly need the text. Pointers on other ways to get the text besides through the congresscritters office would be useful as well. -- /***************************************************************************\ / Phil Howard -- KA9WGN -- phil@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu | Guns don't aim guns at \ \ Lietuva laisva -- Brivu Latviju -- Eesti vabaks | people; CRIMINALS do!! / \***************************************************************************/