Posted on 10/11/2001 10:28:58 AM PDT by concerned about politics
Congress May Force Legal Gun Owners to Make Their Guns Inoperable
The gun grabbers have already disarmed much of the population and left many Americans defenseless at a time when an armed citizenry is the best defense against terrorism and crime, the U.S. Congress is poised to impose another burdensome restriction on Second Amendment rights.
It's called "demilitarization" and if a new bill in the Senate passes as currently written it could result in millions of innocent American gun owners being branded as criminals without their knowledge.
According to an alert issued by the National Rifle Association, the Senate has just passed S. 1438, the Department of Defense (DoD) annual authorization bill, which contains a provision that is of grave concern to hunters and sport shooters.
Section 1062 of this bill gives the Secretary of Defense the power to require "demilitarization" of any "significant military equipment" that has ever been owned by the DoD.
Warns the NRA "This would include all firearms (such as the venerable M1, M1 Carbine, and Model 1911, as well as all Civilian Marksmanship Program rifles, even "sporterized" surplus bolt-action Springfields!), firearm barrels, ammunition, and gun powder now legally in private hands.
"Demilitarization" the NRA explains, is the term for rendering such items permanently inoperable, and Sec. 1062 allows for this action to be carried out either by the owner or a third party, with the owner paying the cost, or by the DoD."
However, if the DoD decides that it should do the job itself, it can also decide that it might cost too much to return the now inoperable weapon and can simply keep it and reimburse the rightful owner only for the fair market scrap value of the item.
In addition, this new requirement would force private citizens to determine for themselves if an item they own is subject to demilitarization, and face criminal penalties if they fail to comply.
Says the NRA "The DoD would be under no obligation to notify law-abiding citizens that items they have lawfully owned for years, and perhaps that their families have owned for generations, are suddenly subject to forced demilitarization."
Considering the fact that U.S. military surplus has been regularly-and legally-bought, sold, and traded for centuries, countless Americans who own items that could be subject to Sec. 1062.
"It is likely millions of law-abiding Americans would be affected, and could unknowingly become criminals overnight without having done anything or having ever been informed," the NRA says.
Since the DoD already has the authority and responsibility to demilitarize any item it sells as surplus, there is absolutely no reason to seek new authority to confiscate and destroy lawfully sold and lawfully owned items that are now the property of private citizens.
The NRA urges Americans to contact their U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, and their U.S. representative at (202) 225-3121, and urge them to strike Sec. 1062 from S. 1438, the "National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2002."
Says the NRA "The 24 members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the 60 members of the House Armed Services Committee especially need to hear from you. To find out if any of your lawmakers are on either committee, you can use the "Write Your Reps" tool found at NRAILA.org, or call the Grassroots Division at (800) 392-8683."
Yeah right. "From my cold, dead hands."
I know, this might strike discord into the hearts of the Law and Order types, but so what? Any law which disarms is unConstitutional on its face, and must be disobeyed, period.
This one's a non-starter, cap. "Someone" figured they could smuggle this provision through by "burying it" in the obscurity of a DoD appropriations bill -- which no one ever reads in detail; but this cat is now out of the bag. ("Someone" probably equals "some 'creative' staffer of more 'revolutionary consciousness' than most, who tried to insert the language -- with or without the knowledge of actual Congress person(s).") But now that this is public knowledge, that ruse won't work.
Bottom-line is: To gratuitously criminalize tens of millions of American citizens destroys the concept of -- and puts the lie to -- representative self-government altogether. We would be required to believe that tens of millions of peaceable Americans think "criminalizing themselves" is a good thing, because the Public Interest demands it, just to humor a few out-of-control and unaccountable totalitarians on Congressional staffs. This is total nonsense. Congress works for us, not we for Congress: We do not have a dictator with plenipotential powers here in America, just in case anybody forgot that.
But call or write your congresspeople anyway -- read 'em the freaking riot act while you're at it. Tell 'em, if they want "criminals," they just might get what they wish for -- just pass this law. (In war time, no less.)
It's now the time for Left Progressivism to die in America, and for the American people to take back their heritage. FWIW.
Incidentally, the good news is FBI background checks for new firearms licensees are up 15% nationally since 9-11. best, bb.
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