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When it comes to preventing crime and keeping communities safe, the new gun bill passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives is shooting blanks. As the Herald reported, the bill expands a list of banned firearms, adding most popular AR-15 styles to a list of “assault style weapons.” It would also require licensed concealed carry holders to secure permission before entering another’s home with a firearm and require additional training for license holders, among other points. For law-abiding gun owners, it adds layers of compliance on top of the state’s already-strict firearms regulations. For criminals, it means nothing. After a...

So says Politico, which reports today that it’s game-on again between Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin on the reconciliation bill formerly known as Build Back Better. “It’s tight as hell,” said one unnamed Senate Democrat of the timeline as Schumer tries to spend even more money while inflation rages before the midterms. The recent negotiations over firearms and mental health have acted as a smokescreen, intentional or not, as Manchin apparently is getting what he wants out of the reconciliation bill:

Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee introduced a bill earlier this month that would enact some of the strictest gun regulations in the history of the country and give the federal government sweeping power to decide who can own a firearm. The Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act, named after a Pakistani exchange student who was murdered in Texas in 2018, would "provide for the licensing of firearm and ammunition possession and the registration of firearms" and "prohibit the possession of certain ammunition." Specifically, the bill would dramatically expand the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Justice...

On Wednesday, for the first time in a generation, the U.S. House is poised to pass new gun control legislation. That a pair of new bills are even getting a vote reflects a confluence of events, including a newly empowered House Democratic majority, the apparently diminishing clout of the National Rifle Association, and the activism of a generation of young Americans following years of deadly school shootings. Democratic leaders say they have the votes to pass a bill requiring background checks on all commercial gun sales, including those at gun shows and over the internet. The bill also has five...

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) on Wednesday introduced legislation to, once again, push another assault weapons ban, similar to legislation that passed back in 1994.~~~~SNIP~~~~Key provisions: Bans the sale, manufacture, transfer and importation of 205 military-style assault weapons by name. Owners may keep existing weapons. Bans any assault weapon that accepts a detachable ammunition magazine and has one or more military characteristics including a pistol grip, a forward grip, a barrel shroud, a threaded barrel or a folding or telescoping stock. Owners may keep existing weapons. Bans magazines and other ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds of...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The GOP-controlled Iowa Senate has approved a bill that would make sweeping changes to the state’s gun laws, including adding a stand-your-ground provision. The chamber voted 33-17 Tuesday for the bill. The House, which passed it recently, must vote again because of some changes in the Senate.

Here's the list of New Jersey proposed gun control bills in the works. Gov Christie has not sign 2 bills A3797: Requires law enforcement to report certain firearms information to interjurisdictional electronic databases. A3659: Defines weapons of 50 caliber or greater as destructive devices banned under New Jersey law westernshootingjournal.com/second-amendment/new-jersey-proposed-gun-control-bills/

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It’s not often that the confiscation crowd is nakedly honest, but when they think they’re just preaching to the choir, they might forget the heathens are listening, too. That was the case in Sunday’s New York Times column by Maureen Dowd when Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy blurted out the real goal of the gun grabbers: Getting weapons out of your hands means getting the vote out of your hands, too. “You’re not going to disenfranchise the NRA overnight,” Murphy told Dowd. “Disenfranchise.” This isn’t the usual, misty-eyed “if it will save one life” claptrap; and the speaker isn’t some unshaven...

As the Senate moves toward a comprehensive gun control bill that would include extensive background checks that would threaten the legality of private transactions, House Republicans are taking a different tack on a gun bill: House Republicans' focus on mentally ill criminals has become sharper in recent days, as a bipartisan plan to expand background checks on prospective gun buyers gained momentum in the Democrat-led Senate - thanks in part to emotional calls for action in Washington by family members of victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting. Boehner has pledged that the House will act on any gun bill...

Emotional pleas from former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and her husband, Mark Kelly, on Tuesday tugged at senators both for and against a bipartisan proposal on background checks for gun purchases. It’s not clear whether they turned any votes, however, as negotiators were still scrambling to clear a 60-vote hurdle necessary for passage. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said Democrats were two votes short of a filibuster-proof majority on an amendment that would end the gun show exemption and expand background checks to online sales. Democratic aides tracking the bill said their magic number was a bit higher and...

WASHINGTON—A Senate measure to expand background checks for gun buyers teetered on the brink of failure Tuesday as opposition mounted. Democrats appeared short of the votes needed to pass the bipartisan proposal from Sens. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) that would broaden background checks to all online and gun-show sales. Currently, only federally licensed dealers are required to conduct checks, which aim to screen for people with criminal and mental-health histories that make them ineligible to buy guns. With some of the 55 lawmakers who caucus with Democrats in the Senate likely to reject the proposal,...

(snip) The amendment will require at least 60 votes to be added to the underlying gun bill. Based on analysis by The Washington Post, only 22 of the 100 Senate votes are in play: The 16 Republican senators who voted last week to proceed with debate and six moderate Democrats who face difficult reelections in 2014 or represent rural states with strong gun cultures and would face strong political pressure at home for supporting new gun-control legislation. ** The 16 Republicans who voted with Democrats to proceed: Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Tom...

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms had opposed previous iterations of a Democratic proposal for univesal background checks. "It's huge," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., told Fox News on Sunday afternoon as he announced the CCRKBA endorsement.

An influential Gun Rights Advocate actually helped write the Background Check Bill coming up before the Senate this coming week. Alan Gottlieb, Executive Vice President of the Second Amendment Foundation, speaking candidly at a GOP gathering on Friday claimed that his staff had actually helped write the bill. He went on to describe how the Bill would be a step in the right direction for gun control advocates. "There's a Million other checks in there it's a Christmas Tree," bragged Gottlieb, "We just hung a Million Ornaments on it." "Unfortunately some of my colleagues haven't quite figured it out yet...

It has been almost 20 years since Congress has taken up the topic of gun control legislation. As the new debate over gun control heats up, senior Senate aides on both sides of the issue laid out advocates’ plan to get their bill through the Senate. The strategy advocated by gun control supporters in the Senate was described to BuzzFeed by two senior Republican Senate aides working to oppose the effort, and confirmed by a Democratic Senate leadership aide working to get it passed. Prospects for the gun control legislation weren't looking good until the recent Toomey/Manchin proposal. The legislation...

Here is the whole, long AWB including Manchin-Toomey amendments, the "compromise", which is on pages 2613-2618, toward the end. thomas.loc.gov has a "search link" which will expire so I posted the whole thing.   TEXT OF AMENDMENTS -- (Senate - April 11, 2013) [Page: S2598] ---        SA 711. Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. REED, Mr. CARPER, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. COWAN) submitted an...

I’ve just finished reading the 122 pages of Diane Feinstein’s latest “gun-control” bill, Senate Bill S.150, and was surprised to find some important things missing. Even more surprising was one small item briefly mentioned on page 13 that has not been reported in any “news” coverage I have seen. It’s a whopper — it invalidates her entire list of guns, and I’ve written ten books on this topic, I know what I’m saying! — but first, here’s what’s missing. 1. Criminals Nothing addresses criminals — everything is aimed at innocent people who haven’t done anything wrong. There is not even...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Senate is voting on legislation that would allow concealed handguns in churches, the first of several gun-related measures expected in this year's session.

A gun control group is calling for a House Ethics inquiry into National Rifle Association board members who co-sponsored a bill to give NRA civil immunity. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence delivered a letter to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, accusing House members Don Young (R-Alaska) and Barbara Cubin (R-W.V.) of using their legislative powers to further the financial interests of the NRA, which they serve as members of the board. "As members of the House of Representatives, Representatives Cubin and Young are each under an affirmative obligation to avoid conflicts or appearances of conflicts...