Impacts of HR 45 part 7 of 7

TITLE VI–EFFECT ON STATE LAWSEC. 601. EFFECT ON STATE LAW.
If I read section 601 correctly, it essentially says that states cannot pass any laws that are inconsistent with HR 45. A state law is not inconsistent with HR 45 if those laws are more stringent than HR 45, but any state law that is less stringent than HR 45, is considered “inconsistent”.

SEC. 602. CERTIFICATION OF STATE FIREARM LICENSING SYSTEMS AND STATE FIREARM RECORD OF SALE SYSTEMS.
TITLE VII–RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWSEC. 701. SUBORDINATION TO ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT.
If this Act conflicts with the Arms Export Control Act, then the Arms Export Control Act takes precedence. TITLE VIII–INAPPLICABILITYSEC. 801. INAPPLICABILITY TO GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES.
It appears to me that government employees are exempt from this law.

Impacts of HR 45 part 6 of 7

TITLE IV–ENFORCEMENTSEC. 401. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.
Gun dealers and manufacturers who don’t comply with HR 45 shall be fined, imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
Failure To Comply With Universal Background Checks; Failure To Timely Report Loss or Theft of a Qualifying Firearm; Failure To Provide Notice of Change of Address.
Whoever violates section 105(a)(2) of Blair Holt’s Handgun Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, knowingly or having reason to believe that the person is prohibited from receiving a firearm, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.Whoever violates section 922(gg) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
SEC. 403. INSPECTIONS.
In order to ascertain compliance with this Act, the Attorney General may, during regular business hours, enter any place in which firearms or firearm products are manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in commerce, and inspect those areas where the products are so manufactured, stored, or held. This may open the door to home inspections.

Our Bill of Rights guarantee “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

“Any place” in which firearms are “stored, or held” for distribution in commerce are open to inspections. Remember that this Act considers all firearm sales as “commerce”.

Impacts of HR 45 part 5 of 7

TITLE II–RECORD OF SALE OR TRANSFER
SEC. 201. SALE OR TRANSFER REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALIFYING FIREARMS.
It will be illegal to sell, deliver, receive or otherwise transfer a qualifying firearm to, or for, any person who is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, unless the transferee presents a valid firearms permit issued under HR 45.

You must verify with either the Attorney General or “head of State agency” that the individual has a valid firearms permit, and the sale will be given an authorized tracking number. The Government will have record of every gun sale made in the country.
SEC. 202. FIREARM RECORDS.
You will have up to 14 days to report the sale of any qualifying firearms, and must include the following information:
(1) the manufacturer of the firearm;
(2) the model name or number of the firearm;
(3) the serial number of the firearm;
(4) the date on which the firearm was received by the transferee;
(5) the number of a valid firearm license issued to the transferee under title I of this Act; and
(6) the name and address of the individual who transferred the firearm to the transferee.

A government-operated database for tracking all gun sales will be established “Not later than 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish and maintain a Federal record of sale system, which shall include the information included in each report submitted to the Attorney General

TITLE III–ADDITIONAL PROHIBITIONS
SEC. 301. UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENT.
All gun owners will be required to have a background check. The only exceptions to this are infrequent (what does the government consider “infrequent”?) transfers of a firearm by gift, bequest, intestate succession or other means by an individual to a close family member, or to any loan of a firearm for any lawful purpose for not more than 30 days between persons who are personally known to each other.’.
SEC. 302. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN OR PERMIT INSPECTION OF RECORDS.
It will be illegal for a licensed manufacturer or a licensed dealer to fail to comply with section 202, or to maintain such records or supply such information as the Attorney General may require in order to ascertain compliance with such Act and the regulations and orders issued under such Act.’. In other words, gun manufacturers and dealers will have to keep a complete audit trail of all transactions with enough detail to prove to the Attorney General that they are in compliance with HR 45.
SEC. 303. FAILURE TO REPORT LOSS OR THEFT OF FIREARM.
You will be required to report any theft or loss of a firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours after the loss or theft is discovered. This can open up a real can of worms. First, you have up to 72 hours to do your own investigation to determine whether the gun is lost, stolen or misplaced, because the last thing you want is the government to begin its own investigation.

In dealing with audits, I can give you an idea of how the investigation will go. You will have to:
1- Provide investigators with a list of everyone who had access to your house so that they may be investigated as well;
2- Prove that your guns were secured as required and that you have a valid firearms permit, and all your documentation is in order;
3- Conduct an inventory of all your firearms and provide the investigator with your registration information to “facilitate traceability”;
4- If the gun is “lost”, justify to the investigator how you lost control of the gun, as well as provide all details related to the loss.
5- Investigations are not quick, and any investigation will certainly take up a good deal of your time with follow-up questions and so forth. Any inconsistencies in the facts will likely place you at the center of the investigation.
SEC. 304. FAILURE TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS.
Just as sex offenders must register any change of address, so must gun owners. “It shall be unlawful for any individual to whom a firearm license has been issued under title I of Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 to fail to report to the Attorney General a change in the address of that individual within 60 days of that change of address.”

Registering any change of address is bad enough, but does it mean that there will be a national registry of gun owners that can be searched on the Internet? If so, not only have you lost your right to privacy, but you could be a target for anti-gun radicals and criminals looking to steal guns.

Impacts of HR 45 part 4 of 7

After realizing that commenting on each section of HR 45 would continue for much longer than I want to spend on the subject, I’ve decided to condense and summarize the remainder of my comments over the course of several more posts.

Frankly speaking, whether this bill it passes or not is up to you, the sportsman and gun owner. If you care enough about your constitutional rights to keep them, I think that you should at least spread the word and contact not only your own senators and congressmen, but those from other states as well and encourage them to vote against HR 45.

SEC. 102. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.
In order to apply for a firearm permit, the following information must be submitted to the Attorney General. Having filled out security clearances in the past, it’s not an enjoyable process. The minimum age for owning or possessing a firearm will be set at 18 years old.

(1) a current, passport-sized photograph of the;
(2) the name, address, and date and place of birth;
(3) any other name that the applicant has ever used or by which the applicant has ever been known;
(4) a clear thumb print of the applicant, which shall be made when, and in the presence of the entity to whom, the application is submitted;
(5) a statement that the individual is not a person prohibited from obtaining a firearm;
(6) a certification by the applicant that the applicant will keep any firearm owned by the applicant safely stored and out of the possession of persons who have not attained 18 years of age;
(7) a certificate attesting to the completion at the time of application of a written firearms examination, which shall test the knowledge and ability of the applicant
(8) an authorization by the applicant to release to the Attorney General or an authorized representative of the Attorney General any mental health records pertaining to the applicant;
(9) the date on which the application was submitted; and
(10) the signature of the applicant.

Don’t think that this will be a free service provided by the Government. The application fee will range anywhere from “ not less than the amount determined by the Attorney General to be necessary…” up to “ shall not exceed $25.”

SEC. 103. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE.
The key points of this section are that: 1- you will be issued a license number, unique to each licensed individual, and 2- the license must be renewed every 5 years.
SEC. 104. RENEWAL OF LICENSE.
You must begin the process of renewing your firearms license at least 30 days before the expiration date of the license, you must complete an application for renewal of the license and provide a current, passport-sized photograph of the applicant that provides a clear, accurate likeness of the applicant; current proof of identity of the licensed individual; and the address of the licensed individual.
SEC. 105. REVOCATION OF LICENSE.
If your license is revoked, you must return it to the Attorney General. This also means that you MUST SELL YOUR GUNS, since you will be in possession of firearms without a valid firearms permit. This directly violates the “right to bear arms”

Elvis is officially introduced to water

Elvis is introduced to water

I worked with Elvis on wing-on-a-string training a couple days ago and he did fine. However after about 10 minutes or so, our training was interrupted by a dead mouse that he found.

He wasn’t about to let me dig it out of his mouth, but I managed and tossed it away – but it was too late and the rodent had his undivided attention. I followed him as he searched it out and found it again, and again I dug it out of is mouth and tossed it away, and again he was determined to get it.

I reward Elvis with Pup Corn and seeing that the mouse was more important than my wing-on-a-string, I picked him up and carried him back to the house, giving him the remaining 2 pieces of Pup Corn.

Today he was officially introduced to water. Taking a sandwich bag with Pup Corn in it, I took Elvis back out into the pasture where the excess water floods in. He found the dead mouse again, but this time I got it before him. While he was still trying to sniff it out, I took it over and tossed it into the lateral where hopefully it will simply disappear.

Back with Elvis, I took the first piece of Pup Corn and tossed it into the water-covered grass. He didn’t hesitate to get it. I then tossed each of the remaining pieces of Pup Corn into the ditch that was just deep enough to make him wade for it. He showed no hesitation in wading out for it.

After training, I let Sophie and Dakota play in the ditch while Elvis ran up and down the bank, wanting to join them but still fearful of the deeper water.

Impacts of HR 45 part 3

In this post, I will discuss Title I, Section 101 of HR 45, Licensing Requirements

Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
Comment –
Section 922 of Title 18 contains unlawful acts associated with firearms and is a rather lengthy Code, therefore I did not include either the Code or a summary of it.
`(aa) Firearm Licensing Requirement-
`(1) IN GENERAL- It shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector to possess a qualifying firearm on or after the applicable date, unless that person has been issued a firearm license–
`(A) under title I of Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, which license has not been invalidated or revoked under that title; or
`(B) pursuant to a State firearm licensing and record of sale system certified under section 602 of Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, which license has not been invalidated or revoked under State law.
Comment –
It will be illegal to own or even possess a firearm without a valid firearms permit that is authorized and issued under the provisions of the Blair Holt Act. This refers to the federal firearms permit issued by the Attorney General to those individuals who have successfully completed the federal firearms test.
`(2) APPLICABLE DATE- In this subsection, the term `applicable date’ means–
`(A) with respect to a qualifying firearm that is acquired by the person before the date of the enactment of Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, 2 years after such date of enactment; and
Comment –
This means if you a firearm, you will have up to 2 years to complete the federal firearms test and receive the federal firearms permit. Failure to do so may result in being prosecuted on federal firearm violations.
`(B) with respect to a qualifying firearm that is acquired by the person on or after the date of the enactment of Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, 1 year after such date of enactment.’.
Comment –
This means you will have up to 1 year to complete the federal firearms test and receive the federal firearms permit, if you purchase a firearm on or after the date that this Act goes into effect. Failure to do so may result in being prosecuted on federal firearm violations.

Remember that the Government already has easy access to firearm sales through existing laws and regulations. Also, with “Ammunition Accountability” in effect, it would be very simple to cross-reference people who purchase ammunition with those who have a valid firearms permit.

In the next post in the series, I will discuss Title I, Section 102 of HR 45, Application Requirements

Impacts of HR 45 part 2

In this post, I will discuss the Definitions of HR 45, the Blair Holt Act.
(a) In General- In this Act:
(1) FIREARM; LICENSED DEALER; LICENSED MANUFACTURER; STATE- The terms `firearm’, `licensed dealer’, `licensed manufacturer’, and `State’ have the meanings given those terms in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.
(2) QUALIFYING FIREARM- The term `qualifying firearm’ has the meaning given the term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Amendment to Title 18, United States Code- Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(36) The term `qualifying firearm’–
`(A) means–
`(i) any handgun; or
`(ii) any semiautomatic firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device; and
`(B) does not include any antique.’.
Comment –
This bill will control essentially all firearms, so I’m not sure why it needed to specify handguns and semiautomatic firearms. I’ve condensed the definitions of Title 18, United States Code – Section 921(a), eliminating those that I did not feel were directly applicable.

The term “firearm” means: any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or any destructive device. Such term does not include an antique firearm.

any type of weapon (other than a shotgun or a shotgun shell which the Attorney General finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes) by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter.

The term “shotgun” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.

The term “rifle” means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of an explosive to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.
The term “dealer” means any person engaged in the business of selling firearms at wholesale or retail, any person engaged in the business of repairing firearms or of making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms, or

The term “collector” means any person who acquires, holds, or disposes of firearms as curios or relics, as the Attorney General shall by regulation define, and the term “licensed collector” means any such person licensed under the provisions of this chapter.

The term “antique firearm” means— any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; or any replica of any firearm described in subparagraph (A) if such replica— is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade; or any muzzle loading rifle, muzzle loading shotgun, or muzzle loading pistol, which is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute, and which cannot use fixed ammunition. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “antique firearm” shall not include any weapon which incorporates a firearm frame or receiver, any firearm which is converted into a muzzle loading weapon, or any muzzle loading weapon which can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by replacing the barrel, bolt, breechblock, or any combination thereof.

The term “Attorney General” means the Attorney General of the United States

The term “semiautomatic rifle” means any repeating rifle which utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and chamber the next round, and which requires a separate pull of the trigger to fire each cartridge.

The term “handgun” means— a firearm which has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand; and any combination of parts from which a firearm described in subparagraph (A) can be assembled.

The term “secure gun storage or safety device” means— a device that, when installed on a firearm, is designed to prevent the firearm from being operated without first deactivating the device; a device incorporated into the design of the firearm that is designed to prevent the operation of the firearm by anyone not having access to the device; or a safe, gun safe, gun case, lock box, or other device that is designed to be or can be used to store a firearm and that is designed to be unlocked only by means of a key, a combination, or other similar means.
In the next post in this series, I will discuss Title I, Section 101 of HR 45, Licensing Requirements

More wing-on-a-string with Elvis

Last Saturday was free from thunderstorms and I was feeling well enough to do a little wing-on-a-string training with Elvis. He catches on pretty fast. I attached a couple of duck wings to a small bumper with cable ties, and tied the bumper to a ball of twine.

I want to make sure that Elvis learns to use his nose from the start, so the training took place in the pasture, where the weeds are as tall as Elvis and he can’t see the bumper until he’s on top of it. I took a small bag of peanut butter flavored Pup Corn as a reward.

He did well in finding the bumper, but in those cases where he couldn’t, I pulled the bumper towards me through the weeds. The movement attracted his attention and he pounced on the bumper.

It took about a dozen of these blind retrieves until he lost interest. I wanted to see how long he would go before losing interest, in order to gauge future training sessions.

Senator Crapo responds to HR 45

The following corresponse is published with permission from Senator Crapo.

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to H.R. 45, the Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act. I appreciate hearing your thoughts and welcome the opportunity to respond.

As you may know, this legislation was introduced by Representative Bobby Rush (D – Illinois) on January 6, 2009. This legislation would require an individual to hold a valid firearms license in order to own a firearm. It also sets forth license application, issuance, and renewal requirements. On February 9, 2009, the House Committee on the Judiciary referred this legislation to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Let me reassure you that I do not support gun control. We must protect and preserve our constitutional right to bear arms. I will not support any legislation that requires a waiting period for the purchase of a firearm, bans the ownership of firearms, promotes or requires the rationing or taxation of firearms, or the taxation of ammunition.

The Second Amendment reads: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” I firmly believe this provision prohibits the federal government from denying citizens this right.

As you may know, gun control advocates continue to seek creative methods of advancing their agenda, both through legislation and litigation. You may be assured that I will continue to oppose all efforts to weaken Second Amendment rights.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me in the future on this or other matters of interest to you. For more information about the issues before the U.S. Senate as well as news releases, photos, and other items of interest, please visit my Senate website, http://crapo.senate.gov.

Sincerely,

Mike Crapo
United States Senator

Impacts of HR 45 part 1

In the next few posts, I will be breaking down HR 45, the Blair Holt Act, and providing comments on each of the sections. The effective date of this bill is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act (Title IX, Sec. 901).

After contacting my state representatives, I received a reply from Senator Crapo who voiced his strong opposition to gun control. With his permission, I will post his reply, and hope that a lack of response from Idaho’s other senators and congressmen do not indicate their support of this bill.

As I will clearly show, this bill is unabashed gun control and the summary that I previously posted was a sales pitch for the bill. It did not contain any of the bill’s ramifications. I probably won’t hit every point in the bill, but certainly the big ones.

This post initiates the series, beginning with Section 2, Findings and Purposes. The purpose of the bill is:

To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes.
Comment –
I’m really concerned with the “other purposes” for which this bill will be used. Any time you have an open-ended statement like this, every purpose in which this bill can be applied is an “other” purpose.

Both President Obama “cling to their guns and religion” and Vice President Biden (who voted No on banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence and voted No on more penalties for gun and drug violations) are committed gun control proponents (see OnTheIssues.org).

In addition, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced from Mexico City that Right-Wing extremists including “military veterans who have difficulty reentering civilian life” are potential terrorists. It’s surprising to me that Left-Wing extremists, who have proven time and again to be prone to violence, were not mentioned as a threat.

Remember that Secretary of State Clinton, also speaking from Mexico City, blamed the United States for Mexican violence by being unable to control the illegal gun trade to Mexico. The statistics she used were distorted, and it is evident that the Obama Administration is systematically demonizing guns and gun owners.

(a) Findings- Congress finds that–
(1) the manufacture, distribution, and importation of firearms is inherently commercial in nature;
Comment –
True, it is commercial in nature, however in making this statement, Congress views all firearms as nothing other than commercially controllable items that are no longer a Right to own, but a Privilege granted by the Federal Government.
(2) firearms regularly move in interstate commerce;
(3) to the extent that firearms trafficking is intrastate in nature, it arises out of and is substantially connected with a commercial transaction, which, when viewed in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce;
(4) because the intrastate and interstate trafficking of firearms are so commingled, full regulation of interstate commerce requires the incidental regulation of intrastate commerce;
Comment –
The only way to control interstate (between states) “gun trafficking” is to control intrastate (within the state) “gun trafficking”. Montana is fighting this federal intrusion with House Bill 246, the “Montana Firearms Freedom Act”.
(5) gun violence in the United States is associated with the majority of homicides, over half the suicides, and two-thirds of non-fatal violent injuries; and
(6) on the afternoon of May 10, 2007, Blair Holt, a junior at Julian High School in Chicago, was killed on a public bus riding home from school when he used his body to shield a girl who was in the line of fire after a young man boarded the bus and started shooting.
(b) Sense of the Congress- It is the sense of the Congress that–
(1) firearms trafficking is prevalent and widespread in and among the States, and it is usually impossible to distinguish between intrastate trafficking and interstate trafficking; and
(2) it is in the national interest and within the role of the Federal Government to ensure that the regulation of firearms is uniform among the States, that law enforcement can quickly and effectively trace firearms used in crime, and that firearms owners know how to use and safely store their firearms.
Comment –
This congressional presumption directly conflicts with our Founding Fathers who went to great lengths to ensure freedoms such as the right to bear arms, and limit the power of the federal government with provisions such as states’ rights. They believed that this type of control was neither in the nation’s best interest nor within the role of the Federal Government.
(c) Purposes- The purposes of this Act and the amendments made by this Act are-
(1) to protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of qualifying firearms to criminals and youth;
(2) to ensure that owners of qualifying firearms are knowledgeable in the safe use, handling, and storage of those firearms;
Comment –
This bill will impose a national, mandatory, firearms test. Without this firearms qualification, it will be illegal to own a firearm.
(3) to restrict the availability of qualifying firearms to criminals, youth, and other persons prohibited by Federal law from receiving firearms; and
(4) to facilitate the tracing of qualifying firearms used in crime by Federal and State law enforcement agencies.
Comment –
Our justice system has become so weak on prosecuting criminals that someone else needs to be blamed. This is evident with Vice President Biden’s support in prosecuting gun manufacturers rather than criminals, and is the only reason I can think of for facilitating the tracing of firearms.

In the next post, I will discuss the Definitions section of the Act.