Kill the Stupid Clause!!!

[MicroBalrog]

I wonder - how can we kill the machinegun clause of FOPA?

I suspect it's the next thing to do after the AWB sunsets, but I think it would be a good idea if someone made a webpage about it now, so we could garner some organisational momentum if for no other reason. What do you think? Anyone here good in web design?

 

[Jim March]

It's too early to think that far ahead. Too much will depend on how stringent an "individual right" we get out of the USSC over the next 2 - 4 years.

We'll get an individual right. The fear is that it'll be a weak toothless little kitty instead of a tiger.

 

[dustind]

www.awbansunset.com will probably take up the fight if we win the current battle.

 

[alan]

Better idea, though likely a much tougher fight. Scrap The National Firearms Act of 1934, which would rid us of a number of annoyances, including Gun Control Act of 1968, which was an amendment to the 1934 act.

 

[MicroBalrog]

Wait, be patient. As the Russian song goes, let's "take the brick factory apart, brick by brick"

 

[Don Gwinn]

The AW ban isn't even dead yet. Let's do that first. If the antis beat us on that one, there'll be no reason to ponder what the next thing to be repealed will be. The momentum will have died.

After that, I'd be all for bringing back the machine guns. However, we're going to face the same problem the antis have now. The vast mass of people consider the ability to follow the middle of the road to be the highest of political virtues. The antis got far talking about how "extreme" the NRA is, playing up fears about machine guns and mortars. When they had achieved all that, it got harder and harder to argue for the more "extreme" parts of their agenda. Eventually we were the ones who looked like we were just being reasonable and moderate in opposing liberal gun control excess. When we go after the machine gun laws, we're going to be the extremists again. It isn't impossible, but it won't be as easy as a lot of the recent CCW debates.

 

[Standing Wolf]

It's too early to think that far ahead.

I don't think so. I believe it's never too soon to begin to plan to take back lost ground. It may be too soon to take public action, but planning's a horse of another color to me.

 

[CleverNickname]

Assuming (and this is a big assumption), the AWB goes away, of course we shouldn't stop there. Keep on the offense and the antis on the defense...

However, as much as I'd like to have the '86 MG ban repealed, I don't think it would fly with Bush in the White House. If he doesn't want to let the AWB sunset I doubt he would sign a bill to repeal the MG ban. Maybe in a second term where he didn't have to worry about re-election, but I highly doubt it.

But machineguns aren't the only thing the NFA covers. Removing the CLEO signoff would be a big plus. The way I understand it, the signoff was supposed to work like the Brady check is supposed to work now, to try to prevent 'bad' people from obtaining restricted items. With Brady this is obsolete. Then repeal Brady at a later date.

Removing suppressors from the NFA and making them unregulated might also be possible. There's quite a few 'enlightened' European countries where suppressors are unregulated. Plus, think of the health and safety benefits from quieter firearms. Less people complaining about the noise from nearby ranges. Less damage to the children's ears. (It's all for the children dontcha know.)

Another thing we should concentrate on is the feds forcing reciprocity of CCW permits (not a fed permit, just making the states recognize each other's permits).

 

[BB93YJ]

"Another thing we should concentrate on is the feds forcing reciprocity of CCW permits (not a fed permit, just making the states recognize each other's permits)."

Do you mean something like this?


Article IV

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.


Section 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.

 

[Jim March]

I'm not saying we should stop after the next win!

I'm saying "it's too early" because we won't know the proper approach to ripping into it until the next step in court, which is coming soon.

 

[Justin]

One step at a time.
Right now the biggest chance for a win that we have is to let the AW ban sunset into oblivion. That means killing the expanded version that's floating around in the House right now. Once the AW ban is dead, then we should, by all means, hastily move onto regaining more lost ground.

But not yet.
Right now we should be putting forth a unified front to kill the AW ban. Once it's dead, then we can regroup, and push on to reclaim more of our human rights.

To be completely honest, though, I'd have to say that there's a better chance of us getting sound suppressors de-regulated than machine guns.

 

[Kharn]

I dont think it would be possible to get MGs off the NFA list, but getting 922(o) repealed (I believe thats the section for the MG ban) and removing silencers from the NFA would be a definite possibility after the AWB sunset.

Kharn

 

[Leatherneck]

Remember, guys: It's good to have a plan, but that's the first thing out the window when the fighting starts.

TC
TFL Survivor

 

[alan]

First things first, but having accomplished those, sunset of "assault weapons ban", consider the following.

Repeal of National Firearms Act of 1934, and ALL ammendments thereto. That, by the way, would include GCA'68.

 

[CleverNickname]

Yes, BB93YJ, exactly like that. There's currently a bill in the House that does pretty much that. HR 990

 

[Sam Adams]

Don Gwinn

How's this for a moderate approach to the repeal of the '34 NFA and the '68 GCA:

"Folks, we just want to restore to you rights that your fathers and grandfathers had."

Thinks about it - if your grandfather was over age 21 (maybe even 18) before 1934 and he didn't have the misfortune of living in NYC (as both of mine did), they literally could've walked into the corner hardware store and bought a machine gun - no background check, no waiting period, no PD signoff, no tax stamp, no nothing - just pay and walk out with your new Chicago Typewriter. Additionally, at least tens of thousands of WW1 soldiers brought machine guns home, and these were also available.

Pre-1968, you could mail-order a gun, any gun (except machine guns) - including 20mm cannon!

I want the same rights that my grandfathers had. Who or what gave that generation's corrupt pols the power to take away my rights?