On August 29th 2013, President Obama rolled out two new executive
orders on gun control with the goal of reducing gun violence.
Information on those orders can be viewed here:
http://m.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/29/fact-sheet-new-executive-actions-reduce-gun-violence
The
first order aims to "close a loophole to keep some of the most
dangerous guns out of the wrong hands". This refers to weapons and items
that fall under regulation of the National Firearms Act (NFA). This was
enacted in 1934 and regulates the sale of machine guns, short barreled
rifles (SBR), short barreled shotguns (SBS), and suppressors. To obtain
one of those items, a person has to fill out the proper paperwork and
apply for a tax stamp with the ATF, submit a $200 fee, and then wait
usually 6-8 months for the tax stamp to be received.
Currently,
there are two ways to apply for an NFA item with the ATF. A person can
file as an individual or they can file as a trust. Individuals routinely
file as a trust because it is more convenient. If you file as an
individual, you have to send in a fingerprint card (which is usually
another fee to have done), undergo a background check, and have the
chief law enforcement officer (usually the Sheriff) in your area sign
off on the paperwork before you send it to the ATF. Filing as a trust is
often the only choice for some individuals who live in areas where the
chief LEO refuses to sign the paperwork for personal reasons. If you
file as a trust, you can bypass those steps.
The President claims
that filing as a trust and skipping those steps is allowing NFA items
to fall into the wrong hands. However, when a person (or a corporation)
purchases an NFA item from a gun store, they still have to undergo a
background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check
System (NICS) just like you would if you bought a non-NFA weapon. The
President would have you believe there is no background check being done
on these items when in fact there is. Adding the background check
process for individuals filing as a trust isn't going to accomplish
anything other than increase the already long wait time it takes for
them to receive their tax stamp.
Even if you're a staunch
supporter of gun control, NFA items are hardly the problem. Look up what
percentage of crime is committed with NFA items and tell me what you
find. I could only find one instance of a machine gun being used in the
late 80's to commit a murder. The perpetrator was a police officer who
no doubt had access to the firearm through his department.
The
second executive order aims to "keep surplus military weapons off our
streets". If you're a supporter of gun control, that sounds good right?
You wouldn't want to see military grade weapons in the streets. This
executive order stops the importation of firearms that the US government
sold to other countries. So, these are weapons that were US service
weapons that we sold to other countries, and now we are not going to
allow them to be brought back in to the US to be sold to individuals.
But
what exactly are these "military grade weapons" that are being
imported? They were US service weapons so you might think these would be
fully automatic M16's or something similar. Well, no. Those aren't
being imported. Even if they were, they would be ineligible to be sold
to private citizens anyway per the Hughes Amendment of 1986.
This
executive order mainly pertains to the importation of the M1 Garand,
the 1903 Springfield and other curio and relic firearms. You know, those
"military grade" weapons that we used in Korea, WWII and WWI. This
executive order will do nothing but dry up the already low supply of
these historic weapons. I feel this order also greatly endangers the
survival of the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) which is a
government-chartered program. The CMP currently sells surplus U.S. Army
rifles. The program is not government funded (aside from rifle
donations) and receives a lot of its funds through the sale of rifles.
However, their main focus is promoting firearm safety training among
youth.
If you support gun control, does this not make you angry?
These orders have done nothing to reduce gun violence or make anyone
safer. The President is being misleading about background checks and NFA
items. He also has not taken any "military grade" weapons off the
street. He is using misleading terms like that when all he has done is
dry up the supply (and drive up prices) on historic time pieces. He has
also greatly endangered a program that promotes and sponsors safety
training for our youth.
It accomplishes nothing and is just
pandering to the people that want gun control and a slap in the face to
people that oppose it.
-Matthew Weddle
