Now that the libbie-loos have America's banks well on the road to nationalization, it's time to shift the focus to other ways of abridging Americans' freedoms.
It might well be a renewed push for gun control.
There's been somewhat of an enjoyable respite from gun-control fanaticism for the past few years. But now it appears ready to rear its ugly head once again. This could be the roughest four years in a long time for those who advocate upholding the Second Amendment.
Take, for example, H.R. 45, introduced in January in the U.S. House of Representatives as "Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 ... 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."
The bill was introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Illinois.
Possibly the most ominous part of this bill is the definition of firearms covered by the legislation:
"SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
"(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
"(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."
As you might have noticed, that pretty much covers everything except your repro Civil War musket and your potato gun.
If there's any good news, it's that the bill appears stuck in committee.
And speaking of Democrats and Illinois, state Rep. Kenneth Dunkin wants all gun owners to be forced to carry at least $1 million in personal liability insurance.
Ever checked out new Attorney General Eric Holder's attitude toward the Second Amendment? The Volokh Conspiracy, a Web site focusing on the courts and legal system, lists some Holder stances when he was deputy attorney general. He:
- advocated federal licensing of handgun owners;
- proposed a three-day waiting period on handgun sales;
- backed the rationing of handgun sales to a maximum of one per month;
- advocated giving the federal government the power to shut down gun shows;
- favored national gun registration.
This from someone who has sworn to uphold the Constitution and yes, that still includes the Second Amendment.
A Democratic initiative in New Jersey that would have limited handgun purchases to one every 30 days per individual failed by just one vote in the Senate. Waaaaay too close.
That's just a little bit of what's going on as gun-control zealots dust themselves off and try to gauge how far they can go in and with this new administration.
Did you notice what might be the scariest part of H.R. 45? It talks about the implementation of licensing and acquiring sales records for firearms ... "and for other purposes."
"Other purposes" could easily become handy catch-all way for any federal agen cy to collect any information it wanted on anyone it wanted. It could be effectively argued that such is already the case, but "other purposes" would sure make information-gathering a lot easier.
H.R. 45 is a measure that is absurd in its sweep, but absurdity too often rules the day in the halls of Congress. It appears that H.R. 45 shouldn't have a chance of passing out of committee, but stranger things have happened.
To help keep stranger things from happening, call your senators and representatives and tell them what you think of H.R. 45.
Charlie Edgren is editorial page editor for the El Paso Times. E-mail: cedgren@elpasotimes.com
