GunLink Discussion Forums
General Category => Firearms Related => Topic started by: GunLink on December 01, 2011, 10:54:13 AM
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It appears that December has somehow managed to make its way to us, seemingly ahead of schedule. Where did the year go? It's the twelfth month. It's almost time for the twelve days of Christmas. And, according to the NRA-ILA, we've had twelve big wins for gun owners.
Want to know what those wins are? Read below. Trying to read it to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is optional.
Twelve Big Wins for Gun Owners
NRA-ILA
Friday, November 18, 2011
The final conference report on the combined Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science (CJS) and Transportation/Housing/Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bills—also known as the "Mini-Bus," was passed by both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, and has been signed into law.
One of the most important ways that Congress has protected the Second Amendment is through a number of general provisions included in various appropriations bills. Many of these provisions have been included in the bills for many years—some of the provisions go back almost three decades. This conference report is no exception, as it contains 12 provisions that strengthen the Second Amendment and protect the American people.
Specifically, the conference report makes PERMANENT the following protections:
- Firearms Database/National Gun Registry Prohibition. No funds may be used to create, maintain or administer a database of firearms owners or their firearms. This prohibition has been in place since Fiscal Year 1979, and prevents the federal government from establishing a national gun registry.
- Former Firearms Dealers Information Retrieval Prohibition. No funds may be used to electronically retrieve personally identifying information gathered by federal firearms licensees. The provision prohibits the creation of a gun registry from dealers’ records that are required by law to be surrendered to the federal government when a dealer goes out of business. This provision has been included since FY 1997.
- Information Gathering Prohibition/24-Hour Destruction of Records. A prohibition on the use of funds to retain any information gathered as a part of an approved instant background check for more than 24 hours. This provision protects the privacy of law-abiding gun buyers by prohibiting gun buyers’ personal information about legal gun purchases from being retained by government authorities for more than 24 hours after a firearm background check. It has been included since FY 1999.
In addition, the conference report adds two NEW provisions designed to bolster our gun rights and protect the Second Amendment from unelected bureaucrats who would twist the law to facilitate their gun-control agenda.
- Prohibit Funding for "Gun Walking" Operations. No funds may be used to knowingly transfer firearms to agents of drug cartels unless U.S. law enforcement personnel control or monitor the firearms at all time. This amendment is designed to prevent the Justice Department (or any government entity) from spending taxpayer dollars on "gun walking" programs like Operation Fast and Furious.
- Shotgun Importation Protections. Prohibits the Department of Justice from requiring imported shotguns to meet a "sporting purposes" test that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) has used to prohibit the importation of shotguns with one or more features disliked by the Agency, such as adjustable stocks, extended magazine tubes, etc.
Finally, the conference report RETAINS the following provisions:
- Curio and Relic Definition. A prohibition on the use of funds to change the definition of a "curio or relic." This provision protects the status of collectible firearms for future generations of firearms collectors.
- Physical Inventory Prohibition. Prohibition on a requirement to allow a physical inventory of Federal Firearms Licensees. The Clinton Administration proposed a rule in 2000 to require an annual inventory by all licensees. While the Bush Administration eventually withdrew the proposal, Congress has still passed this preventive provision every year since FY 2007.
- Business Activity. A prohibition on the use of funds to deny a Federal Firearms License (FFL) or renewal of an FFL on the basis of low business activity. This provision prohibits BATFE from denying federal firearms license applications or renewals based on a dealer’s low business volume alone.
- Firearms Trace Data Disclaimer. A requirement that any trace data released must include a disclaimer stating such trace data cannot be used to draw broad conclusion about firearms-related crime.
- Firearms Parts Export to Canada. A prohibition on the use of funds to require an export license for small firearms parts valued at less than $500 for export to Canada. This provision removed an unnecessary and burdensome requirement on U.S. gun manufacturers that was imposed under the Clinton Administration.
- Importation of Curios and Relics. A prohibition on the use of funds to arbitrarily deny importation of qualifying curio and relic firearms. This provision ensures that collectible firearms that meet all legal requirements for importation into the United States are not prevented from import by executive branch fiat.
- Transfer of BATFE Authority. A prohibition on the use of funds to transfer any duty or responsibility of the BATFE to any other agency or department. This provision was written in response to a Clinton Administration plan to transfer firearms enforcement to the FBI or Secret Service. It also prohibits the Executive branch from skirting the will of Congress by allowing another agency to implement policies the BATFE is prohibited from implementing.
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First post here.
I understand that the administration blocked the return from Korea many M1 carbines and Garands.
Has there been any change in the status of those weapons because of the 12 wins described?
Merry Christmas
fredseviltwin
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I forgot all about that. All I remember is that there were a BUNCH of them and they were actually owned by whoever it was that had them (was it Korea?) and not part of a lend-lease deal (which I think is why they could get away with stopping their import).
I'd be curious to hear an update too. I haven't heard anything about it since the initial big stink about them being blocked in the first place.
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We haven't heard much news on this front. As masfonos said, the issue seems to have somewhat faded away into the back of most people's minds after the initial outcry.
For those not familiar with the situation, here is a brief recap:
Several years ago, the South Korea government, wanting to raise money for its military, was in a position to sell a number of M1 rifles to the US. A LARGE number of M1s: over 87,000 M1 Garands and over 770,000 M1 Carbines. Circa 2009, the Obama administration approved this sale. However, when March 2010 rolled around, the administration had reversed course and banned the sale out of fear that the rifles "could fall into the wrong hands."
A State Department spokesman was quoted as saying "The transfer of such a large number of weapons [...] could potentially be exploited by individuals seeking firearms for illicit purposes. We are working closely with our Korean allies and the U.S. Army in exploring alternative options to dispose of these firearms." Because everyone knows that a 13 pound, 44 inch long rifle developed in 1932 is the go-to firearm of choice for Joe Criminal when sticking up a 7-11 or mugging someone in an alley.
Some of the gun control folks applauded the ban but there was a massive outcry from politicians on both sides of the aisles, hunters, target shooters, history buffs, collectors and other Second Amendment advocates. As these firearms were owned by the Korean government after being given by the U.S. government as part of a foreign aid package, they fall into a special category. Instead of being imported normally as a C&R (curio and relic) item, the import would require the permission of Hillary Clinton's State Department. In either case, the firearms would have had to been imported through normal commercial channels and be sold by federally licensed gun dealers who are required to administer the National Instant Check System (NICS) background check just as they would with any other C&R or newly manufactured firearm.
When various entities tried to get to the bottom of the reasoning for this change of heart, the buck kept getting passed. State Department referred questions to the BATFE who, in turn referred questions to the State Department. The White House referred questions to the Defense Department. The Defense Department passed the buck on to the United States' South Korean embassy, who passed it back to the State Department.
Gun rights advocates as well as politicians called the move a "back door gun ban," including in this (http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=1a261ab9-9884-42e1-bb95-b2cfa31c078f) letter signed by 16 sitting US Senators and sent to the State Department, Attorney General Eric Holder and BATFE Acting Director Kenneth Melson.
The last we heard, nothing new has come up regarding this situation. Wyoming Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis (http://lummis.house.gov/) has introduced legislation several times (see HR6240 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:H.R.6240:) and HR615 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.00615:) to amend how C&R firearms are imported, but it generally sits on the docket until it "expires" and just goes away.
In short...No, these twelve wins have apparently not changed the situation in which the US State Department has blocked the import and sale of firearms that, normally, would be perfectly legal to import, buy, sell, own, shoot, collect, etc. in the United States.